20 Essential Uses of Baking Soda

While baking soda serves many purposes around us, its usefulness as a cleaning, natural remedy and personal care agent around the home cannot be overemphasized. Many people don’t know this, but, even an expired baking soda serves the purpose of cleaning beautifully. They can be applied on any surface and used in a variety of ways.

As a homeowner- the cheap, natural and non-toxic nature of a baking soda makes it a good candidate for all your cleaning and personal care purposes. Today, I’ll share with you some of the essential uses of baking soda.

Read on as I share with you how I use this agent around my house:

Steps on using baking soda for all cleaning in your home:

1. For scrubbing: The all-purpose type of soda is an excellent cleaning material for soft scrubs around your house. Observe the special shinning when used to clean your tubs, sink, and counters.
2. Deodorizing rugs: This is how I use baking soda to remove the unpleasant smell from my carpet. Mix a small quantity of essential oil with a cup of baking soda and sprinkle it over your rug. Leave it for like 20 minutes and vacuum. If you need an extra smell, get essential oil with your desired fragrance.
3. As a scouring powder: Baking soda can fly as a solo agent for cleaning or mixed with other products to give your cleaning something extra. Check online to get the different recipes for mixing baking soda and other cleaning agents.
4. A powerful agent to remove the rusts from your cooking utensils
5. Deodorize waste cans: Before placing a waste bag in your garbage can, sprinkle a little baking soda at the bottom of the can to keep the odor at a minimal level. For occasional cleaning of the can, mix a cup of the soda with a gallon of hot water and pour it at the bottom of the can. Leave this to soak overnight for deeper cleaning
6. Use baking soda to remove the foul smell from your sponges. Pour 3-4 tablespoons of soda into a hot water jar and soak the sponge for an hour. Rinse it and continue to use it.
7. Remove the foul smell of shoes. The solution to stinky shoes is to mix ¼ cup of baking soda with essential oil. Sprinkle the resulting agent inside the shoe and leave overnight. In the morning, scrub the inners before wearing it.
8. Give your oven a sparkling touch: I’ll share the method I use to give my oven a new look. My home-made agent is better than all the so-called branded solvent in the market that I have tested. To prepare the solution, mix a cup of baking soda and water till you have a paste.

Separate your racks from the oven and place in your sink to soak in hot water later. Dip a sponge inside the already prepared paste and spread it inside the oven. Avoid the vents when doing this, in order not to block it. Turn on the oven for 20 minutes at a temperature of 2000 Fahrenheit and turn it off while leaving the oven door open.

Allow the mixture another 30 minutes to work, then spray with water and pour between 1/4 to 1/3 cup of vinegar. Ensure that the entire surface is coated with vinegar and see it bubble up. Scrub other hard surfaces with the vinegar using steel wool if possible.

The next step is to rinse with the sponge by dipping into vinegar and getting rid of the grease and grimes in the oven. After this, clean with water and dry with a cloth. That’s it; your oven is good as new.

9. Deodorize your hamper clothes and keep it smelling fresh: A mixture of baking soda together with a few drops of essential oil (optional) in a sachet and the bottom of your hamper keeps your cloth fresh.
10. The perfect toilet scrub: A mixture of baking soda together with 8-10 drops of essential oil of your choice placed on the toilet bowl and left for 30 minutes will clean your toilet when scrubbed.
11. Toothbrush cleaner: According to the children oral health institute, a mixture of 2 teaspoons of baking soda in a cup of water helps to clean your toothbrush effectively when soaked inside.
12. Fridge Deodorizer: A box of soda inside your fridge helps to absorb any foul smell
13. Litter box deodorizer: At the bottom of the litter box, place a small quantity of baking powder to absorb any odor.
14. Lunchbox deodorizer: Sprinkle your lunchbox with a baking soda and leave for 30minutes or overnight, then rinse.
15. You can also use it to clean your pot, pan and as well remove any stains such as those on your coffee and mugs.
16. An excellent ingredient for making homemade adhesive remover

Personal Care

Asides cleaning, I also use baking soda for most of my care. Here are some of my routines:

1. Making homemade deodorant: Baking soda is a good deodorizer and can be used for making homemade deodorants
2. Exfoliate: First, immerse your face in warm water. Prepare a mixture of 1-2 teaspoon of baking soda with water on your palm till it forms a thick paste. Apply this on your face. Rinse after some time to restore your face pH balance.

Natural Remedies

Some of the natural remedies of baking soda are that- it helps to soothe sunburn, relieve itchy bug bites and ease your heartburn.

So that’s it. Did I miss anything that you use baking soda for that I did not mention? Share with us in the comment section. Thank you for reading.