Question about bicarbonate of soda

[Atellus]

Hello. I recently purchased a couple of plastic water jugs but discovered that the inside had a very powerful and distasteful odour, as do many plastic products. I was advised to fill both jugs with bicarbonate of soda and leave them standing for a few hours. I did this and found that the odour had gone completely!

 

Can anyone explain this?

 

Thanks

[woelen]

This is a well known effect of sodium bicarbonate. Where I live it is called "zuiveringszout" for this reason, which can be translated as "purification salt". It removes smells. I have heard the explanation that it does so, by formation of CO2, which replaces the smelly molecules in the structure of the object to be "purified". The CO2 expells the smelly stuff and replaces it.

 

This explanation sounds reasonable to me, but a nice experiment would be if someone with access to pure CO2 (e.g. CO2-"ice") could do a test. Put some of it in a smelly container and leave it there for a while. After that, the smell should have disappeared. If that experiment is confirmative, then that would be great evidence of this CO2 hypothesis.

[YT2095]

in addition, MOST but not all bad smells are largely Acid based, NaHCO3 is a very mild Base (alkaline) and so will reduce/denature the molecules that create the stink.

a quarter to a half T`spoon added to boiling Cabbage for instance will also work to elliminate the smell in soln.

 

it`s the most common used as it`s inexpensive and quite plentiful, if you are Rich you could use KOH instead, it also works

[John Cuthber]

I wouldn't go for putting KOH in the cabbage.

Many odours are caused by acidic materials and laso a lot of materials get oxidised by air more readily when they are in alkaline conditions- this might also get rid of the smell.