10 Uses for Baking Soda that May Surprise You

You probably have a box of baking soda somewhere in your kitchen. While it’s a helpful ingredient for many recipes, you may be surprised that baking soda has many uses outside of the kitchen.

This cheap, common recipe ingredient offers a natural replacement for many household products that contain harsh chemicals.

It also has some great beauty applications as well. Check out the surprising ways you can begin using baking soda, avoiding harsh chemicals and saving money.

Baking Soda to the Rescue

Not only can baking soda replace many harsh household products, but it also deserves some space in your cosmetic bag. Using baking soda in place of some dangerous commercial products is a great way not only to stay toxin-free but also a way to help reduce environmental toxins.

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What Exactly is Baking Soda?

Many of you may have been using baking soda around your home for years without ever even knowing what it is. Turns out that sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) is a chemical salt that, in its natural form, is the mineral nahcolite.

Baking soda can react with both an acid and a base, although in an aqueous solution it is a bit on the alkaline side.

Before looking at the unique ways you can use baking soda, it’s important to understand what baking soda is. Baking soda is sodium bicarbonate, a natural chemical salt that is environmentally friendly.

It has the ability to neutralize the pH of substances when it touches them.

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Sodium Bicarbonate Helps to Regulate pH.
It keeps substances from being too acidic or too alkaline. Its ability to neutralize the pH of any substance it comes in contact with makes it highly effective for so many things.

Baking soda can also help keep pH balance steady – a process known as buffering.

It is both the neutralizing and buffering capabilities of baking soda that allows it to work so well on acidic odors like those found in your refrigerator, and also keep your pH neutral like it does in the laundry water to boost the power of detergent.

10 Ways you can Put Baking Soda to Work for you Today:

① Exfoliate

Baking soda offers an excellent exfoliator for your skin when it is mixed with a bit of warm water. It helps to scrub away dead skin cells gently, making it a wonderful choice if you want to exfoliate your face or other sensitive areas of the body.

After using baking soda to exfoliate skin, the skin will be fresh and smooth. It also works well for acne and you can make a baking soda paste and dab a little paste on acne spots to reduce inflammation and redness while removing toxins.

What To Do:

• To make this DIY skin polish, take a bit of your favorite face wash or coconut oil or even warm water and put it right in your hand. Add a bit of baking soda and mix together.
• Add baking soda until you have a nice paste.
• Once you have created the paste, apply to your skin, using your hands in circular motion and massage it gently into your skin, scrubbing away those dead skin cells. In fact, you can do the same thing with your favorite body wash and baking soda, using it all over your body to polish all your skin.
• After you used the polish, rinse off with warm water. If you are using coconut oil+ baking soda, wash them off with your baby facial wash. When you’re done, you will be amazed at how smooth and soft your skin feels.

You can read my post here for DIY Skin Polishing.

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② Relieve Gout

You can also treat problems with gout by using some baking soda. Gout occurs when uric acid builds up in the body, settling in the body’s joints. When this occurs, inflammation and swelling often occur.

What To Do:
To reduce the inflammation and swelling, mix together a teaspoon of baking soda and a couple tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice.

The uric acid is neutralized by the baking soda, helping to relieve your symptoms of gout.

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③ Wash Fruits and Vegetables

One surprising way you can use baking soda is to use it to clean veggies and fruits. Baking soda offers a safe, natural way that you can eliminate residue and dirt from your veggies and fruits before using them.

What To Do:
For the best results, add a little baking soda to a sponge and use it to scrub the produce. Rinse well after scrubbing.

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④ Eliminate Hair Build-Up

Over time, hair products can build up in your hair, making hair look and feel dull. Baking soda can eliminate this problem.

What To Do:

• Combine a cup of warm water with a tablespoon of baking soda. Apply to your damp hair just as you would shampoo.
• Use a wide tooth comb to comb the baking soda mixture through your hair.
• Rinse with some warm water. You will strip away build up and end up with squeaky clean hair.

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⑤ Freshen Laundry

Image: akronohiomoms.com

What To Do:
Add one-half cup of baking soda to your liquid laundry detergent to get clothes fresher, cleaner, and brighter.

What To Do:
For extremely smelly gym clothes, use another half cup of baking soda in the rinse cycle. To pre-treat dirty diapers, dissolve one-half cup of baking soda in two quarts of water and soak overnight.

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⑥ Clean Coffee and Tea Pots

Coffee and tea stains often stain the tea and coffee pots and those stains result in a nasty taste over time. Baking soda can be used to eliminate those stains.

What To Do:

• Simply make a solution of warm water and baking soda and soak for a bit. For those stubborn stains, soak overnight.
• You can use a soft sponge to scrub the baking soda into the stains, which should help eliminate the stains and leave you with clean, sparkling pots.

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⑦ Clean Floors

If you want beautifully clean floors, baking soda will cleanse the floors without causing any scratches.

What To Do:

• Fill a bucket full of warm water and add a half cup of baking soda to it, mixing well.
• Then, use the baking soda water to scrub the floors. After cleansing floors, rinse floors to rinse away the baking soda.
• Add baking soda directly to scuff marks and scrub away with a damp sponge, rinsing when you’re done.

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⑧ Deodorize Drains

If you notice that your sink or tub drain is starting to smell, baking soda can save the day. Nothing neutralizes odors better than baking soda.

What To Do:

• Run warm water down your drain and pour in about a half cup of some baking soda, continue to run the warm water.
• This will help to neutralize any bad odors in the drains. This also works well for garbage disposals, which often begin to smell bad over time.
• In the dishwasher, add a bit of baking soda to every load to help fight off bacteria and stains on the inside of the dishwasher.

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⑨ Reduce Swelling and Itchiness

If the skin is irritated, itchy or swollen with inflammation, baking soda offers excellent results. It’s a lot cheaper than OTC lotions and creams and doesn’t have any harsh chemicals in it to worry about. Whether you are dealing with a bug bite, poison oak or poison ivy, a little baking soda can help.

What To Do:
Simply make a paste of baking soda and water, applying it to the affected area. This also works well on chicken pox, as well as bee stings.

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⑩ Baking Soda Car Cleaner

Image: healthyTippingPoint

Skip all those expensive cars detailing products and make your car shine with some baking soda. With a box of baking soda, you can get the same results you would from a box full of different car cleaning products.

Baking soda effectively cleans windows, headlights, floor mats, your tires, and even vinyl car seats. The baking soda will not scratch anything, so it’s safe for your car.

What To Do:
Make a solution of a quart of warm water and a quarter cup of baking soda, and then apply it with a sponge or soft cloth.

Head to the store and pick up a couple boxes of baking soda. It’s cheap and it will help you accomplish many tasks around the house without resorting to products that include harsh ingredients.