Here are 10 useful and surprising ways to use it, along with the science behind each one.
1. Freshen a Smelly Refrigerator 🧊
A small open container of baking soda can help reduce unpleasant refrigerator odors.
Why it works: Many bad smells come from acidic or volatile compounds. Baking soda can react with some acidic odor molecules and also helps trap odors around its porous particles.
How to use it:
- Put several tablespoons of baking soda in a shallow, uncovered container.
- Place it toward the back of the refrigerator.
- Replace it periodically, especially if it develops a strong smell.
Important: Baking soda doesn’t remove the source of an odor. If something has spoiled, clean the refrigerator rather than relying on baking soda.
2. Make Greasy Kitchen Surfaces Easier to Clean 🧽
Baking soda can be useful for cleaning stovetops, sinks, counters, and other washable surfaces.
Why it works: It is mildly alkaline and mildly abrasive. The alkalinity can help loosen some grease and food residue, while the fine particles provide gentle scrubbing action.
Simple method:
- Sprinkle a little baking soda onto a damp sponge.
- Gently scrub the surface.
- Wipe with clean water.
- Dry the surface.
It is particularly useful when you want something less aggressive than a strong commercial abrasive.
Caution: Test it first on delicate or easily scratched surfaces.
3. Deodorize Shoes 👟
If shoes have developed an unpleasant smell, baking soda can help reduce the odor.
How:
- Sprinkle a small amount inside each dry shoe.
- Leave it overnight.
- Shake or vacuum it out before wearing.
The baking soda doesn’t “kill every odor-causing bacterium.” Its main benefit is helping neutralize and absorb unpleasant odors.
4. Give a Boost to Laundry 🧺
Baking soda can be useful as a laundry additive, particularly when dealing with unpleasant smells.
Why: Its alkaline nature can help neutralize acidic odors and alter the washing-water chemistry.
Try this:
- Add a modest amount of baking soda along with your normal detergent.
- Wash according to the garment’s care instructions.
Think of baking soda as a supporting ingredient, not a replacement for detergent. For heavily soiled clothes, the detergent is doing most of the cleaning work.
5. Remove Some Stubborn Food Residue from Pots and Pans 🍳
Burned-on food can sometimes be difficult to remove with ordinary dish soap.
Baking soda can help loosen the residue.
Method:
- Put the dirty pan in the sink.
- Add enough water to cover the residue.
- Add some baking soda.
- Allow it to soak.
- Scrub gently with a suitable sponge.
For particularly stubborn residue, warming the water can help soften the material before scrubbing.
Avoid: Using aggressive scrubbing on nonstick coatings, because the coating can be damaged regardless of which cleaning product you use.
6. Help Neutralize Acidic Cooking Ingredients 🍅
This one actually takes advantage of baking soda’s chemistry.
Because baking soda is alkaline, a tiny amount can neutralize some acidity in foods.
For example, when making a tomato-based sauce that is excessively acidic, a very small amount can reduce the sharp acidic taste.
But there’s a catch: Too much baking soda can make food taste soapy, bitter, or alkaline.
The best approach is to add only a very small amount, taste, and adjust gradually.
This is also why baking soda works as a leavening agent: when it encounters an acid and moisture, it produces carbon dioxide gas, creating bubbles that can make baked goods rise.
7. Clean and Deodorize a Kitchen Sink 🚰
Baking soda is useful for routine sink cleaning.
Try this:
- Sprinkle baking soda over a damp sink.
- Scrub with a sponge.
- Rinse thoroughly.
It can remove light residue while helping with lingering food odors.
For a deeper cleaning job, use an appropriate commercial cleaner according to its label rather than combining random household chemicals.
Very important: Don’t mix cleaning chemicals indiscriminately. In particular, bleach combined with certain other cleaners can produce dangerous gases.
8. Freshen Carpets and Upholstery 🛋️
Baking soda is commonly used as a deodorizing powder.
Basic approach:
- Sprinkle a light layer over a dry carpet or fabric surface.
- Leave it for a period of time.
- Vacuum thoroughly.
This can help with ordinary household odors.
However, it isn’t a substitute for professional cleaning when you have mold, urine contamination, heavy staining, or water damage. In those situations, removing the underlying source is much more important than masking the smell.
9. Use It in Baking to Create Light, Fluffy Food 🍪
This may be the most scientifically interesting use of baking soda.
Baking soda needs an acidic ingredient to produce carbon dioxide efficiently. Depending on the recipe, acids can come from ingredients such as buttermilk, yogurt, vinegar, lemon juice, molasses, or natural cocoa.
The basic reaction is:
Sodium bicarbonate + acid → carbon dioxide + water + salt
The carbon dioxide forms tiny bubbles in the dough or batter. As the food cooks, those bubbles help create a lighter texture.
That’s why baking soda isn’t simply interchangeable with baking powder in every recipe. Baking powder already contains an acid component.
10. Be Careful With the Popular “Drink Baking Soda” Hack ⚠️
This is where an important myth needs correcting.
You may see claims online that drinking baking soda can “detox” the body, dramatically improve digestion, alkalize the body, or provide numerous health benefits.
Don’t treat baking soda as a general health supplement.
Sodium bicarbonate can act as an antacid and temporarily neutralize stomach acid, but ingesting excessive amounts can be dangerous. Too much can cause excessive sodium levels, electrolyte disturbances, alkalosis, vomiting, and other serious problems. Poison Control specifically warns against using ordinary baking soda as a homemade antacid.
MedlinePlus also notes that sodium bicarbonate increases sodium in the body and can interact with medications. People with conditions such as high blood pressure, heart failure, or kidney disease need particular caution.
So “a pinch” for cooking is very different from intentionally drinking spoonfuls of baking soda.
Bonus: What About Whitening Teeth?
You may also hear that baking soda is a natural tooth-whitening treatment. Baking soda can have some abrasive cleaning action, but DIY whitening recipes aren’t necessarily safe or effective. The American Dental Association notes that evidence for DIY/natural whitening methods is limited and recommends established whitening products and treatments with demonstrated safety and effectiveness.
The Big Takeaway
The reason baking soda is so versatile is its chemistry: it is mildly alkaline, reacts with acids, produces carbon dioxide under the right conditions, and provides gentle abrasive cleaning.
The best everyday uses are generally:
- 🧊 Refrigerator deodorizing
- 🧽 Gentle surface cleaning
- 👟 Shoe deodorizing
- 🧺 Laundry odor control
- 🍳 Loosening food residue
- 🍅 Balancing excessive acidity in cooking
- 🚰 Sink cleaning
- 🛋️ Deodorizing carpets
- 🍪 Making baked goods rise
- ⚠️ Limited medicinal use only when appropriate and directed
The most important distinction is that baking soda is an excellent household ingredient, but that doesn’t mean more is better—especially when swallowing it.