Baking soda is a chemical compound that appears as a fine powder. It releases bubbles of carbon dioxide when it interacts with an acid and a liquid. It’s most commonly used in baking, where it acts as a leavening agent. The following are 75 other uses for baking soda aside from making muffins soft and fluffy.
Health Uses
1. Use it as an antacid.
2. Use it as underarm deodorant by applying it with a powder puff.
3. Mix half a teaspoon with peroxide paste and use it as toothpaste.
4. Use it as a face and body scrub.
5. Add a cup to bathwater to soften your skin.
6. Relieve skin itch from insect bites and pain from sunburn.
7. Remove strong odors from your hands by rubbing them with baking soda and water.
8. Put two tablespoons in your baby’s bathwater to help relieve diaper rash.
9. Apply it on rashes, insect bites, and poison ivy irritations.
10. Take a baking soda bath to relieve skin irritations.
11. Heartburn? Take a teaspoon of baking soda mixed with one-half glass of water.
12. Freshen your mouth by gargling half a teaspoon of baking soda mixed water.
13. Relieve canker sore pain by using it as mouthwash.
14. Use it to relieve bee stings.
15. Use it to relieve windburns.
16. Apply it on jellyfish sting to draw out the venom.
17. Unblock stuffy nose by adding a teaspoon of baking soda to your vaporizer.
In the Home
18. Keep cut flowers fresh longer by adding a teaspoon to the water in the vase.
19. Put out small fires on rugs, upholstery, clothing, and wood.
20. Put an open container of baking soda in the fridge to absorb the odors.
21. Sprinkle it on your ashtrays to reduce bad odor and prevent smoldering.
22. Sprinkle it on your slippers, boots, shoes, and socks to eliminate foul odor.
23. Turn baking soda into modeling clay by combining it with one and 1/4 cups of water and one cup of cornstarch.
24. After feeding your baby, wipe his shirt with a moist cloth sprinkled with baking soda to remove the odor.
25. Wipe your windshield with it to repel rain.
26. Improve the smell of dishrags by soaking them in baking soda and water.
27. Suck it in with your vacuum cleaner to remove the odor.
28. Freshen the air by mixing baking soda with your favorite perfumed bath salts. Put the mixture in small sachet bags.
29. Restore stiff brushes by boiling them in a solution of 1/2 gallon of water, 1/4 cup of vinegar, and a cup of baking soda.
30. Put it under sinks and along basement windows to repel cockroaches and ants.
31. Scatter baking soda around flowerbeds to prevent rabbits from eating your veggies.
32. Sweeten your tomatoes by sprinkling baking soda on the soil around your tomato plants.
33. Sprinkle it onto your cat’s litter box to absorb the bad odor.
34. Sprinkle it on your pet’s comb or brush to deodorize their fur and skin.
In Cooking
35. Use it as a substitute for baking powder by mixing with it with cream of tartar or vinegar.
36. Wash fruits and vegetables with it.
37. When boiling a chicken, add a teaspoon of baking soda to the water. Feathers will come off easier, and the flesh will be clean and white.
38. Soak dried beans to a baking soda solution to make them more digestible.
39. Remove the distinctive taste of wild game by soaking it in a baking soda solution.
40. Make a sports drink by mixing it with boiled water, salt, and Kool-Aid.
41. Remove the fishy smell from your fillets by soaking the raw fish in a baking soda solution for an hour inside the fridge.
42. Make fluffier omelets by adding half a teaspoon of baking soda for every three eggs used.
43. Reduce the acid content of your tomato-based recipes by sprinkling them with a pinch of baking soda.
Cleaning Purposes
44. Add a cup to the toilet, leave it for an hour, and then flush. It will clean the toilet and absorb the odor.
45. Use it to scrub sinks, showers, plastic and porcelain tubs
46. Spray it on walls, mirrors, and countertops.
47. Add a spoonful to your dishwasher to make scrubbing dishes easier.
48. Remove grease from pots and pans.
49. Dry clean carpets and upholstered furniture by sprinkling baking soda over the fabric and gently brushing it. Leave it for an hour or overnight, then vacuum.
50. Boost your laundry detergent’s cleaning power by sprinkling a handful on dirty clothes.
51. Combine it with water to make a paste for polishing stainless steel and chrome.
52. Remove scratches and crayon marks from vinyl floors and walls.
53. Clean your shoes with it.
54. Clean garbage cans with it.
55. Use it to wash diapers.
56. Clean the fridge with it.
57. Soak brushes and combs in a baking soda solution.
58. Mix it with water to wash food and drink containers.
59. Put three tablespoons of baking soda to a quart of warm water, then use the mixture to wash marble-topped furniture.
60. Absorb it with a damp sponge, then clean Formica countertops with the sponge.
61. Use it to get rid of stale odors from cooling containers and thermos bottles.
62. Run your coffee maker with a baking soda solution, then rinse.
63. Combine with hot water to clean baby bottles.
64. Sprinkle it on barbecue grills, then rinse it off.
65. Scatter it on your greasy garage floor, scrub the floor, and rinse.
66. Remove burned-on food from a pan by soaking it in a baking soda solution for 10 minutes before washing.
67. Clean your ashtrays with a baking soda solution.
68. Keep your drains clean by putting four tablespoons of baking soda in them each week. Flush it down with hot water.
69. Clean your shower curtains by soaking them in baking soda and water.
70. Put it on a small brush to rub canvas handbags clean.
71. Use it to remove melted plastic bread wrapper from a toaster. Sprinkle baking soda on a damp rug, then use the rug to clean the toaster.
72. Use it to clean your retainers and dentures.
73. Make a thick paste of baking soda and water, and used it to scrub enameled cast iron and stainless steel.
74. Mix four tablespoons of baking soda with a quart of warm water, and use it to clean the inside part of an oven.
75. Use it to unclog gas stoves.
The most amazing thing about baking soda is that it’s very cheap. You can do all these things for a very small cost. Baking soda is truly a miracle product, whether it’s used for baking or not.
I’ve used baking soda to gently remove cradle cap from baby’s head.
75 extraordinary uses for baking soda – It can help remove the sting from sunburns and insect bites! 60 uses of baking soda – I had no idea it could help put out small kitchen fires. Creative uses for vinegar and baking soda – These two super cleaners are even better when they work together! [...]
Mix a little baking soda with water, then apply the mixture to a corroded auto battery terminal - the corrosion will be dissolved and can then be washed away.
I add a little bit of baking soda to shampoo to rid hair and scalp of styling products build up. It also works very well to neutralize oily hair and scalp.
I am so thankful for all the uses for Baking Soda. It is not harmful to breathe like so many of the cleaners. It truly is one of the Worlds Best Kept Secrets. I told my daughters that I am going ‘Green”. It is really unbelievable how it cleans so well. And makes everything smell so fresh and clean. I am trying to get them to join me in going”Green”.
I use it on my face and its amazing. I just mix baking soda and water into a paste like mixture and rub it all over my face. Then i let it set for about 5-7 minutes. Then i take a wash cloth and soak it with warm water and wash the baking soda mixture off my face. I don’t need to use any acne products. The baking soda is gentle yet it caused the bumps on my face to turn into white heads and when i washed my face off with water they all popped on their own. It was amazing. The only downside is, it dries your skin so you have to moisturize immediately after you dry your face. I use dry skin lotion. My face is soft, clean and clear!
I did not know about baking soda for repelling ants & roaches. I have a tremendous ant problem and am sure going to try this immediately. Thanks
I just read in “Cooks Illustrated” that baking soda (for baking) should be replaced every 6 months. Sooooo, I am happy to find all these uses for the baking soda that I remove from the pantry. I will probably cycle it to the fridge and freezer and cycle those to the cleaning supplies or the drains.
I use the baking soda to clean my jewerly. It is great.
Use baking soda to soak my beans before boiling - it removes the gas.
Drinking a glass of water mixed with a teaspoon of baking soda can be used to clean colon and removes internal bad odors.
ONE NOT LISTED BURNT POTS DON’T WANT TO SCRUB PUT SODA WITH ENOUGH WATER TO COVER BOTTOM OF POT+ AN INCH BRING TO A BOIL FOR A WHILE AND IT HAS CLEANED IT’S SELF
1 Tbsp mixed w/about 32 oz. water is good for aleviating pain from a urinary tract infection. Neutralizes the acid of the urine and helps prevent kidney infections! I swear by it!
Baking Soda- Not just for deodorizing your fridge- It will fight nasty odors all over the kitchen and bathroom. Baking soda can remove most stains from your laundry and you can make volcanoes with vinegar to clean out clogged drains! If that’s not enough to get you hooked, check out these 75 Extraordinary Uses For Baking Soda.
Go shampoo-free and use baking soda as a shampoo. I mix 1-2 Tbsp to one cup warm water and spray it onto dry hair while in the shower, wait about a minute and rinse with cool water and hello salon style!!!! Great hair, no oil, no sls buildup, and can we say cheap!
Works great in a recipe for iced tea as well…keeps the tea clear and not bitter! Just a pinch with which ever recipe you like!
I just started using Baking Soda to brush my teeth with….. after a deep cleaning given by my Dentist because I was diagnosed having gingivitis. I’m hoping that with a long term use of Baking soda along with a few drops of peroxide I can help get rid of the gingivitis, keep my teeth clean and white.
My sister told me that her husband has used it for many years and his teeth are not only very white but he never has cavities or gets gingivitis.
White Vinegar and baking soda as cleaning products - Green Living - City-Data Forum on July 6th, 2009
Tips - 1001 Uses for white distilled vinegar. 1001 Uses for Vinegar 75 Extraordinary Uses for Baking Soda | Life Hackery 61 Uses for Baking Soda Vinegar and Baking Soda Cleaning Recipes Cleaning recipes
If your pet or yourself has been sprayed by a skunk bathe in tub with baking soda. Totally takes the smell out.
Use on rugs instead of Carpet Fresh, etc…….Baking Soda is less than $1. See the link for more uses.
making your own laundry detergent = easy & cheap! « my finance matters on July 21st, 2009
If you’re participating in a very physical activity, you can take a combination of baking soda and water. I think the formula is 1 tablespoon per 100 lbs of body weight.. don’t quote me exactly. In any case, it will help neutralize the lactic acid your body produces. The negative part is that it will cause diaherria. It’s advised to take the mixture 2 hours or more in advance.
For the past 3 weeks, I’ve been using a baking soda/water mix and an apple cider vinegar rinse every other day in place of my shampoo regiment. As a result, my hair is healthier and has more volume. I have curly hair, and I’ve never seen my hair curl as beautifully as it does when I wash with baking soda. The fact that it lacks all of the harmful chemials of conventional shampoo is a definite plus. It makes me a happy person
I open a box of baking soda and put it in my refridgerator. After a month I then take the box out and dump it in the bottom of the kitchen garbage pail prior to putting in the garbage liner. A month later I dump the contents into the garbage disposal in my sink. I often buy the baking soda in bulk quantities so that I can recyle the smaller boxes or place the baking soda in bowls, etc. instead of purchasing boxes each time I plan to change them.
Great for cleaning the tub/shower/toilet
I mix baking soda and lemon juice and keep it in a jar in my bathroom for washing my face. It keeps my face clean and removes blackheads. It is also a very good under arm wash. It is an excellent body scrub and leaves your skin very soft and smooth.
Well, my daughter at the age of 9 is going through a tough time of puberty! The Best thing I can offer is to put bs in the tub(about a half cup) and HELLO! She comes out smelling like the little girl she should smell like-instead of the whole football team coming in after a long workout!!! Her under arms smell so good! And her hair is so pretty and shiny. Best thing I ever thought long and hard about! Even thought of the vinegar and went the baking soda way, yeah me!
It can be used to heal gum boils and other soars in the mouth
Depending on what you are using it for, realize that the routine box you would buy in the grocery store contains aluminum. You may purchase aluminum free brands at most health food stores. Aluminum has been thought by some to contribute to memory lose when too much is ingested over the course of years…Better safe than sorry
We drink reverse osmosis water to get away from tap and the chlorine / fluoride that goes along with tap. RO water is acidic though running around PH 6.0 - we add 1/8 tsp (teaspoon) per quart of RO to bring it to PH 7.0 or so. You can buy PH strips online or in a health food store. Fiji water is the best but who can afford that stuff to drink on a regular basis. TIP: Add the soda to the water the night before to your water you want for the next day. Gives the soda time to dissolve completely …. no soda taste what so ever
Cloth diapering is pretty easy now days even at night thanks to baking soda. If you sprinkle a little on the overnight cloth diaper, there is no ammonia smell in the morning!!!! Most mamas don’t put it against baby’s skin, but under a doubler. However, some mamas just sprinkle it on top and say the baby’s skin is nice and soft in the morning, versus red and chapped from ammonia build-up during the 12 hour sleep stretch.
