Baking soda as a deodorant
A while back someone posted that they used baking soda as a natural, vegan deodorant. I thought I'd post my googled results on how to actually use this:
Get an 1/8 teaspoon of baking soda and mix with a quarter teaspoon of water. (Don't confuse baking soda with baking powder! ::)) Dissolve the baking soda into the water - the liquid should feel slippery, since sodium bicarbonate is a base - and apply directly to skin. Adjust quantities as necessary - you may need less, you may need more.
(Regarding different types of water: if your water easily rinses away the "slimy" feel of sodium bicarbonate, you'll need to use more. If your water does not easily rinse it away, you'll need less.)
Note: too much sodium bicarbonate will cause some skin irritation. It also needs to be dissolved sufficiently, because dry powdery baking soda can chafe skin just like sand (though some people on the Internet just apply like a powder, so I guess they don't have problems). You probably really don't need much at all, just enough to cover the skin. Another note: the water solution will leave white stains on clothes or countertops wherever it drips and dries out, but it washes away easily. After all, one use of baking soda is as a cleanser!
We should start a topic on everything you can use Baking Soda for. Toothpaste is another.
mix baking soda, a little hydrogen peroxide, and salt. it should be a moist paste. This is my fall back toothpaste. Sometimes the store bought ones just don't feel like they have done a good enough job, so I use this. DO NOT swallow it!
Come to that, you can dip a damp toothbrush in plain baking soda. Good if you've eaten something smelly like garlic before an important meeting or date!
Baking Soda mixed with apple cider vinegar is a great cleaner (kind of bubbles up and looks like a science project when mixed).....tiles, pots and pans, etc. Better then using chemicals and it really does clean my shower tiles until they sparkle.
It actually takes the pain and swelling away from a bee sting (apple cider vinegar and baking soda). Trust me it works! I got stung about 5 times this past summer :P (I'm always out in the woods). You just make a paste and put it on the sting area and let it dry (a piece of onion put there first will draw the bee sting venom out). Hopefully you never have to try it!
Baking soda mixed with club soda is great for taking most stains out of carpeting and rugs.
You can also add it to your laundry instead of bleach.
I found tons of uses for Baking Soda here years ago, and have referred back to it many times:
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Prairie/8088/clngrn.html
Lots of "green" cleaning tips!
-dave
I have baking soda everywhere around my house: under the kitchen sink for pots and pans and especially for making the sink shiny after doing dishes, in the pantry for baking or soaking garbanzo beans overnight (it makes them super soft), near the stove in case I burn something, in the bathroom for brushing my teeth, under the bathroom sink for cleaning the tub, near the cat litter box, in my car, in the freezer (no more weird tasting ice cubes), in the refrigerator, in the laundry, inside the closets, etc. Baking Soda definitely rules!!!
I keep weird amounts of baking soda strewn around my home too. I did, however, learn just today, that baking soda is not strong enough to protect your ice cubes from tasting funny when a four year old puts pickled cauliflower in the freezer. :P