Baking Soda Household Tips (PHOTOS)

From EcoSalon's Stephanie Rogers:

Sit back and file your nails or lose track of time watching cute cats on YouTube while baking soda cleans and freshens your life.

This list of 20 unusual uses for baking soda - most of which require virtually no effort at all - will have you stockpiling the stuff in bulk.

All captions courtesy of EcoSalon.

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Comments

[Chance Noffsinger]

08:58 PM on 10/18/2011

Definitely use it on your rare silver coin collection (kidding)

[Max Shaw]

04:31 PM on 10/18/2011

Then theres always crack, of course...

[Joseph Glackin]

09:48 PM on 10/17/2011

As a dry shampoo for dogs, not so good. (Corn starch works much better, but brush thoroughly.)
BUT, a quart of H2O2 (Hydrogen Peroxide), 1/4 cup of baking soda, and a couple ounces of shampoo, are THE ANSWER to what to do after Fluffy plays tag with a skunk.
It beats tomato juice all to hell.

Been there, done that.

[onwisconsin]

01:40 PM on 10/18/2011

That's true but you have to make sure your dog doesn't lick the hydrogen peroxide, which will make him vomit. Only you know if your dog is a licker. Otherwise, it rinses straight off and I'll agree that the smell is much better.
Of course, while bathing a dog who was sprayed by a skunk, I was doing all I could do to keep from vomiting myself.

[Joseph Glackin]

05:07 PM on 10/18/2011

My house has a Keltie--a cattle dog. She has fantastic eye-sight, and a loving disposition. Unfortunately, that included Petunia, the striped skunk who took up residence under our garden shed.
Bert (Alberta) the Keltie loved playing "tag," with Petunia. Petunia, not so much.
Several baths later, I got it down to a science.
For the smell, hold a clove in your teeth, and breathe through your mouth.

[bad spelling grammar]

03:16 PM on 10/17/2011

Reason 21, pretend its blow and sell it to kooks for a hefty profit

[Anne Rutherford]

01:32 PM on 10/17/2011

It will also cut soap scrum in the tub. Put it in the wash if you have hard water. Lots of things where it is useful - particularly if the regular spray cleaners cause breathing issues.

[William J Unverferth Sr]

10:31 AM on 10/17/2011

"Chemical-free ice melt" Because sodium bicarbonate is NOT a chemical right??? DUH!!!

[StephenJK]

10:09 AM on 10/17/2011

We should experiment and see if it can restore sanity to right wing ijits.

[Lahonda]

10:31 AM on 10/17/2011

...it'd be nice to know if it could remove a GOP/Tea stain, that's certain

[Andrew Harvey]

08:47 PM on 10/17/2011

Maybe we could sprinkle some of that stuff on those bums at the wall street protest. Maybe they won't smell so much. It might actually make them employable.

[Grandma Koolfinger]

09:37 AM on 10/17/2011

I use it for cutting street drugs. Haven't had the first complaint.

[mwnyy]

08:24 AM on 10/17/2011

I use a tablespoon of baking soda and some white vinegar down the drain, watch it bubble up and the smell is gone.

[onwisconsin]

11:03 PM on 10/16/2011

Do not use toothpaste and baking soda as a spackle!!! Buy the real thing.

Also, do not sprinkle baking soda on books you believe have value. You will devalue them.

Dentists will tell you that baking soda is great at removing the enamel of your teeth (ask your dentist).

Poor pups that get baking soda poured on them! Dogs lick themselves quite a bit. Ingesting baking soda is not good for dogs. If your dog eats a large amount of baking soda or baking powder, he can suffer from electrolyte changes, muscle spasms and congestive heart failure. Remember that "large amount" means in relation to his body size. My lab could probably handle it; your teacup poodle might not be so lucky.

[keep it solid]

03:24 AM on 10/17/2011

hi onwisconsin
thanks for the advice :)

[sentimentiques]

12:02 AM on 10/18/2011

Two things I do that you warn about: I use baking soda on books and paper to get rid of mildew smell. I have used baking soda to brush my teeth. Arm & Hammer has a toothpaste that is made from baking soda. Please explain where you got that bad news, thanks.

[onwisconsin]

12:35 PM on 10/18/2011

You can use baking soda on a book to get rid of the smell if you need to. However, there is a difference in the value of books. I collect rare 1st editions of certain authors. Those will lose their value if they have grit on them, of any kind. It is very difficult to remove all of the baking soda from the book; so much so that I will never use it ON my books. However, the method of enclosing a book in a container that also contains a dish of baking soday MIGHT be a solution. (I take books to a conservator if they have damage that I think can be repaired. But once again, these are valuable volumes and worth the expense).

As for baking soda on teeth: My best friend is a dentist who specializes in dentures. He consistently rails against people putting this abrasive on their teeth. Over time it wears off the enamel. He hates the toothpaste you are talking about. He's seen too many people who have ruined their teeth by using baking soda. I asked my dentist about it as well and his view was in line with my friend's. So was my husband's dentist's. Then I did a journal search and found that daily use of baking soda was not recommended for the same reason my friend gave me. So, you be the judge. I'll keep my enamel.

[onwisconsin]

12:36 PM on 10/18/2011

What my friend and dentist recommend to me is a toothpaste that deals with sensitivity, plaque, whitening, and strengthening enamel. Colgate has a formula that accomplishes that, if you're looking. I'd always used Crest but this is working better.

[MSmith62]

10:29 PM on 10/16/2011

Who knew baking soda was so versatile?

[hattie54]

09:43 PM on 10/16/2011

I like some baking soda and white vinegar in my bath water for dry skin.You do feel the difference.

[Phil Campbell]

07:14 PM on 10/16/2011

baking Soda works for me Whenever i have an Upset Stomach, Did you Know that Alka-Seltzer is based on sodium hydrogen carbonate (widely Known as Baking soda) and citric acid.

[klun73]

08:06 PM on 10/16/2011

yes, i know. It works well for heartburn, mix a little in water and drink. Also, put a couple of good pinches at the start when cooking dried beans and this relieves the gas symptoms from the beans. Prevents you from having to soak them all night before cooking.

[Moongoddess3]

11:13 PM on 10/16/2011

Great tip! I'm going to try it, we always make chili for Halloween and then pay the price later. LOL.

[Kritikos]

08:29 PM on 10/16/2011

The makers of the purple pill(and others) are hoping that this is overlooked.

[onwisconsin]

11:06 PM on 10/16/2011

the purple pill actually turns off the acid producers in your stomach if you have GERD, which both my husband and I do (and have had since childhood). Baking soda doesn't do much good at alleviating the burning and pain. We can control a lot of the symptoms with diet but sometimes the purple pill is necessary (especially when traveling).