Baking soda, or more formally, “bicarbonate of soda” is most commonly used in the kitchen as a baking ingredient, but did you know that this product is not just for cooking? Baking Soda is often used in household products and it actually has many health benefits. Keep reading for 25+ tricks for using baking soda that you never knew about before!
25+ Baking Soda Hacks You Need To Try
Clean Dirty Fruit And Vegetables
Before eating fruits and vegetables you always need to wash them, but there’s a much better way to do this than to simply rinse them off with water. You can either let your produce sit for a few minutes in a bowl with a mixture of 1 teaspoon of baking soda per 2 cups of water, or you can scrub the fruit with a soaked washcloth.
Clean Dirty Fruit And Vegetables
Clean Rugs And Carpets
If you have stains or odors in your carpet, sprinkle a good amount of baking soda on the problem areas and pour hot water over it. Let this water and baking soda mixture sit on the stain overnight, then vacuum it up in the morning. If it’s a tough stain and doesn’t come out on the first try, reapply the mixture until it does come out.
Clean Rugs And Carpets
Mouthwash
Do you find yourself often having bad breath but you’re not quite sure how to manage it? Mouthwash can reach the areas of your mouth where your toothbrush may be missing. Baking soda is an easy and budget-sensitive ingredient that can be used for antibacterial purposes. The steps are very simple; just mix together half a teaspoon of baking soda and warm water.
Mouthwash
Deodorant
If you are someone who prefers not to use deodorant that contains a lot of chemicals, one with baking soda may be a great option for you. Mix a bit of baking soda and water under your arms until you’re smelling fresh as a daisy.
Deodorant
Air Freshener
Usually, the air fresheners you can buy at a store simply mask a bad odor instead of actually eliminating it. On top of this, there is a large amount of chemicals in these air fresheners. Baking soda is not only a natural ingredient, but it will actually get down to the root of the odor and get rid of it.
Air Freshener
Whiter And Brighter Clothing
By adding one cup of baking soda to your laundry in addition to your regular soap, you will notice that your clothes will come out looking cleaner and brighter. The reason for this is that baking soda is an alkali, which means that it is a soluble salt that removes stains.
Whiter And Brighter Clothing
Bathroom Cleaner
There is nothing more frustrating than trying to get down to the details of your bathroom and finding stains that just won’t come out. There are many products on the market, but none will be as effective and cost-efficient as baking soda. It will serve not only as a whitener, but also a disinfectant fo these surfaces. You can use it on any surface in your bathroom, from tile floors, to toilets, to bathtubs! All you have to do is rub your mixture throughout the area and wipe it away after 20 minutes.
Bathroom Cleaner
Polishing Silverware
The worst part about silverware is that over time it stops looking as shiny as it once did. Have no fear, though, because baking soda can fix that problem! Baking soda is able to react with a chemical in the silver to eliminate the tarnish on your utensils. Just pour a hot water and baking soda mixture over the silverware and watch your silver look like new again right before your eyes.
Polishing Silverware
Spa Treatment
Are your feet feeling the effects of your super long and difficult week at work? Do you want a pedicure but you don’t want to spend the money on one? You can give yourself a pedicure in your bathtub by mixing hot water with one ounce of baking soda. Not only do you not have to leave the comfort of your own home, but you’re also saving some money.
Spa Treatment
Disinfect Toothbrush
Most people think about cleaning their teeth with their toothbrush, but not so much about cleaning the toothbrush itself. With the cold and flu season rapidly approaching, sanitation is something extremely important to keep in mind. For something that goes into your mouth each day, you definitely want it to be clean. When combined with a water and vinegar mixture, baking soda can sanitize your toothbrush in just 30 minutes.
Disinfect Toothbrush
Treating Bug Bites
Though it’s not safe to apply baking soda to your skin every day, it can be quite useful in soothing the redness, itching, and stinging that you experience after getting a bug bite. Most expensive creams that you can buy at the store contain baking soda in them, so why spend all that money when you can just make a paste of baking soda and water at home?
Treating Bug Bites
Burnt Pot
When you’re at your wits end with a completely burnt pot and you think there are no other ideas to get the stuck-on food off, try baking soda. Just boil a water and baking soda mixture together and pour it over the burnt areas of the pan. It’ll look good as new.
Burnt Pot
Cleaning Shoes
Are you super embarrassed about the fact that your running shoes smell bad, but you truly have no idea what to do about it? Pour two tablespoons of baking soda onto a cloth and tie it up. Leave the cloth in your shoes while you aren’t wearing them, and your problem will go away in no time.
Cleaning Shoes
Heartburn
Heartburn, also known as acid reflux, can be extremely uncomfortable. Heartburn caused by many kinds of things, such as overeating, stress, consuming a lot of spicy foods, and eating certain kinds of fruits. The good news is we have a trick to help you combat the pain! As baking soda is an acid stabilizer, you just need to drink a glass of water with one teaspoon of baking soda, and you should feel better shortly.
Heartburn
Cancer Treatments
Chemotherapy is commonly used for cancer treatments, but what if there could be something that might help these chemotherapy treatments work even better? Good news- baking soda can do the trick. Baking soda has the ability to make the environment for a tumor less acidic, which helps strengthen the chemotherapy treatments.
Cancer Treatments
Fluffy Omelet
If you are not someone who loves to eat eggs, you may not find them to be a great way to hold your energy for the day. Adding half of a teaspoon for every three eggs that you are cooking will produce bubbles of carbon dioxide and will make the omelet taste lighter and fluffier. Your eggs will taste better, too!
Fluffy Omelet
Cleaning Drains
Regardless of what room in your house you’re dealing with, clogged drains can ruin your day. All you need to fix this problem is vinegar, baking soda, and boiling water. Within 10 minutes your drain will be cleared out and working like new.
Cleaning Drains
Garbage Disposal Odors
When something with a horrible lingering smell gets tossed into the garbage disposal, baking soda will be there to save the day. After running hot water down the drain for one minute, pour a quarter cup of baking soda into the drain and turn the disposal on for just a few seconds. Wait 10 minutes and add one cup of vinegar. You should notice bubbles starting to develop, which means you can rinse it again with hot water. Your drain will smell like normal again.
Garbage Disposals
Whiten Your Teeth
We all love coffee or tea throughout the day, but drinking these things too often will cause them to stain your teeth. If you don’t want to give up these drinks but you also aren’t interested in spending your whole paycheck on professional teeth whitening, then we have the best solution for you! Put a quarter teaspoon on your toothbrush mixed with water and scrub away.
Whiten Your Teeth
Sore Throat
Do you get sore throats or even worse, strep throat, often in the winter months? After taking too many antibiotics they can actually start to harm your body, which is even worse than not taking them at all! Try gargling a mixture of warm water and baking soda instead of taking medications whenever possible.
Sore Throat
Whiten Yellow Nails
Some of us have a bad habit of leaving our nail polish on for far too long, sometimes even until our nails turn yellow. Gross! You can get rid of these stains with ease by mixing together baking soda and a small amount of peroxide. Scrub the mixture on your nails and soon enough they’ll look good as new.
Yellow White Nails
Lighten Dark Underarms
There’s nothing worse than wanting to wear your favorite tank top and having dark underarms holding you back from feeling comfortable. Well, we have a solution that is easier than you think. All you’ll need is baking soda, water, and a bowl to do this. Create the mixture in the bowl and massage the area with it for one minute. Let it sit for up to 30 minutes and repeat 2-3 times per week for optimum results.
Lighten Dark Underarms
Exercise Performace
Baking soda can help athletes perform at their peak for a longer period of time, especially during high-intensity workouts. It works by stalling the fatigue you may experience as your workout intensity increases. That’s pretty cool!
Exercise Performance
Chronic Kidney Disease
Chronic kidney disease causes more and more severe consequences on your kidneys over time. Kidneys remove excess water and blood from our bodies, so it is very important to keep them healthy and functioning properly. If you have this disease, try consuming baking soda; it can be ingested via a supplement and it helps to slow the disease’s progression.
Chronic Kidney Disease
Kill Weeds
There is nothing worse than finding a whole bunch of weeds all over your yard! Harsh chemicals can be expensive and tricky to use if you aren’t such a skilled gardener. Sprinkle baking soda on the weeds and after a few days you should notice a big improvement.
Kill Weeds
Clean The Microwave
Take a clean sponge and sprinkle it with baking soda and warm water. Scrub both the inside and outside of your microwave with it, and wipe it off with a damp cloth. You should see your microwave sparkling and looking as good as new.
Clean The Microwave
Melt Ice On Driveway
If you live somewhere that experiences brutal and icy winters, you know the side effects of waking up with an ice-covered walkway or driveway. If this ice storm was unexpected or you just didn’t realize you are out of road salt, try sprinkling baking soda all over the ice. It is not as strong as road salt, but it will still do what you need it to do.
Melt Ice On Driveway
Cure Dandruff
If you are fresh out of ideas for how you can cure your dandruff, we may have a new idea for you to consider. Try replacing your shampoo with a handful of baking soda in the shower for a few weeks. You should notice a huge improvement in the way your scalp looks.
Cure Dandruff
Clean Your Hairbrush
It’s pretty common for your hairbrush to start to look old and worn after using it for some time. To get it looking like new again, soak it in a mixture of one teaspoon of baking soda and a small amount of warm water. Let it sit for a few minutes and rinse it off. Make sure it’s completely dried before you use it again.
Clean Your Hairbrush
Make Your Grill Sparkle
A barbecue is the staple of an incredible summer night with friends or family. If you live somewhere with weather that keeps you from grilling during winter months, your grill may need a little TLC before you used it again. Just psome baking soda on a damp brush, scrub the grate, then rinse it off.
Make Your Grill Sparkle
Make Your Floors Shine
If you have wood or tile floors, you understand that after a while the floor loses its shine, and it can cost an arm and a leg to get it back to its tip-top shape. If you want to fix your dull floors at home, dissolve 100 grams of baking soda in a bucket of warm water. Mop your floors with this mixture and rinse it off after. You will notice your floors sparkling!
Make Your Floors Shine
Appliances Like New
After you’ve used appliances like a dishwasher or coffeemaker for quite some time, they start to smell odd or appear not-so-clean. To make them look good as new again, just run an empty cycle with baking soda inside.
Appliances Like New
Litter Box
If you are a cat owner, you may know the annoying side effects that your furry friend leaves behind for you to see. If you want to keep your cat’s odors as minimal as possible, sprinkle some baking soda into the litter box. You’ll notice much less of your cat’s smells now.
Litter Box
Exfoliate
If you’re like most of the rest of the world and you love to exfoliate your skin, try a new trick by creating a paste that contains three parts baking soda and one part water. Rub in gently in a circular motion, then rinse off with warm water and pat your face dry.
Exfoliate
Hair Treatment
Salon hair treatments can be super pricey and take forever to complete. If you try a hair treatment at home, it’ll take less time any money. Just mix some baking soda into your conditioner and put it in your hair like you normally would. This will make your hair healthier and stronger to avoid split ends.
Hair Treatment
Trash Bin Miracle
Is there anything more annoying than opening your garbage can and smelling one of the worst smells you’ve ever experienced coming from inside? You can eliminate these terrible scents by spreading out some baking soda at the bottom of your garbage can or the bag inside. You will never have to smell this again!
Trash Bin Miracle
Rain Repellent
It’s already pretty dangerous to drive during a rain storm, but if you’re doing so with bad windshield wipers, you may be in for a disaster. If you take a damp cloth and sprinkle baking soda on it and wipe your windshield down, you will notice next time you’re in a rain storm that more water is repelling off!
Rain Repellent
Chicken Pox Cure
If you have never experienced what it is like to have the chicken pox, you’re lucky. If you had the chicken pox in the past, you’ll know that they are nothing to laugh about. By mixing half of a tablespoon in with a glass of water, you can help ease the urge to itch yourself. Soak a soft washcloth into the mixture and lay it on the itchy areas of your body until it’s dried up.
Chicken Pox Cure
Clean Food Containers
With all of the different kinds of foods people put into their plastic containers, it makes complete sense why they aren’t looking super clean anymore. Between pasta sauces, grease, and oils, things are getting stuck onto the containers each time you use them. Sprinkle some baking soda onto a clean sponge and scrub away at them to make them look fresh.
Clean Food Containers
Clean Your Sponges
Cleaning your dirty dishes with an equally dirty sponge seems like a waste of your time, and it’s certainly not getting your dishes as clean as you think. If your sponges aren’t looking so good, let them soak in a warm water and baking soda mixture overnight and rinse them off the next morning.
Clean Your Sponges
Pet Bed Odors
Most people will agree that their pet is their best bud, but at the same time, your best bud leaving stains and odors around your house can get aggrivating. If your pet’s bed is starting to smell like it belongs outside, sprinkle it with some baking soda, let it sit for 15 minutes, then vacuum it.
Pet Bed Odors
Canker Sores
Canker sores are not an uncommon annoyance, but they sure are a painful one. How can you get rid of canker sores quickly while on a budget? The best solution is to rinse your mouth with a mouthwash that contains baking soda twice a day for each day until the canker sore is gone. It’s that simple!
Canker Sores
Calluses
Calluses don’t pose a threat on your actual halth and wellbeing, but they can still cause a big amount of discomfort while you’re applying pressure on your feet. A study recently proved that soaking your feet in a baking soda bath can help soften your skin, eliminate scabbing, and improve overall callus problems.
Calluses
Oil Or Grease Fire
There’s a reason why many fire extinguishers contain baking soda! Baking soda reacts with the heat that comes with a fire in order to to produce carbon dioxide, which helps to extinguish the fire. What does this mean? Baking soda can be very useful if you accidentally create a small grease fire. We don’t suggest trying this on a large fire, though. If you’re not sure, call for help!
Oil Or Grease Fire
Diaper Rash
Even though diaper rash can be unavoidable and happens to most babies at one point or another, that doesn’t make it easier for the parents to see their babies in pain. Buying a cream from the drug store can be pricey and sometimes may not work so well; try sprinkling baking soda into your baby’s bathtub. After soaking in the water for a while your baby should feel much better.
Diaper Rash
Clean Walls
Though as a parent you always want to encourage your kids to explore their imagination and artistic side, that generally doesn’t mean drawing on the walls. If your young artist chooses to move their crayon art from paper to wallpaper, don’t stress, we have a solution. Take a damp cloth and sprinkle some baking soda onto it. After rubbing it in for a bit, wipe the area off with a dry cloth. Your wall should look sparkling clean!
Clean Walls
Cloth Diapers
For those who choose to use cloth diapers instead of disposables on their baby, you likely know how difficult it is to keep up with the laundry side of it. To make sure your diapers are sanitized properly for your baby to keep using, dissolve 1/2 cup of baking soda into 2 quarts of warm water and soak the diapers for a while before tossing them into the washing machine.
Cloth Diapers
Coat Closet Cleanliness
Opening up your coat closet for the first time since last winter can be a bit disappointing, not only because you realize it’s about to be winter again, but because after sitting in a closet for many months your jackets may not smell so great. To combat these smells, put an open box of baking soda on your closet shelf and let it work its odor-absorbing magic.
Coat Closet Cleanliness
Keep Flowers Fresh
There is so much love and thought that goes into buying someone in your life a bouquet of flowers, but it is always disappointing when they die after only a few days in your vase. If you want to keep them fresh for a much longer time, toss a teaspoon of baking soda into the water the flowers are sitting in.
Keep Flowers Fresh
Shower Curtain
Even though a shower curtain won’t cost you a month’s rent to replace, you don’t need to go out and buy a new one each time yours gets dirty. Oftentimes, shower curtains are made of PVC, which contains chemicals that are toxic for your health. It may seem difficult, but cleaning your shower curtain does not have to be a stressful chore. Mix a bit of laundry detergent, one cup of baking soda, a few light-colored towels, and 10 drops of tea tree oil (to kill mold). Put everything in the washing machine on a warm laundry cycle and everything should come out much cleaner.
Shower Curtain
Oil Spills
Regardless of if you find an oil stain on your carpet, shirt, or anywhere else, you should use baking soda to get rid of it. Baking soda does an excellent job at lifting oil from any cloth surface. Scrape off any excess grease, sprinkle the baking soda, and let it sit for 10-15 minutes. All you have to do next is vacuum up the remaining baking soda and toss the affected garments into the laundry if you are able to.
Oil Spills
Cloth Furniture
As your cloth furniture ages and gets more natural wear and tear to it, you may experience some unnatural odors coming off ot it. To eliminate these smells and keep your furniture smelling fresh, sprinkle baking soda on the fabric and let it sit overnight. The next day, vacuum it up and you’re good to go.
Cloth Furniture
Vacuum Cleaners
Baking soda isn’t just good for cleaning cloth; it can also clean appliances like your vacuum cleaner. Wipe down parts of the vacuum like the hose, body, and filter with a cloth soaked in a mixture of baking soda and water. Don’t forget to wipe this mixture off when you’re done.
Vacuum Cleaners
Diamond Rings
When you wear diamond jewelty every day, it will eventually start to show some wear due to the acidity and oils your body gives off. Instead of running to the jewelry store to pay a big price to clean your items, try soaking your diamonds in this at-home mixture of hot water and two teaspoons of baking soda.
Diamond Rings
Dry Shampoo
Most people don’t realize this, but baking soda is actually one of the main ingredients in most dry shampoos. Because of this, it’s super easy to make your own version of dry shampoo! Sprinkle baking soda onto your hairbrush and comb through your hair. Let it sit in your hair for up to five minutes and then massage it through your scalp. The baking soda won’t just remove unwanted oil from your hair, but it will also give your hair a bit more volume.
Dry Shampoo
Fabric Softener
Most fabric softeners are filled to the brim with chemicals that actually aren’t so good to put on your body. Luckily, by adding half a cup of baking soda to your load of laundry it can actually take the place of harmful fabric softeners. It’s super easy!
Fabric Softener
Clean Fridge
To cut out unwanted odors from your refrigerator with ease, leave an open container of baking soda on one of your shelves. All you have to do is stir it up every once in a while to make sure it’s remaining as effective as possible, and replace the batch every few weeks or so. You can also wipe a soaked cloth with baking soda on the shelves for an extra deep clean.
Clean Fridge
Remove Mold And Mildew
If you’re finding that you just can’t get rid of stubborn mold and mildew around your bathroom, you’ll be pleased to hear that we have a solution for you. Sprinkle a good amount of baking soda over the affected areas and scrub at it with a clean, dampened sponge.
Remove Mold And Mildew
Tile Grout
You often don’t even realize just how dirty your tile grout is until you clean it, but once you notice the difference, you’ll never want it to stay dirty again! To keep your grout shiny clean, Mix up a paste that is 50 percent water and 50 percent baking soda. Spread the mixture along the grout lines and let it sit for 10 minutes. After that, use a toothbrush to scrub the mixture into the grout before wiping it away with a towel.
Tile Grout
Clean Children’s Toys
Especially when being dragged around by small kids, stuffed animals tend to get quite dirty, quite quickly. To keep your fluffy friends looking and smelling fresh, put them in a large plastic bag with 100 grams of baking soda inside. Seal the bag fully and then shake the bag thoroughly, making sure to get every part of the stuffed animal as best as you can. Once you remove the toys from the bag, vacuum them gently and hand them back to your kids!
Clean Children’s Toys
Clean A Mattress
As you sleep on your mattress every night, it’s no surprise that it can get a bit germy after a while. To freshen this up, sprinkle baking soda over it and let sit for as long as overnight. After it’s done sitting, vacuum it up completely. The baking soda will absorb any smells or stains and leave your mattress fresh.
Clean A Mattress
Patio Furniture
If you’re starting to move your patio furniture back outside after it’s been sitting in your garage all winter, wipe it down with a water and baking soda mixture and a clean cloth. If the furniture smells a bit, sprinkle baking soda on it and let it sit for a while before gently vacuuming it off.
Patio Furniture
Washing Machine
If your clothes are coming out of the washing machine and not smelling as fresh as they should, it maybe time to clean the machine. Especially if you have a front-load washer, you may need to clean it more often than you think. To get your washer clean with minimal effort or money, run an empty load on the hottest setting, and add baking soda and vinegar to get rid of any unwanted smells or mold.
Washing Machine
Treat Athlete’s Foot
A recent study showed that baking soda can help reduce the effects of athletes foot; in fact, it helped stop fungal growth in its tracks in many different skin and nail infections. To create the paste that you should apply on your feet or between your toes, just add one tablespoon to a bit of lukewarm water. Rub the paste on your infection before rinsing and drying completely. To finish, apply baby powder to keep your feet dry and fresh.
Treat Athlete’s Foot