If you want to save on household expenses, all you need to do is buy a pack of baking soda: you’ll save on toothpaste, cleaning products, baking powder, plant poison, heartburn remedies and much more. Often expensive household products can easily be replaced with the miracle cure – for less than five euros.
250 grams of baking soda costs around two euros in the supermarket and replaces expensive cleaning products of all kinds, toothpaste, medication, baking powder etc. Baking soda is the abbreviation for sodium hydrogen carbonate or NaHCO3. If you use it correctly, it can be used in cooking, baking, cleaning and personal care – the only important thing is not to use it in too large quantities. In addition, NaHCO3 should under no circumstances be confused with the corrosive and poisonous sodium carbonate. To be sure you are using the right product, you should definitely buy the safe baking soda in grocery stores. It can then be used in the household as an all-rounder.
Drain cleaning, descaling etc.: baking soda as a cleaning agent
With baking soda in the household, you can do without almost all other cleaning products. The miracle cure can be used, for example, in descaling kettles. Similar to using citric acid, add two to three tablespoons of baking soda to the kettle and fill it with warm water. Once the baking soda has dissolved, boil the water and wait about an hour. Now the cooker can be rinsed out and is sparkling clean again.
Even good silver cutlery can be brought back to its shine with baking soda: To do this, dissolve some baking soda in warm water and place the cutlery in the solution for about an hour. Dry with a cotton cloth – done.
Baking soda can also be used as a paste. To do this, a little baking soda is mixed with a little water. If you apply the paste to a wooden cutting board and let the mixture dry in the sun for a few hours, you can then simply tap it off and the board will be odorless again – for example after cutting onions. The same paste can be used in the bathroom as a mold remover. Attention: the paste attacks certain materials such as silicone. Before using it on a large area, you should test it on an inconspicuous area.
In the bathroom, baking soda is not only used for mold, but also for smelly drains: chip.de recommends putting half a cup of baking soda powder into the drain and covering it with a damp cloth for a few minutes. After removing the cloth and flushing the baking soda into the pipe with boiling water, any unpleasant smell will disappear. Here too, however, caution is advised and the baking soda should only be used if the agent is harmless to the materials.
Use baking soda when cooking
Baking soda is digestible for humans. The GEO magazine recommends that adults should not consume more than a maximum of three teaspoons per day – above this amount, stomach pain and other side effects could occur, depending on body size and individual requirements. Small amounts, however, are completely harmless and can be used as a substitute for baking powder. To use 500 grams of flour, simply mix five grams of baking soda with six teaspoons of vinegar – the baking powder is ready. Since baking soda breaks down proteins and fats, it can make dishes such as cheese fondue lighter and more digestible. A small amount of baking soda in the fondue pot is enough to avoid being completely overwhelmed by the food.
Attention: The AOK health insurance company recommends that pregnant women, children, people with cardiovascular problems, people with impaired water balance, people with abnormal blood pH values and people with fever or an infection speak to a doctor before taking baking soda.
Unlike humans, baking soda is toxic to plants. That’s why it can be used wonderfully in the vegetable garden as a remedy against weeds. The remedy is particularly effective if you mix a little baking soda with water in a spray bottle and spray the mixture onto the weeds. The plants die and the garden is tidy again.
Baking soda for health and personal care
Baking soda can not only be used as an all-rounder for cleaning, but – in small quantities – also helps with various physical complaints. The important thing here is that more baking soda does not help better, but can lead to the side effects mentioned above.
Baking soda is particularly good for sore throats. As a solution (one teaspoon of baking soda in a glass of water) it stops bacteria and viruses from growing. Gargling twice a day can help you recover more quickly. It’s not a big deal if you accidentally swallow the solution. To combat heartburn, GEO recommends that adults dissolve half or a whole teaspoon of baking soda in water one to three times a day and drink it in small sips. By the way: Baking soda also works wonders on insect bites. Applied as a paste and washed off with warm water after drying, it relieves itching and helps with rapid healing.
In the area of personal care, baking soda can be used wonderfully to remove hair gel or spray from the hair. All you need to do is mix the shampoo with a little baking soda – in addition to the cleansing effect, the baking soda also acts as a peeling for the scalp when you wash your hair normally. Alternatively, it can be used as a deodorant in the bathroom. To do this, mix a teaspoon of baking soda with decalcified water and a drop of essential oil and pour it into a spray bottle and the cheap and effective deodorant is ready.
Editorial team finanzen.net