Baking soda – the household wonder helper

I have known that baking soda is good, but I never realized how good it is for the environment, my wallet and my everyday life!

Be warned that this is going to be a mammoth post, but it has do be done, as EVERYBODY should know the tens and tens of wonderful purposes of SODA. The best part about baking soda is that it is CHEAP and comes oftentimes in a carton box – a real treat to those, who want to save money and save planet earth!

Baking soda or washing soda?

There are two kinds out there – baking soda and washing soda. I have mainly used baking soda. If you want to know what the difference is between the two, then it is water and carbon dioxide.

Baking soda’s chemical makeup is NaHCO3 (1 sodium, 1 hydrogen, 1 carbon, and 3 oxygen molecules).

Washing soda’s chemical makeup is Na2CO3 (2 sodium, 1 carbon, and 3 oxygen molecules). Some of that school knowledge must have floated in, right? 🙂 If you want to read more about them both, please kindly visit this website for more information Science Struck.

How to use baking soda?

For your health

1. Use soda as a deodorant, rubbing it into the underarm – you can do it like that, but rather, mix it with coconut oil, some starch and add a little bit of essential oil, whichever is to your liking (ie. lavender or tea-tree). Your own natural deodorant is done!

Eve says: “When I first made natural deodorant, I felt my life and social life had changed because I had no odor! Sadly, the excitement was short-lived and my armpits started to burn. I had used too much soda and it burned my armpits! What we do know is to keep a jar of coconut oil and an open jar of baking soda. Ideally each morning, I take a tiny bit of coconut oil with my first two fingers and rub it gently under my arms, I then I dip my fingers into the jar of soda and then apply them to my underarms.

I can’t help but think that it may be unsanitary – so it’s probably safer to dip into the oil and rub it till it melts some, then dip into the soda then apply to your pits or just make the recipe Kerly provided above. I’m shutting up now! 🙂

2. Mix half a teaspoon of soda with a peroxide paste and use it to wash your teeth – would love to try that, but have to find peroxide paste first! (It sounds a bit dangerous, so before you try it, research it and be careful.

3. Add a cup of soda bath to make your skin softer.

4. Reduce pain caused by sunburn, while applying soda on it.

5. To remove strong smells from hands, rub them with baking soda and water.

6. Apply soda to rashes, insect bites and irritated skin of poisonous plants.

7. Add soda to bathwater to relieve skin irritation or to heal diaper rash, while washing infants.

8. Does heartburn afflict? Drink half a glass of water with a tablespoon of baking soda stirred in.

10. Freshen your breath by gargling a cup of water, mix half a tablespoon of baking soda and the same goes to heal any cuts in the mouth.

11. Use soda to heal bee stings.

12. Use a baking soda to reduce the pain caused by a medusa touch.

Home use

13. You can keep your vase flowers fresher longer if to add a tablespoon of soda to the water.

14. It is possible to get rid of unpleasant smells from the fridge if an open box of baking soda is placed in it.

15. Sprinkle the soda to the ashtray to reduce the smell of smoke and the smell of butts and use to clean the trays with soda as well.

16. Sprinkle soda to remove unpleasant odors in your wooden homeware, boots, shoes, and socks.

17. Removing the food smell, wipe baby’s chin and chest after eating with a wet cloth sprinkled with baking soda.

18. Rub the car’s windshield with soda to counteract rain.

19. The smell of a washing sponge can be improved if the sponge has been soaked in soda water.

20. Suck soda into the vacuum cleaner to ease the unpleasant smell coming from inside of the machine.

Eve says: ”This one made me laugh out loud!”

21. You can mix soda with some scented bath salts to refresh the air and put the mixture into small bags.

22. Soften rigid brushes by cooking them in a solution consisting of two liters of water, three tablespoons of vinegar and a bowl of baking soda.

23. Keep the soda near sink and basement windows to control cockroaches and ants.

24. Sprinkle baking soda on flower beds to prevent rabbits from eating your prized vegetables.

Eve says: ”I have a vision of Bugs bunny eating your carrots if you don’t try this.”

25. Improve the taste of tomatoes by sprinkling baking soda in the soil surrounding the tomato plant.

26. Sprinkle the soda in your cat’s sandbox to lose that unpleasant odor.

27. Sprinkle the soda on your pet’s ridge or comb to make the sheath smell more pleasant.

Cooking

28. Use soda as a substitute for baking powder by mixing soda with tartar or vinegar.

29. Wash with soda fruit and vegetables to remove the greasy residue.

30. Soaking the dried beans in a soda and water solution makes the beans easier to digest.

31. Make your own sports drink by mixing baking soda with boiled water, salt, and juice powder.

32. Reduce the acidic content of tomato-based dishes by sprinkling them with a pinch of baking soda.

33. Use soda to reduce acidity – I made a large pot of leek-mushroom risotto and added a tad too much of lemon juice. Thought that it is all ruined, but found out after short research, that a half teaspoon of baking soda would save my dinner. It sure did!

Eve says: ”It was so delicious, and I was in awe of the magic of that stuff.”

For cleaning up

34. Pour a cup of a soda into the toilet bowl, allow it to stand for an hour and then flush it down. Soda cleans the inside of the toilet bowl and absorbs bad smells.

35. Use sodas for scouring sinks, shower cubicles, plastic surfaces, and porcelain baths. Works like a miracle on white coffee and teacups! Removes all lines!

36. ​​Use soda for cleaning the walls, mirrors, and kitchen counters.

37. Add a spoonful of soda to the dishwasher to simplify the cleaning of the dish.

38. Remove grease stains from pots and pans with soda.

39. Dry clean carpets and upholstered furniture – sprinkle baking soda on the items and scatter it gently with a cloth. Leave the soda to stand there for a few hours or overnight and then clean the surface with a vacuum cleaner.

40. Increase the cleansing power of your washer, sprinkling a handful of soda on dirty clothes.

41. Stainless steel and chrome surfaces can be polished with water-soda paste.

42. Scratches can be removed from the linoleum floors and walls with soda.

43. You can clean waste bins with soda.

44. Hairbrushes and combs soaked in the water-soda mixture will get rid of the grout. You have no idea how useful this tip came to me not long ago – read more in the future post of our site!

45. Use a damp cloth to absorb soda and then clean with the cloth laminated surfaces.

46. Use soda to remove stinking odor from coolers and thermoses.

47. Heat the soda in the coffee machine and then rinse with it the contents of the machine.

48. Sprinkle the soda on the dirty garage floors, rub the floor and rinse it with clean water.

49. Remove easily burned food from the pan, soaking it before washing for 10 minutes in a soda solution.

50. Clean the drain pipes by pouring in them every week four tablespoons of baking soda and then flush it down with hot water.

51. Clean the shower curtains by soaking them in soda water.

52. Use soda to clean your dentures.

53. Make a thick paste from baking soda and water and use it for scouring your baking oven.

54. Use soda to scrub clean your kitchen cupboard doors. Matte or shiny works on both!

55. Baking soda doesn’t make you poor!

Thank you for making it to the end.

Translated from an Estonian site.

All in all once more

The most amazing thing about baking soda is its cheap price. All of the above points can be made at a very low cost. Baking soda is a real miracle product, whether it is used in cooking or elsewhere. These 55 listed points here are not all the good uses of soda, there is plenty of more and I am sure the readers can add their own recommendations, which would make a great addition to this list here!

My praises of baking soda are not done yet!