Many common cooking ingredients have uses beyond the kitchen.
An excellent example of this is sodium bicarbonate aka baking soda.
From its effectiveness as a mild abrasive to its deodorizing capabilities, the applications of baking soda seem endless.
We scoured the internet to put together a list of the many amazing uses for this chemical compound.
Cleaning Your Sink
Baking soda works well as a mild abrasive, so it’s a useful sink cleaner.
You can sprinkle baking soda all over your sink and then scrub it with a sponge.
Cleaning Produce
According to a study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, baking soda is an effective solution for removing pesticide residue from fruits and vegetables.
All you have to do is fill your clean sink with water, add four teaspoons of baking soda, soak your produce for about five minutes, rinse it with cold water and pat it dry.
Deodorizing Your Refrigerator
In addition to being a great mild abrasive, baking soda is a very common deodorizer.
You can put an open box of baking soda in your refrigerator or anywhere that’s a little musty or stinky.
Cleaning Jewelry
If you have silver jewelry, you can soak it in a mixture of baking soda and hot water in an aluminum-foil-lined bowl.
Through the process of ion exchange, the tarnish will transfer from the silver to the water.
After removing the jewelry, wipe away excess tarnish with a soft lint-free cloth.
This works for other household items and silverware as well.
Making Shoes Less Smelly
You can sprinkle baking soda directly into the shoes, let them sit for a day and then shake it out.
You can make little baking soda-filled sachets with socks, small pouches or pieces of cloth tied with ribbon or string and put them in your shoes when you aren’t wearing them.
Treating Stings
Historically speaking, it was used to get a stinger out because it was thought to extract the stinger, but can also help with redness or swelling or itch as well.
Some people recommend this method for removing splinters as well.
People also use baking soda and water mixtures to relieve mild sunburn and other skin irritations, as many swear it eases the pain and discomfort.
Washing Your Face
Many beauty enthusiasts have experimented with baking soda as a face cleanser and even made face masks with it.
Results have been mixed, so it’s best to test it out on an area of your skin before fully diving in.