Baking soda, more formally known as bicarbonate of soda, is usually used around the house as a baking ingredient; did you know that baking soda can actually be used for a lot more things other than just in the kitchen? Surprisingly enough, baking soda can be used in a lot of things around the house, and it even has many health benefits! We’ve compiled a list of what baking soda can be useful for around your home.
You Never Knew You Can Use Baking Soda This Way
Clean Dirty Fruit And Vegetables
Were you aware that the most efficient way to clean off the germs and chemicals from your fruit is by using baking soda? All you have to do is place your fresh fruits and vegetables in a bowl with one tablespoon of baking soda per two cups of water. After it has soaked for a while, scrub it all off with a clean sponge.
Clean Dirty Fruit And Vegetables
Clean Rugs And Carpets
If your carpets and rugs have accumulated a bunch of stains on them, bring baking soda in for the rescue. Just toss some baking soda right onto the carpet and pour hot water on top of it. Let it sit like this overnight and then vacuum over it in the morning. If it’s a big stain, try to repeat this procedure a few times. Soon enough your carpet will be looking good as new without breaking the bank!
Clean Rugs And Carpets
Mouthwash
Are you someone who constantly has bad breath no matter what you do? Mouthwash can reach the cracks and corners that a toothbrush simply can’t, and baking soda is the best way to make your breath smell fresh all while killing bacteria. All you need is half a teaspoon of baking soda and water, and mix it as needed.
Mouthwash
Deodorant
Baking soda as a deodrant is a great way to keep your body smelling clean and fresh but being able to avoid putting so many chemicals on your skin. Just mix together baking soda and a bit of water to form a sort of paste; rub it on your underarms and say goodbye to body odor.
Deodorant
Air Freshener
Almost every commercially-bought air freshener on the market contains more chemicals than you could ever think of, and they don’t really eliminate the smells, they just cover them up temporarily. Baking soda is a natural option that will react with the odors and eliminate them while making your home smell fresh.
Air Freshener
Whiter And Brighter Clothing
Adding one cup of baking soda to your laundry along with the detergent you already use will make your clothes looking brighter and cleaner than before. Baking soda is something called an alkali, which is a soluble salt that helps remove and stains when it comes in contact with the acid in the stains.
Whiter And Brighter Clothing
Bathroom Cleaner
Bathrooms get dirty much more quickly than you might expect, and they’re much more difficult to clean than you’d think! There are tons of bathroom cleaners on the market, but baking soda is your cheapest and safest choice because it will whiten your bathroom surface while disinfecting them at the same time. Just create the mixture by mixing baking soda with water, place it on your desired surfaces, let it sit for 20 mintes, and wipe it off.
Bathroom Cleaner
Polishing Silverware
Silverware is beautiful when it’s sparkly and clean, but the worst part about it is that it gets tarnished so quickly. Luckily, baking soda can come to your rescue here, as it acts as an anti-tarnishing agent. Just mix hot water and baking soda and pour it all over the silverware. The chemical reaction will amaze you.
Polishing Silverware
Spa Treatment
We get it- you had the longest week at work and desperately need a relaxing spa day, but can’t afford to treat yourself all the time. The good news is that you can make your own spa at home! To do this, combine one ounce of baking soda with a hot bath and soak your feet. You don’t have to leave your home and your feet will thank you!
Spa Treatment
Disinfect Toothbrush
You probably don’t think about cleaning your toothbrush so often, but you should, especially because cold and flu season is looming behind us. For something that goes inside of your mouth twice a day every single day, you definitely want it to be clean. When you combine baking soda, water, and vinegar and let your toothbrush soak for 30 minutes, it will come out clean and ready to use.
Disinfect Toothbrush
Treating Bug Bites
It is not safe to put baking soda on your skin every day, but applying a mixture with baking soda when you have a bug bite or itchy skin can make you feel better immediately. Most drugstore solutions you can buy for a good chunk of money contain baking soda anyway, so why not make your own potion at home? Just mix up baking soda with water to make a thick paste.
Treating Bug Bites
Burnt Pot
Did you accidentally burn the bottom of your pan while cooking? We know your frustration, especially when it seems like you’ve tried everything to fix the problem and nothing is working. Until we found this trick, we thought there was simply no solution to fixing a burnt pan, but there is! Sprinkle baking soda over the affected areas and pour boiling water over it. Let it sit for a minute or so and wash it off.
Burnt Pot
Cleaning Shoes
If you are someone who always comes home with smelly shoes after the gym, we have found your life-saving solution: baking soda. Pour two tablespoons of baking soda into a thin cloth–thin enough where the baking soda can still reach the odors– and secure it closed so that the baking soda won’t spill into your shoes! Leave it there for as long as you need to.
Cleaning Shoes
Heartburn
Heartburn, otherwise known as acid reflux, is a terrible burning sensation stretching from your throat to your stomach, all the way down to your esophogus. Citric fruits, spicy foods, stress, and eating too much can all be causes of heartburn, among other things. Heartburn can really ruin your day when you can’t get rid of the uncomfortable feeling, but next time this happens, remember that baking soda neutralizes these acids in your stomach, so try to mix one teaspoon of baking soda into a glass of water. Drink the whole glass and soon enough you should be feeling better!
Heartburn
Fluffy Omelet
If you are someone who is not such a big fan of eggs, you may feel like eating an omelette for breakfast isn’t how you want to start your day; many people, however, are not like that. If you want a fluffier, tastier, lighter omelette, add in half of a teaspoon of baking soda for every 3 eggs that you are cooking. The bubbles of carbon dioxide will really change your eggs.
Fluffy Omelet
Cleaning Drains
Clogged drains can cause a huge headache; whether it is in your kitchen or bathroom, it’s the worst. To fix this mess, just mix vinegar, baking soda, and a pot of boiling water together. Let the mixture sit for up to ten minutes and rinse it thoroughly. Your drains should be completely fixed!
Cleaning Drains
Garbage Disposal Odors
Sometimes you toss an item in your garbage disposal and it leaves behind a nauseating odor; you can either spend lots of money on a cleaner for this, or you can turn to your trust baking soda/vinegar mix for help. First you’ll need to run hot water down your drain for about a minute before pouring in a quarter cup of baking soda into the drain. Turn the disposal on, but only for about two seconds. Let this sit for ten minutes, then add a cup of vinegar; you should notice the bubbles starting to develop. End the procedure by running more hot water down the drain until it all seems to be cleared out.
Garbage Disposals
Whiten Your Teeth
All of us are guilty of drinking too much coffee or tea sometimes, but one of the huge downfalls of this guilty pleasure is discoloration of your teeth. If you don’t want to give up these delicious drinks and you certainly don’t want to spend your life savings on professional teeth whitening, we may have the best solution for you. Combine a quarter teaspoon of baking soda with water and place it on your toothbrush, then scrub away as usual.
Whiten Your Teeth
Sore Throat
Are you one of the unlucky ones who finds themselves getting a sore throat, or even worse, strep throat, all the time? This can ruin your day or week and can even be a reason for keeping you home from work, but taking antibiotics too often can cause harm to your body. If you want to try a natural solution, try gargling a baking soda and water mixture three times per day.
Sore Throat
Whiten Yellow Nails
If you have that bad habit of leaving your nail polish on for far too long, you will understand the unsightly discovery that your nails have turned yellow. Luckily, this problem is easily fixable when you combine baking soda with a small amount of hydrogen peroxide and scrub the mixture on your nails. Before you know it, your nails will look beautiful again.
Yellow White Nails
Lighten Dark Underarms
When summer is approaching and you’re wearing sleeveless shirts all the time, there’s just nothing more frustrating than having a 5 o’clock shadow under your arms! Did you know that there is a way to get rid of these dark tones just in time to wear your brand new tank top? All you need is baking soda and water to create a mixture. Then, just apply it and massage it around your underarm area for about a minute. Let it sit for up to thirty minutes before rinsing it with warm water. You can repeat this up to three times per week.
Lighten Dark Underarms
Exercise Performace
Baking soda can be a huge aide for athletes, did you know that? It can increase your stamina, especially during HIIT workouts that can get quite intense. Baking soda helps to delay the cramps and tiredness that comes as a side effect of difficult workouts.
Exercise Performance
Chronic Kidney Disease
Having chronic kidney disease means that over a period of time, your kidney function starts to decrease more and more. Having kidneys that work properly is more important than you may think; kidneys are responsible for removing all of the extra water from our blood and keeping us healthy. If you suffer from chronic kidney disease, consider taking baking soda supplements, as it can help slow the progression of this disease.
Chronic Kidney Disease
Kill Weeds
If your yard is one that suffers from the horrible weeds that can grow uncontrollably, try sprinkling baking soda on them instead of using harsh chemicals. Sprinkle the baking soda as often as you need to, and you will quickly start to notice that you no longer have to pull weeds out of your yard anymore!
Kill Weeds
Clean The Microwave
After a while, your microwave can get dirty and smelly. To fix this, sprinkle a good amount of baking soda onto a dampened sponge, then rub it all over the interior and exterior of your microwave. After this, rinse it all off with warm water. Your microwave will look and smell like new, all while avoiding the use of intense chemicals.
Clean The Microwave
Melt Ice On Driveway
If you are someone who lives in a freezing environment in the winter, you likely know what it’s like to try to walk across a slick sheet of ice on your driveway or sidewalk. If you wake up to an unexpected ice storm and don’t have any salt melt handy, sprinkle a good amount of baking soda on the ice. It is not as potent as the salt, but it will work better than nothing, that’s for sure!
Melt Ice On Driveway
Cure Dandruff
Dandruff is super common, and those who have it know how difficult it can be to cure it. Try this solution for a few weeks: instead of using shampoo in the shower, just wet your hair and massage baking soda into your scalp. Be careful to rinse your hair and scalp off thoroughly, and after a few weeks you should look good as new.
Cure Dandruff
Clean Your Hairbrush
After a while, your hairbrush can start to look worn down and in pretty bad shape, but there is a quite simple solution for this. All you need to do is soakyour hairbrush in a bowl filled with one teaspoon of baking soda and a bit of warm water. Let it sit for a few minutes and then rinse it off completely and let it air dry.
Clean Your Hairbrush
Make Your Grill Sparkle
A great barbecue with your friends or family is a classic staple of celebrating summer, and there’s nothing better than your first barbecue after winter. Still, after your grill has gone unused all winter, it’s going to need a deep cleaning before it becomes useable again. To give your grill the cleaning it needs, pour some baking soda onto the bristles of a brush and scrub away at it. It should look good as new after this.
Make Your Grill Sparkle
Make Your Floors Shine
If your home is equipped with hardwood or tile flooring, we are sure that you know how it feels to see the floors get dull after a while. Unfortunately, there is a pretty big price tag that goes into sprucing up the floors. To make your floors shine like new, mix 3.5 ounces of baking soda with warm water and pour it onto the floor. Mop it up and rinse off the remains, and your floors should sparkle.
Make Your Floors Shine
Appliances Like New
After you’ve used appliances like a coffeemaker or dishwasher time and time again, they can start to not look or smell so clean anymore. In order to get your appliances looking and smelling like new again, run an empty cycle with just baking soda inside.
Appliances Like New
Litter Box
If you love your cat like your own child, this tip is for you. There is no cat owner in the entire world who wants their pet’s litter box to give off an odor that can be smelled around the house, but sometimes it’s difficult to find the right fix for the problem. All you need to do to eliminate the smell is to sprinkle baking soda inside of the litter box and cover it with another layer of litter.
Litter Box
Exfoliate
Facial nights are the perfect way to end a long and stressful week, but sometimes you want to try something new on your face. A new trick to give a shot is to exfoliate your skin with a 3:1 baking soda and water mixture. Rub it into your face gently, then rinse it off with luke warm water and pat your face dry.
Exfoliate
Hair Treatment
Everyone wants their hair to be healthy and strong, and we have the perfect way to achieve that. To get strong hair without spending too much money, mix some baking soda into your conditioner and let it soak into your hair. Doing this will keep your hair strong and healthy and help you to avoid split ends.
Hair Treatment
Trash Bin Miracle
Like most trash cans, we are sure that there has been a time when you have opened yours and have been instantly hit with a horribly foul odor. It’s the nature of a trash can, but that doesn’t make it less gross. If you sprinkle baking soda at the bottom of your trash can or the bag itself, it will help to eliminate bad smells coming from the can!
Trash Bin Miracle
Rain Repellent
If you have to drive in the rain, we’re sure you know that it can be stressful, but driving in the rain with run-down windshield wipers that aren’t doing the best job can not only be stressful, but quite dangerous as well. Take a damp cloth with baking soda sprinkled on it and wipe down your windshield with it. Next time it rains, you will notice that rain is repelling off of your windshield much more.
Rain Repellent
Chicken Pox Cure
Most people experience the chicken pox at some point in their life, but if you never did, you’re one of the rare and lucky people who escaped it. If you weren’t so lucky, you can understand how horrible the chicken pox can be. To ease up the itchy feeling, mix a teaspoon of baking soda with a glass of water, then dab the mixture onto the itchy areas with a washcloth. Let the mixture dry up before rinsing it off.
Chicken Pox Cure
Clean Food Containers
If you take your lunch to work or use plastic containers for leftover food, you know the pain of a like-new container becoming permanently stained. Acidic foods like tomato sauce can leave horrible stains on your containers, and it often seems impossible to clean off. To fix the containers, cover a clean sponge with baking soda and scrub them.
Clean Food Containers
Clean Your Sponges
This is something else ou might not think about cleaning often enough, but why would you want to scrub your dishes with a filthy sponge? Sponges pick up and absorb bacteria more quickly than you would ever think. If you notice your sponges looking or smelling unsightly, soak them in a water and baking soda mixture overnight and rinse it out in the morning.
Clean Your Sponges
Pet Bed Odors
Even if you love your dog more than any human in your life, sometimes the odors and bad smells that come with your futty friend can be too much to handle. If your pet’s bed is getting smelly or just needs a bit of a sprucing-up, sprinkle baking soda on the bed and let it sit for fifteen minutes. After this, vacuum it up. The bed should be odorless and good to go.
Pet Bed Odors
Canker Sores
Canker sores are one of those very annoying things that pops up out of nowhere and causes us extreme pain, and the best way to get rid of them is still up for debate. Luckily, we’ve discovered something that we think works pretty well. All you need to do is rinse your mouth with a baking soda and water mixture twice per day until it’s gone. That’s it, it’s really that easy!
Canker Sores
Calluses
Even though calluses don’t really pose serious health risks, that does not change the fact that they are uncomfortable or even painful when applying pressure onto your feet, like when you’re walking. It has recently been shown that soaking your feet in a baking soda bath can help soften the heels and even help to remove scabs and release pain and pressure.
Calluses
Oil Or Grease Fire
Were you aware that most fire extinguishers contain baking soda inside? It’s true. Baking soda reacts with the carbon dioxide which helps to put out the fire. What this means is that baking soda can be used to put out very small or minor fires, but not big ones, as the carbon dioxide can actually counter the baking soda and make the fire worse. We recommend just calling professionals if you encounter a fire.
Oil Or Grease Fire
Diaper Rash
When you are a new parent, it’s tough to see your baby in pain, but diaper rashes are very common and sometimes they are simply unavoidable. Drugstore creams can cost you an arm and a leg, but don’t worry, we have a better solution. Make a baking soda bath for your baby and let them soak in it for a while. After this, they will instantly feel better.
Diaper Rash
Clean Walls
While parents try to be encouraging of their kids’ wandering imaginations, it can get tricky when they start to use the house walls as their drawing board. If you find that your artist child drew all over your walls with their crayons, don’t worry, it’s reversable. By applying baking soda to a damp cloth and scrubbing it for a while, then lightly wiping the wall off with a clean damp cloth and letting it dry, your walls will look untouched.
Clean Walls
Cloth Diapers
If you are a parent who prefers to use cloth diapers instead of disposable ones on their child, you likely know how tricky it can be to maintain the cleanliness and sanitation of them before you run out of clean diapers. In order to keep the diapers as clean as possible, mix half a cup of baking soda into a quart of warm water and let the diapers soak for a while before putting them in the washing machine for normal cleaning.
Cloth Diapers
Coat Closet Cleanliness
Opening up your winter coat closet for the first time since last winter can be a tricky game to play; the game is guessing how horrible your jackets smell after sitting in a closet for all those months! To avoid playing this roulette each year, place a box of baking soda in the closet. This will keep your closet and its contents smelling fresh all year.
Coat Closet Cleanliness
Keep Flowers Fresh
It’s completely heart-melting to get flowers from a loved one in your life, but the downside to flowers is that they die so quickly. If you want to keep them fresh for longer, you can add a teaspoon of baking soda into the water. This will keep them lively for much longer.
Keep Flowers Fresh