Baking soda is crazy cheap and super useful. See?
I no longer recommend putting baking soda on your skin; read this for more information.
1. Wash your face
Baking soda is just the right texture to be mildly exfoliating, and it’s status as a mild base does a great job of gently cleaning your face and scaring off acne.
2. Deodorize yourself
Learn how here.
3. Scrub your body
Just what is sounds like. Scrub-a-dub-dub away in the shower.
4. Wash your hair
If you’re trying to wean yourself off shampoo, you can use a mixture of baking soda (USA / Canada) and water to wash your hair with. It won’t work just like shampoo, but it will help.
5. Clean your mugs
Have an old mug or tea pot that’s lined with brown rings? Put a tablespoon or two of baking soda (USA / Canada) at the bottom of the stain-afflicted, pour in some boiling water, and let it soak for twenty or so minutes. After that the stains will just wipe right off.
6. Brush your teeth
A bit of baking soda (USA / Canada) on your toothbrush makes a nice, cheap toothpaste. It won’t taste like mint or foam up, but it will clean those pearly whites.
7. Sanitize sponges
Boil stinky sponges in a baking soda (USA / Canada) solution to make them smell better.
8. Freshen your shoes
Tap some baking soda (USA / Canada) around in your smelly shoes. Let it sit overnight, and vacuum it out the next day.
9. Bath bomb it
Learn how here.
10. De-gas your beans
Add a teaspoon to your beans as they’re boiling to help with the post-consumption gassiness.
11. De-stink your trashcan
Sprinkle some in the bottom of your garbage can when you change the bag to reduce odours.
12. Wash your microwave
Put a few spoonfuls of baking soda (USA / Canada) into a glass of water and microwave it for a minute or two. Then you’ll be able to wipe all the crap of your microwave walls easily.
13. Clean your dentures
Or any other oral appliance. Soak in a baking soda (USA / Canada) solution while you’re not wearing it.
14. Soften your skin
Add a cup to your bathwater with a few drops of essential oil for a nice, skin-softening spa treatment.
15. Scrub your pans
Sprinkle a thick layer of baking soda (USA / Canada) over any burnt remains, and sprinkle with water. Let sit for a few hours, or overnight, before scrubbing out.
What’s your favourite thing to do with baking soda (USA / Canada)?
Definitely using some of these tips to clean pots and pans after some hard core cooking attempts!
Baking soda has saved so many of my pans!
I put it in with my wash. Leaves my whites white, and neutralizes my husband’s work clothes.
I pour a little bit in the dishwasher, the glassware sparkles. Also, if you are making pasta red sauce, put a small amount into the sauce and it neutrilizes the acidic taste of tomatoes.
I may have to try that! I usually use 1/2 ts of sugar.
I sprinkle baking soda in my wet stainless steel sinks. I then take a clean, damp cloth & wipe clean. Makes them look sparkly & as good as new!
Works great for indigestion too!
my husband uses it almost daily for heartburn..works great ..My mom used it for heartburn when nothing else would work..
Agreed – I had heartburn REALLY BAD one night and I tried a t-spoon of baking soda in about 1/2 cup of warm water and the heartburn was gone in 15 mins. I was so surprised it worked so fast
Magic! And chemistry, I guess 😛
I love baking soda coupled with vinegar for drains, commodes, showers, and so much more!
I have just discovered that baking soda is good for so many things. I clean everything with it. Including me!!!!!
You mentioned it’s great in the bath for soft skin, AWESOME for diaper rashes. Let baby soak in the warm baking soda water before bed, slather with A&D original and you will see a HUGE difference by morning! Baking soda is a miracle worker!
I spray the shower with vinegar and then use a mixture if baking soda and borax to scrub it. The baking soda also makes it so easy to rinse, with no residue.
I add baking soda to coconut oil and a little peppermint essential oil and use as a toothpaste. I use baking soda to clean many things in my house. It’s a great, all natural cleaner and so inexpensive. I buy a giant bag at Costco and they prac give it away! 🙂
I use baking soda and a splash of vinegar on thglass door of my oven. A littlr scrub and all that brown stuff is gone.
I think I’ll try this on the weekend, my stove window is looking mighty scary these days!
Wow wonder if it would work on our wood stove window.
We take a damp wash cloth and dip it in the cold ashes and scrub all the gunk off. With a little elbow grease and ashes it looks like new again.
Jennifer. Thanks I will try that. I love seeing the fire burn as it keeps us warm. Just relaxing thanks
Try making a paste with baking soda and hydrogen peroxide—I’ve had incredible success with laundry stains, stained grout, and other kinds of stubborn messes!
Ok I will give it a try, I love the choices.
I’ve heard baking soda with a splash of lemon juice is wonderful as a teeth whitener. Thanks for the tips!
I’ve heard the same thing, but I’ve also read that dentists now consider baking soda to be too abrasive for regular use on teeth, so be careful!
I recently had a flea infestation with 4 senior cats who cannot tolerate insecticides (was told by vet that fleas have built up an immunity to most of the brands out there now anyway and they will not work)–so I used baking soda! Washed the cats in mild soap–Dawn Dish Soap (original blue) and when they dried I liberally sprinkled them with some baking soda I put in a salt shaker for convenience. !Be careful not to get it in their eyes (and they will shake!)! I combed it through their coat to get it down to their skin and kept combing and brushing them a few times a day–it kills the adult fleas and dissolves the eggs. I sprinkled the baking soda on every surface, couch, chairs, carpet–especially in the cracks and vacuumed up what I could but left what I couldn’t. In fact I sprinkled it on their blankets and cushions and left it there. In just a couple of weeks of being diligent with the baking soda and the combing and brushing and vacuuming I got rid of all the fleas and it did not make my old kitties sick! No new infestation because it killed the eggs too! It is amazing and costs just pennies compared to $50-60-100 for stuff that does not work and jeopardizes everyones’ health! (I have known cats to die from flea drops!)
Wow, amazing! Baking soda is truly wonderful stuff.
Thanks for the info on this. My cats won’t let me bathe them but I can use the baking soda. I am also gonna use on my maltesse. With his long hair, it is hard to keep fleas off because of my cats.
Also another baking soda tip—make a paste of baking soda with a bit of cream of tartar (OR use baking POWDER since that is what it is=baking soda and cream of tartar or another leavening agent…) and smear it liberally on dirty oven interior. Put oven on low temperature for ten minutes and then turn off and leave the paste in there over night. In the morning re-wet the paste and gently wipe away all the baked on yuck easily! It will clean your oven as well as any oven-cleaner you can buy and no fumes or chemicals!
Great tip, thanks RavynG!
A paste made with baking soda and water takes the sting out of bee stings.
Great summer tip, thanks Debbie!
Sprinkle baking sode in with your cat litter after cleaning and it freshens right up!
For a fresh garbage disposal, pour baking soda into the garbage disposal and let sit over night. In the morning, rinse and run the motor.
Put a pinch in your homemade iced tea. You will never drink tea any other way.
Interesting… but if your tea is that acidic, perhaps upgrading or shortening your brewing time might help? I tend to prefer my tea unsweetened, though, so maybe that’s just me!
it isnt acidic it makes the tea more smoother and a little thicker you should try it
Washing your hair with baking soda mixed in with a bit of shampoo will remove residue and build up from styling products on your hair.
After illness/surgery, when the sheets and all have that “sick smell”, I have used baking soda and hot water to wash the sheets…amazingly fresh smell. Sometimes, even without the “sick smell”, I like to wash the sheets this way.
And, last but not least…it’s a great ingredient, with vinegar, as part of the lava for a homemade volcano (science project) and basic chemistry lesson…lol.
Great tips, Sarah! I also love to rinse my hair with ACV (no baking soda, though—head volcano!). I find it helps smooth out and soften my hair. I’ve also used baking soda to quasi dry clean delicate garments; mix some with a drop or two of essential oil, sprinkle on the armpits of the garment, let sit overnight, and shake out/brush off in the morning!
I love bs !! ok so absolutely anything you use that foams(dish soap. shampoo, body wash, laundry detergent etc) can last 2x’s longer..just sprinkle a little bs in with half the amount of the liquid and mix it up a little before each use.
Also, did you know that those expensive microdermabrasion treatments? They use BAKING SODA !! My friend is a medical esthetician and he got me hooked on using bs mixed with a small amount of organic cleanser ( I use ALBA BOTANICALS) paste should be a little on the drier side, use your finger tips to gently massage your face (careful around the eyes and lips) dont forget your neck and decollette’ !! RINSE WELL so you don’t end up with white residue around your hairline or inside your ears or nose… lol! also do your legs with your bodywash before self tanner use and on fingernails after wearing dark polish!
Have Fun!!
Baking soda is a natural antifungus and promotes healthy bacteria which is why you should use it in your mouth! It is a part of a great cleaning duo when you add it to vinegar.
I love baking soda for cleaning everything,especially the laundry.You cannot beat the clean smell of laundry washed with baking soda (heavenly)…
Mmm! Have you ever tried making your washing soap with baking soda, washing soda, and soap (and a few other things… I haven’t tried it yet)?
I just made bagels and the recipe said to put some baking soda in the water when you boil the bagels before baking them.
Baking soda, being a base, is a common household substitute for lye, another bagel-boiling water additive (lye is also the traditional additive for pretzel boiling water). Lye is basic, but WAY more so (a pH of 12.4 vs 8.2 for baking soda), and few people tend to have it on hand, so baking soda is suggested as an alternative. I’ve never tried it myself, but I have it on good authority that lye-boiled bagels & pretzels taste the best!
Baking soda followed by vinegar down a smelly drain cleans and freshens.
Thank you for this tip! I have a Chihuahua n 10 ( for now) outside cats! My husband n male Chihuahua hate each other! When my husband sees a flea, he starts ‘ Ranting ‘ that Leo/Chihuahua has to go outside! Poisons make me n my animals ill ! I am trying this today!
Recently tried tip of making paste of baking soda and hydrogen peroxide and applying it to your baking pans or the outside of your pots to get rid of baked on grease.
Brilliant! I think baking soda/hydrogen peroxide paste may be the be-all and end-all of natural cleaners for me!
I have been using baking soda and water to clean my hair for over a year now and it is so simple and works great. My husband loves it too. It is natural and saves a ton of money on expensive shampoos.
Awesome! Do you have any tips on getting your hair nice and clean with baking soda? Do you mix it with anything? How long did it take your hair to adjust to the BS washings?
Speaking of cats.. There are three of them in my house and they can be smelly little creatures! I use baking soda on their litter boxes daily to mask any odor. It’s great when you are feeling a bit too lazy to clean out their mess;)
A great tip—thanks, Krista!
I have a glass top range in kitchen and to clean I sprinkle baking soda all over then spray with vinegar It bubbles then you can scrub ( if that is what you want to call it ) more like just wiping it up all grease is gone if there is any heavy stains just leave on longer
Great tip—thanks, Nora!
My friend just sent me this article about how baking soda should not be used on skin, bc it is too alkaline and can increase moisture loss and decrease the ability of your skin to keep bacteria in check. I don’t usually go to Reddit, but this subreddit about skincare is supposed to be really great:
reddit.com/r/SkincareAddiction/comments/195lue/psa_please_do_not_use_baking_soda_on_your_skin_it/
Yes, I’ve read the same thing. It makes sense but… soap also has a high pH, usually right around 9/10… and we use that on our skin, and have for decades if not centuries. Not that length of use is necessarily an indication of safety, but soap is certainly a more common thing to use to wash skin with than baking soda, so why isn’t that included in the post? I feel like there’s more to it than just pH, but I haven’t done a ton of research in this area.