15 Benefits of baking soda

Baking soda is a commonly available mineral full of many cleaning attributes, it is one items no home should be without. It has a surprising number of things you can use it for, here are the top 10 uses of baking soda:

Baking soda is made from soda ash, and is slightly alkaline and neutralizes acid-based odors in water, and absorbs odors from the air.

• Drain cleaner: Pour one cup down the drain followed by three cups of boiling water.
• Use it as an antacid.
• Chemical smells out of clothes: Soak clothes for two to three hours or overnight, in one cup of baking soda.
• Use it as underarm deodorant by applying it with a powder puff.
• Agitate the machine occasionally. Repeat if necessary. Wash as usual. (This method is great for removing the new smell out of clothes)
• Mix half a teaspoon with peroxide into a paste and use it as toothpaste.
• Dog odors and urine: Sprinkle with baking soda. Let set for a few hours before sweeping up
• Use it as a face and body scrub.
• Silver polish: Make a paste of baking soda and water, scoop some onto a clean, soft rag, and polish the silver. Rinse and polish dry.
• Add a cup to bathwater to soften your skin.
• Soft scrubber: Pour about 1/2 cup of baking soda into a bowl and add enough liquid soap or detergent to make a texture like frosting. Scoop onto a sponge and clean the bathtub or tiles. Rinse.
• Relieve skin itch from insect bites and pain from sunburn: Put two tablespoons in your baby’s bathwater to help relieve diaper rash.
• Scouring powder: Simply sprinkle baking soda into a sink and scrub.
• Apply it on rashes, insect bites, and p>oison ivy irritations.
• Oven cleaner: Sprinkle baking soda onto the bottom of the oven. Squirt with enough water that the baking soda is damp. Let set overnight, making sure the baking soda is damp before you go to bed. In the morning, simply scoop the baking soda and grime out with a sponge.

Sources:
From: http://lifehackery.com/2008/07/22/home-4/

From: http://www.drfranklipman.com/top-10-uses-of-baking-soda-in-the-home/