The Wonders of Baking Soda

Tysen has been rather sick the last few days, so this post is a bit later in coming than I had intended.  It is also much shorter, due to the constant demands of a sick toddler.

I was reading through a book the other day, Baking Soda: Over 500 Fabulous, Fun & Frugal Uses You've Probably Never Thought of, and there were just so many of them that I had to share a few.  There are over 15 different categories, and I'm not going to go into all of them.

My favorite uses relate to the garden.  I love to garden, and all of these will be put to use in the future

Organic Pesticide: mix 1 teaspoon baking soda and 1/3 cup cooking oil.    After mixing, take 2 teaspoons and combine with 1 cup of water in a spray bottle.  Mixture will kill aphids, spider mites and white flies.  It is benign to helpful insects.

Sprinkle around alkaline loving flowers: plants such as geraniums and hydrangeas will thrive with an occasional watering with a weak baking soda solution.

Sweeten Tomatoes: sprinkle baking soda around plants and will lower acidity, thus sweeting the fruit.  Also discourages pests.

There are quite a few home remedies that surprised me.

Sore Throat: mix equal parts baking soda, brown sugar and salt in a glass of water.  Garggle.

Stuff Nose:  add a teaspoon of baking soda to a vaporizer to clear congestion.  It will also help clean the unit.  Don't try this one if the instructions indicate not using additives.

Sun Burns: add 1/4 cup baking soda and 1/2 cup cornstarch to a lukewarm bath and soak for as long as possible.

Baking soda as a cleaner seems like such a natural fit I can't believe I never figured it out for myself.

Surface Cleaner: combine 16 oz box of baking soda, 4 tablespoons dishwashing liquid and 1 cup warm water in a spray bottle

Marble: apply a mixture of baking and white vinegar paste to stained marble to clean it up and make it shine.

Toilet Bowl: sprinkle 1/2 a box into the toilet taken each month and let stand overnight.  After flushing the bowl and tank will both be clean.

Drain Cleaner: Got a clogged drain? Pour 1 cup baking soda down the drain followed by 1 cup hot vinegar.  Wait a few minutes and the flush with about 1 quart of very hot water.

These are just a few of the hundreds of uses for baking soda.  I have always known that vinegar was a great household cleaner, now I will be adding baking soda into the routine as well.  I try to keep things as toxic and chemical free as possible, to avoid exposing Tysen to things best kept out of the home.