Bicarbonate of Soda (Baking Soda) is great for cooking when something needs a little lift. All it needs is a little wet and acidity and whoosh! Instant leavening agent, (it actually gives off bubbles of carbon dioxide, which are trapped by the baking.) It can also be used as an acidity regulator, used in things like the Sourdough Oat Cakes.
Cleaning purposes- It is a naturally occurring product which makes it perfectly environmentally friendly when used for cleaning and, and neutralizing. For cleaning it’s similar to when used in cooking, whoosh!..and its clean.
10 Tips for what to do with your Bicarb Soda
* A mixture of bicarb, vinegar, dishwashing liquid and eucalyptus oil is my standard clean EVERYTHING solution
* A combination of bicarb and water mixed together to form a paste, then put on to clothing stains. Let it soak in for a while then wash as normal.
* For smelly shoes add a good sprinkling of bicarb soda over night.
* For smelly bins, sprinkle a good layer on the bottom, leave overnight and wipe clean.
* Deoderise carpets with a sprinkling over area and then vacuum. With stains on carpets, mix up a paste of bicarb and water, leave to dry and then vacuum.
* Polishing up jewellery and silverware, and chrome make a paste of bicarb and water, scrub with old toothbrush and then just wash off.
* Clothing whitener, add 1/4 cup bicarb to half bucket of cold water, leave clothing to soak overnight in a bucket and wash as normal. (No need for things like Napisan)
* For tea stained cups, add a paste of bicarb and water, leave for a little while and then rub clean.
* Sprinkle bicarb soda over cat litter tray. It absorbs any moisture and neutralizes any odours. Cat vomit on the carpet, same thing.
* Cleaning out your washing machine add, 1/4 cup bicarb to the soap area and 1/4 cup vinegar to the softener area- short cycle.
There are sooo many other things you can do with Bicarbonate of Soda. Its cheap, its environmentally friendly and it has a cleaning use for just about everything you can think of.
cityhippyfarmgirl 
I’m a paid up member of the bicarb fan club.
If you ever have to deal with someone with an incontinence problem of whatever age, it is the best thing in the whole world! In fact the only thing… you don’t have to pulbish this comment btw x Joanna
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Hehehe….its good stuff isn’t it Joanna.
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Brydie, this is a really helpful post, thank you. I buy bicarb from Harkola (it’s $1 something a kilo) and always plan to use it for cleaning, but am never quite sure what to do. I’m going to make up a batch of your bicarb/vinegar/dishwashing liquid solution – do you make it up and keep it in a spray bottle, or just put it together as you need it? Thanks…
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Celia, I make up a bottle of the eucalyptus, vinegar and dishwashing solution in an old dishwashing bottle and then sprinkle the bicarb as I go. I found when I mixed it all in a spray bottle the bicarb clogged the spray bit up. ratio approximately- 1:3:7 eucalpytus:dishwashing liquid:vinegar- then sprinkle, sprinkle, sprinkle with the bicarb.
Harkola- how cheap is that!
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Brydie, thank you, I’ll give it a go!
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I love baking soda! I use it in the laundry, to clean the refrigerator, put a carton in there as well, to keep it smelling fresh.
I also use hydrogen pyroxide for cleaning and disinfecting, mouthwash, cleaning out the toothbrush, and wiping down public areas in our home- door knobs, faucets, phones, etc.
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Great tips thanks for that!
I was only just searching around for a list like that fwith other uses for bicarb.
I’ve just recently started using bicarb instead of shampoo and have found the results great! Check out my blogpost on that topic here http://pathtolivingsimply.blogspot.com/2010/08/im-no-pooer.html
Thanks for another informative post!
🙂
Kim
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Hi Kimberly, I haven’t been game enough to try it with my hair yet…maybe I should give it a go.
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This is great Brydie. In the back of my Gran’s handwritten recipe book she’s written a whole heap of these sort of cleaning tips & stuff like “Chunks of charcoal placed in the refrigerator will help absorb bad odours!”.
I’m a big fan of the ‘powers of BiCarb’ its amazing what you can do with it.
Cheers Anna
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Anna, I’m loving your Gran’s hand written recipe book. Cleaning tips and lemon meringue pie- I think its a winner 🙂
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Thank you for these tips Brydie! It will come in handy when I need to clean my mugs!
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I have heard that bi-carb (mixed with something else?) makes a good powder for the dishwasher too. Must double check what it is.
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That is high praise indeed! Not being able to stop eating a food only really applies to the truly, madly and deeply delicious!
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I use bicarb a lot too for cleaning. My problem is being able to buy it in large and cheap quantities. It’s quite hard to find here other than as a cooking agent.
I also use it occasionally to clean and whiten up my teeth (not too often as it is an abrasive).
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In keeping our house clean and neat we need to consider the chemicals that we use. Sometimes the most effective are the one found in the kitchen. Baking Soda is helpful in many ways. Thanks for sharing this. Great Idea! Post some more of this.
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One idea from me-Vinegar and baking soda mixture for stinky socks on a small load in hot water wash.
Best regards! Seven Kings Carpet Cleaners Ltd.
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thank you, very useful.
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Is there a remedy for spilled red wine on a beige carpet?
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Good top 10 tips! And this trick “For smelly shoes add a good sprinkling of bicarb soda over night.” is the best tricks, I will use that next time.
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