The Deep Freeze Approach to Household Chores
Stop dreaming of warm winds and sandy beaches, the cold and ice has its benefits! A quick online search for ways to remove odour from hockey equipment, running shoes and backpacks will have you throwing items in the freezer for a few hours. A quick fix! Or is it? We did some digging to get to the bottom of these freezer hacks and debunk any false promises!
Freshen Smelly Sports Gear – FALSE
Sports gear that can’t be washed, like a hockey helmet, can smell bad over time. Some say the solution is to put it in a plastic bag and place it in the freezer overnight to kill the bacteria. While the theory is somewhat true, to kill bacteria and other germs, you need to reach a temperature of 80 degrees below freezing or even colder. Unfortunately, the temperature in your household freezer is only about 0-4 degrees fahrenheit, which will essentially just put bacteria into hibernation, only to “wake up” as soon as they thaw.
Remove Gummy Sticker Residue – TRUE
Sticky substances can be hard to get out of fabric, but can placing it in the freezer help? Substances, like hot glue or gum become very brittle when they’re frozen. So, putting them in the freezer (in a freezer-safe plastic bag) is a good first step in the cleaning process. The freezer will harden the material and make it easier to pick or gently scrape off. Stepped in gum? Stick a small piece of paper over the gum and freezer for an hour or two. Then, take the shoe out and peel the paper off (with gum intact).
Create a Tear-free Onion – TRUE
This bizarre freezer hack is handy to each and every budding chef. Onions, an essential ingredient in most dishes, add flavour but when cut, trigger most of us to shed a tear or two. Apparently, they produce a chemical compound called syn-propanethial-S-oxide. Cutting an onion releases this gas and when it bonds with the eyes’ natural moistness, a chemical reaction is made creating sulfuric acid. Sulfuric acid burns, which is why we cry. Putting an onion in the freezer for a quick 10-minutes before cutting can reduce the acid enzymes that are released, thereby creating a tear-free onion.
Photo by Evie S. on Unsplash
