13 Uses for Baking Soda in Your Kitchen

The kitchen can sometimes be the smelliest most dirtiest place in the house. While companies tout bleach and air fresheners as the only way to clean and deodorize the kitchen. They don't want you to know that baking soda is really all you need.

Small kitchen fires - Throw handfuls of baking soda onto the flames of the fire to smother the fire. Do not try to tackle larger fires. Call the fire department if it starts to get out of hand.

Counter and sink cleaning - Sprinkle baking soda all around the counter and all over the sink. Clean the counters and sink with a damp sponge. Baking soda is just as effective a scrubbing powders, like Comet brand

Microwave popcorn - Have you ever made popcorn in you microwave and ended up with the popcorn smell in your microwave for what seemed like days? Pour some baking soda into a container and set the container in your microwave for at least 20 minutes. The baking soda will absorb the leftover odor.

Garbage disposal - pour some baking soda down your sink drain and run your warm water briefly. It will help reduce odors in your drain. Old baking soda from your fridge or closet works great and you feel better getting one more use out of it.

Dishwasher - sprinkle baking soda on your dishes and in your dishwasher. Let it run through the cycle, like normal. The baking soda helps remove odors and boost the cleaning effectiveness of your detergent.

Trash cans - Periodically sprinkle some baking soda on the trash to keep odors down. Also when you clean out the trashcan use a solution of half baking soda and half water and wash out the trashcan. When you have a fresh trash can add some baking soda to the bottom. This also works great for recyclables in the house.

Plastic containers - Plastics absorb odors, which can make your food taste bad. Pour some baking soda in the container, let it sit for about 5 minutes and the clean it out to get rid of the odors.

Refrigerator and freezer deodorizer - Refrigerators develop odors and so do freezers. You most often notice it in the freezer when your ice doesn't taste too right. To get rid of odors pour some baking soda in small containers place one container in the fridge and one in the freezer. Replace every couple months.

Scrub pots and pans - Sprinkle baking soda all over pots and pans and let it sit for 20 minutes. Scrub and wash as normal.

Coffee and tea stains - If you drink coffee or tea you are sure to have stains that just don't seem to come off in the wash. Pour some baking soda on a damp sponge and scrub the inside of the mug. If the stain is really tough cover the bottom of the mug with baking soda and fill with water. Let it sit overnight. This also works with coffee and tea pots.

Sink clogs - If your sink is clogged pour a cup of baking soda down the drain and follow it with a pot of boiling hot water. It is very effective and cheap.

Cleaning floors - For tile or linoleum floors add ½ cup of baking soda to a bucket of warm water and mop as usual. If there is a scuff pour some baking soda on it and scrub with a sponge.

Fruit and vegetable cleaner - Don't buy expense washes, just pour a generous amount of baking soda in a bowl full of water. Let the fruits and/or vegetables soak, scrub and rinse.