More Baking Soda Uses About the House and Home

Here are a few more baking soda uses.

Please also see Baking Soda for Cleaning for more ideas.

Baking soda is the most extraordinary cleaning agent. It can just do so much. It is a pity it is not generally available in the larger amounts needed for cleaning and deodorising.

One of the great things about it is that it is very safe and user-friendly.

Washing soda, for example, is safe and is a very good cleaning agent but it's not quite as easy to use as baking soda.

These baking soda uses are just the tip of the iceberg! As baking soda is such a good and gentle abrasive I'm sure you will find your own uses for this wonderful safe chemical.

Baking soda for cleaning is available in a few outlets. Suma in the UK stock it.

Baking soda, or bicarbonate of soda, can be used to remove juice, wine, and coffee stains. Clean stained cups with a little powder on a scouring pad. Sprinkle it on carpet spills and vacuum away the stain. (Salt also works well for some spills, especially red wine.)

Baking soda is great for getting felt tipped pen stains off walls (those little darlings - get them to dip a rag in a solution of baking soda and rub those pretty drawings away!) This works on wood, too and works for some other kinds of ink.

One of the best baking soda uses: it deletes horrible smells in no time!

There are lots of ways you can use baking soda for deodorising. Use it to freshen flasks and plastic storage boxes. Fill the item with water, add a teaspoonful or two of baking soda and let the mixture stew for ten or fifteen minutes. The boxes and flasks will smell fresh and ready to go. This works for lunch boxes and water bottles too. It also works well with stainless steel flasks but be careful with other metals.

Freshen up soft toys with a shake of baking soda. Put the toy in a cloth bag - a pillowcase is ideal. Shake in a spoonful of soda. Shake the bag for a minute or two and then shake the toy free from the powder. It should come back smelling fresh and new.

You can also reduce if not completely eliminate some of the more unpleasant new smells from items - plastic food items again, for example.

Sodium bicarbonate is the main ingredient in baking soda. It is a safe, natural cleaner.

Baking soda is also excellent for use with washballs in your washing machine to prevent and dispel bad odours. Just add a spoonful to the wash via the detergent drawer. See baking soda for cleaning for more details and for more on its properties.

Baking soda can be used to whiten teeth. It is gently abrasive. It will effectively remove tea and coffee stains.

Don't combine it with strawberries (sometimes recommended) and especially don't combine it with lemon juice (another common idea). Lemon juice is far too strongly acidic and will break down your tooth enamel. Strawberries are also acidic.

A little bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) used once or twice a fortnight should be quite safe. (After all, it is included in many toothpastes and a good many tooth-whitening products.)

Mix it in with regular toothpaste or use it alone. Check with your dentist to be sure.

See here for a recipe for homemade toothpaste

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