What is the best way to reduce or eliminate strong odors in plastic?
Most online recommendations are a teaspoon of bicarb in a sink full of water or mixing bicarb and lemon juice/vinegar 🙄
Are there any scientific solutions for this using household chemicals or are there only recommendations from mummy bloggers who dropped out of Year 8 chemistry?
310310cookie-checkWhat is the most effective way to deodorize plastic?
Yes bicarb on its own is an excellent deodoriser. Adding any acid to it (lemon juice or vinegar) reduces its effect by at least partially neutralising it
The chemistry of it is that bicarb is an amphoteric compound – that is, it can act as both an acid and a base. The things that cause smell fall into three categories: volatile fatty acids (VFAs), amines and mercaptans. With general use the smells that a plastic drink bottle will have picked up fall into the first two categories. As bicarb is amphoteric, it effectively neutralises both the acids (VFAs) and bases (amines).
Just air