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25 Little-Known Ways to

Use Baking Soda Around

Your Home

by Maria Gracia Updated October 1, 2023 Join our newsletter to be notified when new content is added to our website. Baking soda may be a kitchen staple, but its usefulness goes way beyond making muffins fluffier. Below you’ll find twenty five new ways to use baking soda. 1. Use it as deodorant. Baking soda is a natural deodorant for your body. You can pat it underneath your armpits as is, or grab a small bowl and mix ¼ tsp of it with a small amount of lukewarm water until it forms a paste. Using your fingertips, gently pat the paste to your underarms. It should be completely dry before you get dressed. 2. Wash your retainer. Since baking soda is often a main ingredient in toothpaste, you can make your own cleaning solutions for your oral retainer. Your solution should be 50% baking soda and 50% water. Once you have mixed them together, gently scrub your retainer with a toothbrush and this solution. 3. Make mouthwash. Similarly, you can mix a teaspoon of baking soda into a glass of water to use as a makeshift mouthwash. Swish in your mouth in a pinch. 4. Calm canker sores. Rinsing your mouth with the mouthwash baking soda mixture that I just mentioned can help soothe the pain from any canker sores as well. 5. Minimize your craving for sweets. If you rinse and spit out a mixture of baking soda and water, you can tamp down your desire for something sweet. 6. Relieve itchy bites or burns. Soaking in a lukewarm bath with 1 to 2 cups of baking soda can help with itchiness from bug bites or sunburns. 7. Exfoliate your skin. Baking soda and water can make a gentle, natural exfoliation paste that you can rub into your skin and rinse off easily. 8. Wash your brushes. When your hair brushes or combs build up with hair product, hair, and other residue, you can soak them in a baking soda and water mixture to wash them. 9. Freshen your washing machine. Add ½ cup of baking soda to your next load of laundry. It helps to reduce bacteria and eliminate odors. 10. Freshen smelly clothing. Place smelly clothing in a trash bag with ½ cup baking soda powdered on them. Tie the bag tightly. Wait a few days before removing the clothing from the bag. Then launder as usual. 11. Polish your steam iron. Using a baking soda and water paste solution, scrub it onto your steam iron with a toothbrush to remove any grub. 12. Wash your dogs. You can powder your dogs with baking soda (just be careful to avoid their faces) and then give them a good brushing. Alternatively, you can also give them a bath with a baking soda and water solution. 13. Remove crayon from the wall. Do you have kids or grandkids who  have an artistic side? This might be the baking soda hack for you. Wipe the crayon off the wall using a wet towel that has baking soda sprinkled onto it. 14. Clean the bathroom. Sprinkle baking soda lightly on a clean damp sponge. Gently scrub the tub, tile, and sink. To clean the bathroom floor, add ½ cup baking soda in a bucket of water. Mix and mop. 15. Make a homemade lemon-scented cleaner for the kitchen. Grab a clean spray bottle. Add ¼ cup white vinegar, 2 Tbsp baking soda, 4 cups of hot water, and ½ of a lemon…drop in the rind too! Secure the cap, shake to combine, label the bottle, and you’re all set to clean. 16. Polish your silverware. Are your eating utensils missing their original sparkle? Just scrub a mixture of baking soda and water on them, then rinse and dry, to bring back that beautiful shine! 17. Unclog a drain. Clogged drain? Pour a pot of boiling water down the drain. Mix a cup of water with a cup of vinegar. Then mix that solution with a cup of baking soda. Pour that solution down the drain. Cover with the drain plug. Wait 10 minutes. Pour boiling water down the drain again. 18. Mask the odor of your fridge. Leave a box of baking soda open in your fridge. Change the box every three months to keep it effective for masking odors. 19. Freshen trash bins. Much like the fridge, you can use a sprinkling of baking soda inside your bins and bags to prevent the smell of garbage. 20. Deodorize your toaster. Sprinkling a small amount of baking soda in the crumb tray of your toaster will mask the burnt smell. 21. Remove pesticides from your apples. By soaking your newly bought apples in water and baking soda, you can remove residue from the pesticides farmers use to keep fruit safe from insects. 22. Prevent insects from coming into your home. Lay a small line of baking soda along openings by sink pipes, basement windows, or other crevices open to the outside. This repels ants and silverfish, and it kills roaches. 23. Kill weeds in your driveway or sidewalk. By sprinkling a little baking soda in cracks of paved driveways or sidewalks, you can prevent weeds from poking through. Avoid putting it in your flower beds or areas with other plants, however. 24. Soak up oil stains on your concrete driveway. Sprinkle a thick layer of baking soda over the oil stain and allow it to soak for thirty minutes. Scrub the stain with a bristle brush. Rinse with clean water. Repeat until the stain is gone. 25. Keep your stairs slip-free in the winter. Baking soda is a gentler alternative to salt for preventing ice on steps. Back to Cleaning Secrets Index