Babs Costello Uses the Strangest Item to Get Rid of Fridge Odors

published Jul 10, 2023
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Shot of a young woman searching inside a refrigerator at home
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Foul odors around the house can be pretty annoying to deal with. Keeping unwanted odors at bay is just another task to add on to an already stacked day of responsibilities — and really, who wants to come home after work and clean? Not to mention, the money spent on cleaning products alone can add to the stress of a busy week, but we won’t get started on that. 

Thankfully, we have the internet at our fingertips, where we can find countless examples of how to work smarter, not harder. One of our favorites that we recently came across? Some extremely creative uses for charcoal from everyone’s favorite internet grandma, Brunch with Babs. Who knew charcoal’s versatility would extend far beyond the grill? 

According to Babs, If you have some unwanted odors wafting out of your refrigerator, all you need to do is place a small bowl with a few charcoal briquettes inside of the fridge. It works a lot better than baking soda and the porous nature of the charcoal will suck up and trap any and all odors. Amazed? Same! But as the internet sensation notes, that’s not all you can do with a little bit of charcoal.

If you’re also looking to absorb a bit of moisture, take an old jar and poke some holes in the lid. Place a few charcoal briquettes inside and close the lid on top. Place the jar anywhere in the house where you have an abundance of moisture — like your kitchen, bathroom, or basement — and let the charcoal work its magic. If you don’t have a spare jar, an old sock will do the trick, but maybe save that one for the basement rather than hanging it in your kitchen. 

And lastly, Babs revealed that charcoal is great for fresh cut flowers or plants. Just drop a few pieces of charcoal into the vase of water before adding the flowers to both help filter out any unwanted contamination and help your flowers last twice as long. Now is that a win or what?