Best uses for baking soda

Bicarbonate of soda—commonly known as “baking soda”—is a wonderful household product used in baking, cleaning, and many more household activities.

For Health 

Add baking soda to your bath water to relieve sunburned or itchy skin. Make a paste of baking soda and water, and apply to a burn or an insect bite for relief. If you crave sweets, rinse your mouth with one-teaspoon baking soda dissolved in a glass of warm water. Don’t swallow the mixture; spit it out. Your craving should disappear instantly. To remove pesticides, dirt, and wax from fresh fruits and vegetables, wash them in a large bowl of cool water to which you’ve added two to three tablespoons of baking soda.

In the Kitchen

Clean your refrigerator with a solution of one-teaspoon baking soda to one quart of warm water. Pour a cup of baking soda into the opening of your clogged drain and then add a cup of hot vinegar. After a few minutes, flush the drain with a quart of boiling water. To remove stains from your coffee and tea cups, wipe them with a damp sponge dipped in baking soda paste.

Boil two inches of water in a pan with a burned bottom, turn off the heat, then add half a cup of baking soda. Let it sit overnight. In the morning it will be easy to clean. Sprinkle a teaspoon of baking soda on the bottom of your toaster oven to eliminate the burned smell from drippings and crumbs.

In the Bathroom

Soak toothbrushes in baking soda and warm water overnight to clean bristles. Keep your rubber gloves dry and smelling good by sprinkling baking soda inside them. They’ll slip on more easily too!

On Clothing

To remove perspiration stains, make a thick paste of baking soda and water. Rub paste into the stain, let it sit for an hour, and then launder as usual. Find out how to remove other common stains. Gasoline and oil odors can be removed by putting clothes in a trash bag with baking soda for a few days before washing them.

Miscellaneous Uses

Add a pinch of baking soda to boiled syrup to prevent it from crystallizing. Lay down a barrier of baking soda under sink-pipe openings and along basement windows to keep carpenter ants, silverfish, and roaches from invading. Roaches eat the baking soda, dehydrate, and die. A light baking soda paste on a damp cloth will remove bugs and tar from cars without damaging the paint. Let paste sit for a few minutes before wiping and rinsing clean.

Sprinkling baking soda on your front steps will provide traction and melt the ice. Unlike rock salt, kitty litter, or sand, it won’t damage outdoor or indoor surfaces or shoes. A paste of baking soda removes red sauce stains from plastic.