Baking soda isn’t just for deodorizing your fridge or for cooking

Full article:  Baking Soda: Over 500 Fabulous, Fun, and Frugal Uses You’ve Probably Never Thought Of

Excerpt:

How can baking soda be good for cleaning, baking, deodorizing — and even weeding — all at the same time? Vicki Lansky’s book, Baking Soda: Over 500 Fabulous, Fun, and Frugal Uses You’ve Probably Never Thought Of, explains it all. The book was a runaway hit in 2003, and it still is today, because frugal times call for frugal ingredients that get the job done as well as store-bought formulas. We scoured our sources and found a few more unusual ways to put inexpensive baking soda to work at home. (For more on this miraculous green ingredient, refer to Lansky’s book.)

1. Washing food
Make a paste of baking soda on a clean sponge, and then wash toxins off the skin of fruits and vegetables. Rinse well before eating.

2. Drain cleaner
Okay, baking soda it isn’t as powerful as commercial de-cloggers, but it costs virtually pennies to make and is a great first line of defense. Take a half cup of baking soda, pour down drain followed by half cup of white vinegar. Place a glass bowl over the top of the drain for two hours, then rinse with hot water. This should remove grease and dirt build-up through the pipes.

3. Vacuum odors
Sprinkle baking soda on the floor, then vacuum it up to kill odors in your vacuum.