The wonders of baking soda! It truly is one of the most versatile household products you can ever have in your home. Whether it’s used as a household product or a personal care product, baking soda has got you covered!
Baking Soda: More Uses Than You Could Expect
Let’s take a look at the uses for baking soda I’ll be covering in today’s article:
- Laundry detergent booster
- Deodorize your fridge
- Microwave cleaner
- Oven cleaner
- Carpet cleaner
- Carpet deodorizer
- Tile floor cleaner
- Polish your teeth
- Freshen your breath
- Skin exfoliation
- Relieve diaper rash
- Sooth skin irritation
- Heartburn remedy
- Jewelry cleaner
- Wash produce
- Deter ants
As you can see, baking soda is a must have in every household. The best part of it all? It’s so expensive.
Let’s get started!
1. Laundry Detergent Booster
Adding ½ cup of baking soda to each load of laundry will soften the water which allows your clothes to be much cleaner and softer. It also helps your laundry soap to stretch much further!
2. Deodorize Your Fridge
We all know ‘that odor’ that can accumulate in the fridge! Placing an open box of baking soda will help eliminate those odors. It’s most effective when placed in the back of the fridge. Be sure to change out the box of baking soda every 2 months.
3. Microwave Cleaner
Cleaning a messy (sometimes crusty) microwave can take a bit. Messy microwave clean up is a cinch with baking soda! Just simply sprinkle baking soda on a damp cloth and gently scrub the mess away. It will also deodorize any odor in the process.
4. Oven Cleaner
As with microwave messes, oven messes can be just as time consuming but, not with baking soda! All you have to do is sprinkle a generous amount of baking soda on the bottom surface area of your oven. Using a spray bottle, dampen the baking soda with water and let it sit over night. Scrub away the mess the next morning and be sure to rinse completely with water. The rinsing process is best accomplished with a spray bottle and a damp cloth.
5. Carpet Cleaner
My sister recently let me in on a great carpet cleaner recipe. She says it’s the best carpet cleaner she has ever used!
Recipe:
- ½ cup of water
- ½ cup of white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon of baking soda
- 1 tablespoon of hydrogen peroxide
Directions: Mix all ingredients well in a spray bottle. To remove carpet stains, spray the cleaner on the carpet stain and simply dab away the stain with a light colored, slightly damp cloth.
The hydrogen peroxide did not affect the color of her carpet. However, if you are apprehensive, you can test the mixture in a small ‘out of view’ section of your carpet first.
6. Carpet Deodorizer
To deodorize your carpet, sprinkle baking soda and leave overnight. The following morning, using a broom, sweep up the excess and vacuum up the rest.
7. Tile Floor Cleaner
This recipe is great for cleaning and deodorizing tile flooring!
Recipe:
- ½ cup of baking soda
- Bucket of warm water
Mop and enjoy!
8. Polish Your Teeth
About once a week, add just baking soda to your toothbrush and brush for about 3 minutes. This will give your teeth a whiter, more polished look.
Brushing daily with just baking soda can be too abrasive and, in my opinion, can wear down the enamel. However, there are folks who swear by it.
9. Freshen Your Breath
For an easy mouthwash recipe that will freshen your breath, check this out!
Recipe and directions: Mix 1 teaspoon of baking soda in a glass water. Swish for about 30 seconds and spit.
10. Skin Exfoliation
Do you have sensitive skin? Do most facial scrubs leave your skin dry? Try this recipe for a gentle facial scrub that will get rid of dead skin and leave your face nice and smooth.
Recipe and directions: Mix 3 parts of baking soda and 1 part water. Rub gently onto skin using small circular motions and rinse clean. Pat dry.
11. Relieve Diaper Rash
To help relieve diaper rash, simply add 2 tablespoons to your baby’s bathwater.
12. Soothe Skin Irritation
To relieve the discomforts of skin irritation and to soften your skin in the process, simply add a cup of baking soda to a warm bath. Soak for about 20-30 mins.
13. Heartburn Remedy
My personal experience….
I have suffered from acid reflux and heartburn off and on for about 5 years. At times, it has woken me up in the middle of the night. I lived on Tums. Recently, my mother introduced me to a remedy that has made me toss the over the counter antacids for good! It also seems to relieve the occasional gas pains that accompany my heartburn.
One night, as I was visiting her, I got heartburn. I asked her if she had some Tums and she says “I have something better!”.
It’s so simple and so effective. Within 5 minutes after drinking this, my heartburn completely disappeared. I couldn’t believe it! If you suffer from acid reflux and heartburn, I encourage you to try this recipe.
Recipe and directions: Add 1 teaspoon of baking soda to 8 oz of room temperature water. Stir and drink. Optional: you can add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice for taste.
14. Jewelry Cleaner (Sterling Silver)
I recently gathered all my sterling silver jewelry to clean it. Some of it was so tarnished and I remember thinking “this will take all night to clean!”. In the past, I have polished my sterling silver with just toothpaste. I would add a generous amount of toothpaste to each piece of jewelry, let it sit for a bit, then go back and polish each piece with a terry cloth.
Well, the night I gathered my jewelry together, I got an idea to mix toothpaste and baking soda together to clean my sterling silver. I took about a nickle size amount of toothpaste and an equal amount of baking soda and mixed them together using a toothpick. I applied the mixture to one of my rings and the black tarnish literally came right off (with just a circular motion of my thumb) and it did not scratch the sterling silver at all. Afterwards, I rinsed each piece with warm water and dried them with a terry cloth.
Each piece looks brand new again!
15. Wash Produce
Here’s a great recipe for washing all your fruits and vegetables!
Recipe and directions: Add a ¼ cup of baking soda to a sink full of water. Wash and Rinse.
16. Deter Ants
Combine equal parts of baking soda and table salt and sprinkle at all their entry points. They will avoid those areas!
Clean My Space shows us a video on 10 cleaning uses for baking soda:
What is your favorite baking soda use? Do you have an use you would like to share with us? Tell us in the comment section below!
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