40 Unique Uses for Baking Soda Around the Home

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Best Uses for Baking Soda Around Your Home

Everyone knows that baking soda is great for brushing teeth, deodorizing and even cleaning, but did you know it has many other uses as well?  It is also the perfect alternative to many commercial health, beauty and cleaning products, not only because it is ‘green’, but also because it is inexpensive!

So, while you are helping protect the environment, you will be protecting your wallet as well. From Spring cleaning to keeping fresh cut flowers pretty longer, check out these 40 unique and unusual uses for baking soda around the home.

*Nothing in this article is meant to replace the advice of a doctor.

Baking Soda Uses for Beauty and Personal Care

1. Use as a natural alternative to deodorant, apply with a powder puff.
2. Use as a face and body scrub by making a paste from three parts baking soda combined with 1 part water.  This is gentle enough to use daily.
3. Use it to relieve bee stings by making a poultice out of it and water and applying it to the site. Also use to relieve other bug bites and poison ivy.
4. Add a teaspoon to a vaporizer to unclog a stuffy nose.
5. Use it to relieve sunburns by adding ½ cup to lukewarm bathwater, then soaking in the tub. When you finish, don’t use a towel to dry, instead let your skin air dry for even more relief.
6. To safely remove a splinter, add a tablespoon of it to a small glass of water, then soak the affected area twice a day.  Most splinters will come out on their own after using this treatment.
7. For dull and dingy hair from product build-up mix in a teaspoon of it in with your shampoo the next time you wash your hair. It will remove any build up.  Also can add it to your conditioner and lather it on hair to keep it healthy and resistant to split ends.

Baking Soda Uses Around the Home

1. 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.  Also clean combs and brushes once a month by soaking them in a small amount of warm water and 1 teaspoon of baking soda. If needed, scrub them with a soft brush, then rinse with clean water and let air dry.  This will remove oils.
2. Sprinkle it in your boots, slippers, sandals to repel bad odors, or you can fill a pair of old socks with it, tie a knot in the top of each sock and place it in the shoes overnight.
3. Soak your dish rags in baking soda and water to remove that dank and sour smell.
4. Mix with your favorite perfumed bath salts in a pretty sachet and use it to freshen the air.
5. Put it under sinks and along basement windows to repel cockroaches and ants.

Baking Soda Uses in Gardening

1. Sweeten your tomatoes by sprinkling it on the soil around your tomato plants.
2. Scatter it around flowerbeds to prevent rabbits from eating your veggies.
3. Use it to keep cut flowers fresh in the vase longer.
4. Test the acidity of soil by mixing 1/4 cup of baking soda with 2 cups of water.  Stir in a cup of the soil you want to test, if the mixture foams up it is acidic!

Baking Soda Uses for Pets

1. Sprinkle it onto your cat’s litter box to absorb the bad odor.  Cover the bottom of an empty, clean litter box with about an inch of baking soda, then add the litter on top as usual. 
2. Sprinkle it on your pet’s comb or brush to deodorize their fur and skin.
3. Use a small amount to brush your pets teeth.
4. Sprinkle a small amount around your pet’s bowls to keep pests away.

Baking Soda Uses for Cooking

1. Make fluffier omelets by adding half a teaspoon of baking soda for every three eggs used.
2. Reduce the acid content of your tomato-based recipes such as homemade salsa by sprinkling them with a pinch of baking soda.
3. Soak dried beans in a baking soda solution to make them more digestible.
4. Wash fruits and vegetables with it by mixing 1/4 cup of baking soda in a sink full of water.  Soak and wash the produce in it, then rinse with clean water.
5. Make your own baking powder by stirring and sifting together 2 parts of Cream of Tartar to 1 part baking soda and 1 part cornstarch.

Baking Soda Uses for Cleaning

1. Add a cup to the toilet, leave it for an hour, and then flush. It will clean the toilet and absorb the odor.
2. Dry clean carpets and upholstered furniture by sprinkling it over the fabric and gently brushing it. Leave it for an hour or overnight, then vacuum.
3. Put three tablespoons of baking soda to a quart of warm water, then use the mixture to wash marble-topped furniture. Let stand awhile, then rinse.
4. To remove stubborn stains from marble, Formica or plastic surfaces, scour with a paste of baking soda and water.
5. Sprinkle it on barbeque grills, let it sit for a while then rinse it off.
6. Clean your shower curtains by soaking them in baking soda and water.
7. Put it on a small brush to rub canvas handbags clean.
8. Soak pots and pans in hot water and baking soda for 15 minutes to easily wipe away baked-on food.  If you have a real tough pan, you can pour a thick layer of it directly onto the bottom of the pan, then sprinkle on just enough water so as to moisten the baking soda. Leave the pot overnight, then scrub it clean next day.

Baking Soda and Miscellaneous Uses

1. You can make play clay with it by mixing 1 1/4 cups water, 1 cup cornstarch and 2 cups of baking soda.
2. Make your own trash can or diaper pail deodorizing discs and say goodbye to the stink!
3. To repel rain from windshields put a glob on a damp wash cloth and wipe windows inside and out.
4. Use it to put out grease or electrical fires.
5. Remove corrosion from auto battery terminals by periodically cleaning them with a paste made from it and water. Wipe the paste and grunge off with a clean rag.
6. Fill holes in your walls from nails, screws, etc. by mixing it together with some white toothpaste and filling the holes in completely.  Allow it to dry completely.
7. Scatter it on icy sidewalks-it is much less corrosive than salt!