Thursday

12 non-baking ways to use baking soda




Baking soda is surely a staple for baking cookies, cakes and other items. However, this simple and inexpensive product has countless other uses. Take a look at a dozen top practical uses for baking soda – that don’t involve baking at all.

  1. Clean commuter cups. Remove residue and odors from a thermal lidded coffee or beverage cup by adding two teaspoons of baking soda to a cup of warm water. Seal the cup tightly, and shake it well. Rinse the cup thoroughly before reusing.

  1. Purify a percolator. Coffee connoisseurs caution against washing coffeemakers with soap and water. However, you can certainly freshen a coffeemaker by running a full cycle with baking soda instead of coffee grounds.

  1. Clean a couple of combs. Hairbrushes, combs, hair clips, barrettes and other (non-electric) hair accessories need a periodic freshening to remove oils, hair care products and potential germs. Fill the bathroom sink with warm water, and add two tablespoons of baking soda. Submerge hair care items for several minutes before rinsing and drying them thoroughly.

  1. Descale a dishwasher. Hard-water stains may build up inside an automatic dishwasher, but you can remove these by running an entire cycle without dishes, using baking soda instead of dishwashing detergent.

  1. Freshen fruits and vegetables. Washing fresh produce is simple with baking soda. Add a tablespoon of baking soda to a gallon of clean water to soak apples, lettuce, pears, zucchini or other fresh produce before rinsing and serving.

  1. Banish baked-on food remnants. Clean cooking residues without scrubbing. Use baking soda and water to make a paste inside a grimy pan. Allow it to sit for several hours before sponging gently and rinsing.

  1. Stomp out shoe stench. Sprinkle baking soda directly into stinky sneakers or other shoes to absorb nasty foot odors.

  1. Scour oil spills. Greasy garage floor oil spills can be erased with baking soda. Dust the trouble spots with baking soda. Let the stain stand for an hour or so, giving the baking soda a chance to absorb the oil. Use a damp cleaning rag to scrub the spot, and discard the rag when finished.

  1. Decimate diaper rash. Pour a cupful of baking soda into a warm bath to relieve even the worst cases of diaper rash. .

  1. Banish freezer burn. After defrosting a freezer, baking soda wipes out sticky residues easily. Simply sprinkle a bit of baking soda on a warm, damp cloth to clean out an empty freezer.

  1. Foil a fire. Sprinkle baking soda on a fire in the garage, the kitchen or even the family room. Baking soda does not burn, and it can quickly put out a small blaze. Once the fire has been extinguished, the baking soda will vacuum up easily.

  1. Put the kibosh on kitty litter stink. Toss a small boxful of baking soda into a clean cat litter pan before adding the kitty litter. The baking soda will absorb both fluid and odors until the next pan change.


Baking soda is remarkably useful in the home. Folks also use it to whiten teeth, scrub out sink stains, ease sunburn pain, relieve bug bites, soothe sore feet, polish silver, launder baby clothes, and perform dozens of other practical tasks.


    NOTE:  This blogger has no affiliation with any product/s or companies mentioned in this post and received no remuneration from the manufacturer/s or product promoter/s for this post.


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