HappyNerdyCon Fun and Interesting Facts #10: The Magic of Baking Soda!

Some time ago, I burnt my dress while I was ironing it (Hahaha, I am that bad at ironing! Don't laugh!). The remnant of the dress actually stained the back of my iron and I could not get it off, no matter how I tried to scratch or scrub. So cluelessly, I consulted the ALL-WISE-GURU, Google to see if there is any home remedy I could use.

I came across this recipe of using baking soda with vinegar, Clean an Iron with Vinegar and Baking Soda by Thrifty and Chic. Without delay, I went to purchase my baking soda which is really cheap and affordable! Be careful not to confuse baking powder with baking soda. Baking soda is the one named Sodium Bicarbonate (NaHCo3), a leavening and rising agent widely used in baking. Because of my recent experiences using quite a bit of baking soda, I discovered the magic it carries! The benefits of a baking soda are remarkable. Let's get at it and get nerdy with me!

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What I did with the Baking Soda Myself

Save my Iron!

So, I tried to scrub off the stubborn stains on the iron which was actually remnants from my own dress. It wasn't coming off totally, hence I made a mixture of vinegar, baking soda with a bit of toothpaste. Okay, I saw this recipe somewhere online but I cannot recall where I saw it from. I tried searching for it again but to no avail too. Then, I began to think if I had imagined it up. Hahaha. Anyway, the mixture worked perfectly for me.

First, I switched on the iron to medium heat, then I switched it to lower heat because I wanted to make sure I don't burn myself. I took a scrub cloth and dipped into the mixture. Next, I scrubbed the part of the iron that was stained. I wish I have taken clearer photos and a comparison between the before scrub and after scrub, but here's what I have got under a bad lighting in the late night:

_{How the mixture of vinegar, toothpaste and baking soda looked like}

_{Dipped the scrub cloth with the mixture}

_{There were still some stubborn stains.}

_{Now it is as clean as new!}

Homemade VOLCANO

My son had recently watched a video of a homemade "volcano" from High-5, of which I did it together with him using just red colouring to colour the apple cider vinegar, which later was added to the sodium bicarbonate to create an "explosive" or rather "bubbling" action, mimicking a volcano. I actually wrote about it in my earlier post #7DayPositivityChallenge Day 6: The Power Of Knowledge, if you are interested to check it out.

He had so much fun with it that he has been asking to re-do the experiment every now and then. The scientific explanation is this, which was what I have written in my post earlier:

What happened was an acid-base chemical reaction, where vinegar is the acetic acid (weak acid), baking soda or the bicarbonate soda is the base. It leads to the formation of sodium acetate and carbonic acid. The carbonic acid then decomposed into the water and release carbon dioxide in the form of gas. The result will look as if something "exploded", which was the fizzy effects. In carbonated soft drinks, this is where the fizz comes from, from the carbon dioxide. If a bottle or container with a narrower neck is used, the explosion will look more intense.

Thus, a fun experiement that is always requested by at home!

Relieving Some Crazy Itches!

I had some very crazy itchy sandfly bites frommy students' house 3 months ago and boy, it was very very torturous! I tried many different remedies and soothing cream, including calamine lotion and all sorts. One of them was this baking soda paste that I used by mixing just water with it and applied it onto the bite marks. It did soothe the itch for a while, though the paste would fall off my feet after it was dried up. It wasn't too convenient that finally I resorted to tea tree oil instead. Nevertheless, it did work actually!

_{The baking soda I used}

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Apart from what I have done to experiment the wonders of baking soda, there are MANY other benefits I have learnt about the baking soda usages from the internet, particularly from this site: 33 Surprising Baking Soda Uses & Remedies by Dr. Axe's Food is Medicine. Let's check out what the 33 surprises are, shall we?

Baking soda is wonderful because:

1. It helps with relieving heartburns in digestion.

   Baking soda is known to help to neutralize acid and improve pH balance in the body. Baking soda is often used internally to quell digestive dismay such as acid reflux or heartburn. When these complaints are due to overconsumption of acidic foods or a generally acidic state of the body, slowly drinking some baking soda in water can help to neutralize the acid and get your body’s pH back to a better place.

2. It has antifungal and anti-bacterial properties.

   Baking soda has been shown to kill off bacteria including Streptococcus mutans and is also effective against various fungal groups including yeasts, dermatophytes and molds.

3. It increases the health of kidneys.

   The subjects who supplemented with bicarbonate tolerated it well and were significantly less likely to experience rapid progression of their kidney disease.

4. It relieves urinary tract infections.

   Overall, baking soda appears to be an easy, inexpensive way to improve UTI symptoms accompanied by acidic urine with little to no unwanted side effects.

5. It relieves fatigue and muscle pains for athletes.

   According to the author of the article, Dr. Louise Mary Burke, “It could be useful to try and support the training session to allow the athlete to train harder, but also to reduce some of the negative side effects of having a high acidity in the muscle so you may get less damage to the muscle and a better training outcome in the long-term.”

6. It can help with mitigate the side effects of chemotherapy.

   Rinsing with a baking soda mixture daily can help to improve these unwanted side effects. Combine a fourth of a teaspoon of baking soda, an eighth of a teaspoon of sea salt with one cup of warm and rinse your mouth three times per day. Each time, follow the baking soda salt mixture with a rinse of just plain warm water.

Can you believe that? But wait, here're even more benefits of the baking soda!

These are photos taken from the Dr. Axe's website which summarize the points in graphics for easier reading:

Disclaimer: These photos above are none of mine, all photo credits to Dr. Axe.

You see what I mean when I refer the baking soda as the magic powder?

THE BEST PART is......

The baking soda or sodium bicarbonate is an affordable household ingredient that is easily found in any mart, shop or store. It can be obtained from a baker supplies' shop, the supermarket, some convenient stores as well. It helps with our health and it is non-toxic though we should consume it moderately. It helps with cleaning. It helps with baking, of course!

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SO MUCH LOVE FOR THIS ESSENTIAL INGREDIENT!

Thank you for reading my write-up on the magic of baking soda! If you haven't tried using it, maybe you want to check through the list above and see if there is any benefits relevant for you!

****References****:

• https://draxe.com/baking-soda-uses/
• http://www.thriftyandchic.com/2013/08/how-to-clean-iron-with-vinegar-and_6.html

Photos without souces mentioned are photos of my own. Photos which aren't taken by me are credited to Dr. Axe and Reader Digest as mentioned above.

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