15 Brilliant Baking Soda Tricks — What Actually Works
Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) is a mild alkali and gentle abrasive, which makes it useful for several household cleaning jobs.
🧽 Around the house
- Freshen a refrigerator — place an open container inside to help absorb food odors.
- Clean a kitchen sink — sprinkle a little on a damp sponge and gently scrub.
- Refresh a ceramic/glass cooktop — use a baking-soda paste on a completely cooled surface, then rinse thoroughly.
- Deodorize carpets — a light sprinkling can help with odors; vacuum thoroughly afterward.
- Freshen shoes — sprinkle a small amount inside, leave it for several hours, then shake or vacuum it out.
- Clean greasy kitchen surfaces — its mild abrasive action can help remove certain soils.
- Freshen a trash bin — a small amount can help absorb odors.
- Clean some cookware — make a paste with water and gently scrub, provided the cookware manufacturer’s instructions allow it.
- Remove odors from cutting boards — scrub gently and rinse well.
👕 Laundry
- Boost deodorizing — baking soda can help neutralize some odors in laundry.
- Freshen towels — it can be useful alongside normal laundering, particularly when towels have accumulated odors.
🧴 Personal-care uses — with caution
- Mild oral-care ingredient — baking soda is used in some toothpastes and can help with stain removal, but plain baking soda isn’t a substitute for fluoride toothpaste.
- Occasional bath additive for itching — baking soda may provide relief for some skin irritation, but it can also dry or irritate skin because it is alkaline.
- Foot odor — its odor-absorbing properties may help keep shoes and feet fresher.
- Deodorize household fabrics — it can be useful on items such as washable fabric upholstery when the material’s care instructions permit it
