Household Uses for Baking Soda

Did you know that baking soda can be used to remove stains, keep your sneakers smelling fresh, and even get rid of your sweet tooth? Check out these tips for home uses of baking soda.

• Add baking soda to your bath water to relieve sunburned or itchy skin.
• Make a paste of baking soda and water, and apply to a burn or an insect bite for relief.
• Clean your refrigerator with a solution of one-teaspoon baking soda to one quart of warm water.
• Pour a cup of baking soda into the opening of your clogged drain and then add a cup of hot vinegar. After a few minutes, flush the drain with a quart of boiling water.
• To remove perspiration stains, make a thick paste of baking soda and water. Rub paste into the stain, let it sit for an hour, and then launder as usual.
• If you crave sweets, rinse your mouth with one-teaspoon baking soda dissolved in a glass of warm water. Don’t swallow the mixture; spit it out. Your craving should disappear instantly.
• Add a pinch of baking soda to boiled syrup to prevent it from crystallizing.
• To remove pesticides, dirt, and wax from fresh fruits and vegetables, wash them in a large bowl of cool water to which you’ve added two to three tablespoons of baking soda.
• Soak toothbrushes in baking soda and warm water overnight to clean bristles.
• Gasoline and oil odors can be removed by putting clothes in a trash bag with baking soda for a few days before washing them.
• Lay down barrier of baking soda under sink-pipe openings and along basement windows to keep carpenter ants, silverfish, and roaches from invading. Roaches eat the baking soda, dehydrate, and die.
• A light baking soda paste on a damp cloth will remove bugs and tar from cars without damaging the paint. Let paste sit for a few minutes before wiping and rinsing clean.
• To remove stains from your coffee and tea cups, wipe them with a damp sponge dipped in baking soda paste.
• Keep your rubber gloves dry and smelling good by sprinkling baking soda inside them. They’ll slip on more easily too!
• Sprinkling baking soda on your front steps will provide traction and melt the ice. Unlike rock salt, kitty litter, or sand, it won’t damage outdoor or indoor surfaces or shoes.
• Boil two inches of water in a pan with a burned bottom, turn off the heat, then add half a cup of baking soda. Let it sit overnight. In the morning it will be easy to clean.
• Sprinkle a teaspoon of baking soda on the bottom of your toaster oven to eliminate the burned smell from drippings and crumbs.
• A paste of baking soda removes red sauce stains from plastic.

You're welcome to post your own baking soda tips below!