10 Really Bad Smells Erased With Baking Soda

There are many non-poisonous products that can be used for basic household cleaning. Next to vinegar, the most useful of these is baking soda.

Like vinegar, baking soda has three major things going for it as a cleanser:
*It's non-toxic. Sure, eaten in large amounts it might make you feel unpleasant, but it's not poisonous.
*It's multi-purpose. The suggestions in this article are only a few of the many ways that baking soda can be used as a household cleanser.
*Best of all, it's CHEAP! The cost of baking soda (especially when purchased in several pound large boxes) is far less than that of any other, specialized cleaning agent.

Baking soda (or bicarbonate of soda, as it is also known) is a naturally occurring material, present in most organic life forms. It can be "made" from sodium carbonate, or soda ash. The soda ash is dissolved in a carbon dioxide rich solution, and sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) precipitates out.

When you walk into your house after a day at work, does your house smell fresh and inviting? Or are there lingering smells? Think hard; what about the bathroom? Your closet? How about the garage – any bad smells there?

Well, if you have been plagued with bad smells in your house that you have no idea what to do about, stop trying to cover them up. Now you’ll have a solution. It’s as simple as baking soda.

Baking soda has antiseptic properties as well as a really cool effervescent quality to it. It only bubbles in the presence of an acid.

Here’s the list of 10 pretty stinky smells and what to do about them:

1. Stinky Cat Litter Box:
Cats can be pretty stinky animals especially when they urinate or defecate into the litter box. Have you ever gagged while cleaning the kitty litter? Have you ever noticed that if you call the litter area ‘kitty litter’, it’s not as bad smelling as ‘cat litter’? Still, the smell could make you want to put on a bubble suit just so the smell doesn’t somehow stick to you!

All your bad days are over! Before going into the cat room, arm yourself with a box of baking soda and sprinkle it into the kitty litter each morning. It won’t harm the animal or you and the smell will be remarkably less. How much do you sprinkle? Start with a fourth of a cup. Sprinkle, then leave the room. Return after about an hour. If your nose detects stench, add another fourth of a cup and call it a day of victory!

Oh, by the way, this doesn’t mean you’ll never have to do the sifting again!

2. Really Stinky Toilet:
Why house-cleaners don’t tell you their tricks to less cleaning and scrubbing is obvious – you won’t need them anymore. To clean the toilet, first flush the toilet. Then dump a cup of baking soda in, close the lid and let the bubbles do the scrubbing for you. Return in about an hour and flush.

3.Smelly Coolers and Thermos Bottles:
Fill both these camping devices with a baking soda / water combination. In a thermos bottle, start with a tablespoon baking soda to up to 3 cups water. Just mix and leave in the thermos for about 20 minutes, then rinse. For the cooler, fill the entire cooler with water, add ½ cup baking soda, shut the lid and return in an hour. Rinse.

4. Drain with Foul Odor:
Just add a few tablespoons to the stinky drain a few times a week as a matter of habit. After about an hour, run the hot water for a few minutes. Drains will cease to smell in very little time at all.

5. Bad Smell Emanating From the Vacuum Cleaner:
After cleaning the stinky cat litter that somehow the cat managed to get all the way in the living room with baking soda, you know the solution – more baking soda. Sprinkle it on the carpet – which may also be stinky. Let it sit there in the carpet, working its magic for about an hour. Then vacuum it up. With this solution, you get two things cleaned simultaneously. Amazing, isn’t it?

6. Smelly Shoes:
Sprinkle a teaspoon in stinky shoes. You know, it’s possible you may be able to wash those tennis shoes in the washer! Then keep them clean-smelling with baking soda.

7. Bad-Smelling Refrigerator:
This one is easy – sprinkle a half cup into a bowl. Place the bowl in the refrigerator. It does help to remove the old rotting food, though. Do that first.

8. Stinky Hands After Cutting Onions:
Onions are the latest miracle food and you’ll soon be reading about its cancer-killing ability. There’s every reason to eat more of them. After slicing onions, mix a few tablespoons baking soda in a cup of water and wash your hands in this mixture. Don’t forget to rinse.

9. Really Bad Breath Before an Upcoming Meeting:
After eating all those onions, it’s time to rinse your mouth with the best mouthwash on the planet – baking soda and water. Take a mouthful of the same recipe in #8 and swish, swish, swish the bad sulfur smell out of your mouth once and for all. Spit it out, don’t swallow it.

10. Bad Smell Emanating From Armpit:
If you need a deodorant lift during the day, mix up ½ cup baking soda with 6 drops of your favorite essential oil. The essential oil must be edible, not synthetic. You could try lavendar, rose, ylang ylang, or geranium, or even a drop of each of them. Mix together and place in a small cosmetic jar. Take this with you in your purse along with a big make up brush. Dust it on your armpits.

Baking soda is not only the best deodorizer; it’s also very economical. Be creative. Baking soda can be used for almost anything!