For the love of Baking Soda

I love baking soda. I love it not just for baking and cooking, but also for cleaning! I use it to clean my hair in place of shampoo and I use it in my laundry. I also use it to clean hard-to-clean dishes!

That's right, baking soda is a mild abrasive. Since moving in with my hubby, we've been eating foods made with or baked with cheese. I never had so many problems washing dishes with baked-on or stuck-on cheese! In the past, I rarely cooked with cheese so this was a newly frustrating experience for me. However, ever since I started using baking soda for the hard-to-wash dishes, I have been a happy camper. For stuck on food, liberally sprinkle baking soda on it and scrub with a sponge. If a dish needs soaking, cover the dish liberally with baking soda and soak in hot water for a few hours or over night. Drain and sprinkle with more baking soda and scrub with a sponge. For baked on grease, soaking the item overnight in a heavy baking soda solution works wonders!

Did you know you can also use baking soda to unclog drains? Just pour half a cup of baking soda down the drain followed by a cup of hot vinegar. Leave for 15 to 30 minutes and then flush with lots of boiling water. I've tried this in the past and it really works!

I also use baking soda in my laundry. It's not as strong as washing soda, but in a pinch, baking soda will do just as well. Just double the amount of baking soda per amount of washing soda. I've heard you can make baking soda into washing soda, but I haven't tried it. I'm just not sure if it's worth the time and energy when I can just sprinkle in additional baking soda.

One of the things that I hear all the time is using baking soda as a deodorizer. I don't think our fridge is smelly so I never put baking soda in there. I will occasionally sprinkle some in the trash can, but I find that as a trash can deodorizer, there are better materials out there. Still, it's better than nothing. It does work wonders deodorizing carpets. Just sprinkle some on the carpet and vacuum. I used to live in a carpeted basement apartment where the floor would get damp whenever it rained too much. The carpet would start to smell after a while because it would take so long to dry in such a poorly ventilated, dark environment. The baking soda trick worked every time to rid the carpet of musty smells.

Those are the main uses I have for our baking soda. There are many more lists of uses online but what I've written above, I can say works for me because I've actually tried it. Baking soda is awesome!