Baking Soda: Over 500 Fabulous, Fun, and Frugal Uses You've Probably Never Thought Of (Lansky, Vicki) | 
 enlarge | Author: Vicki Lansky
Publisher: The Book Peddlers
Category: Book
List Price: $8.95
Buy New: $4.55
You Save: $4.40 (49%)
New (28) Used (12) from $4.55
Rating:  20 reviews
Media: Paperback
Edition: 2nd
Pages: 120
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.2 x 5.9 x 0.4
ISBN: 0916773418
Dewey Decimal Number: 661.323
UPC: 607966418049
EAN: 9780916773410
Publication Date: November 25, 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com Review
This is not simply a useful and informative book about the innumerable uses for good old baking soda, saving tons of money, and in the process not harming the environment. It is also entertaining and sometimes downright funny--it would be a great gift for anyone, including yourself. I expect that Vicki Lansky had a blast putting this book together, and her enthusiasm is evident in the text.
Product Description
Baking soda gets its due in this fun collection gathered by Vicki Lansky and her readers over more than twenty years. From making an omelette extra fluffy or deodorizing those musty household smells, to improving flossing and mouth freshness or washing clay flower pots without leaving residue, the book offers hundreds of tips for making the most of this environmentally friendly and inexpensive product.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 15 more reviews...
 Safe Housecleaning August 13, 2008
Lisa A. Frank (Connecticut)
This book is a wonderful resource for anyone that wants to 'green' up their housecleaning, and it also gives tons of ideas on uses for baking soda. I have been trying to eliminate harmful chemicals from my household as much as possible now that I have a little one on the way. This book along with Vinegar: Over 400 Various, Versatile, and Very Good Uses You've Probably Never Thought Of by the same auther, and Green Housekeeping by Ellen Sandbeck provide a well rounded reference for using natural products instead of chemicals for just about any job around the house from cleaning appliances, sinks, tubs and toilets, to cleaning jewelry and composting. Even if you only take a handful of the ideas from these books they are worth the investment. This book is set up so that you can easily look up a job you want to accomplish in the index and go right to the appropriate page.
An outstanding ode to the magic of baking soda - every home needs this book July 26, 2008
Jill Florio (Crestline, CA United States)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Vicki Lansky's one-woman tribute to sodium bicarbonate boggles the mind. In her own mother's words, "Who would believe she could have come up with all these uses?"
Everyone knows you can cook with baking soda: it makes bread rise. It's a natural antacid. Dentists say you can brush your teeth with it. And it's quite common for to see an open box in the fridge for food odor absorption.
But did you know that fridge box is only good for 3 months? After that, its freshening properties are used up. Get another box. What to do with the used-up, old box? Well, Lansky's got ideas for that, such as sprinkling the powder around the soil of tomato plants to lower their acidity and discourage pests. I haven't tried this one, yet.
So, okay, I'm game. I tried a few of these `uses' and hard a darned good time doing it. My fiance thinks I'm nuts for getting so excited over baking soda, but likes that the product is undeniably cheap.
Playing with powder
Here are the ideas from the book that I tried, and how it all went.
* Laundry Booster - On the book's recommendation, I added a cup to my washer load, along with my detergent. Not only did my colors and whites come out brighter, but even my workout clothes smelled nice when I took them out. Lanksy notes this boosting effect only works with liquid laundry detergents, however. I suspect the deodorizing effect works with either kind.
* Garbage Disposal Maintenance - When I noticed a stink arising from the disposal afer a weekend away, I immediately poured a cup down the drain, followed by vinegar. It bubbled and frothed and took the nasty scent away. I didn't even need to run water after it.
* Garbage Can Odors - This one's easy - sprinkle over wet, nasty garbage to remove the odor. My take is that you need too much soda to really get the odor out. It's better to just take out the garbage. But I did find that sprinkling a little soda in the garbage can bottom, between changing the bags, was helpful.
* Carpet Cleaner - Sprinkle over the carpet and let sit overnight. Use a cheese shaker or flour sifter to spread it evenly - otherwise it either clumps, or all comes out at once. Vacuum in the morning. This old technique still works great. As the proud owner of two dogs, I can verify how well baking soda works to dissolve canine odor.
* Tarnished Silver - I tried two baking soda techniques for cleaning silver and was pleasantly surprised with both.
In the past, I used harsh-smelling chemical products, the kind that's impregnated in a wad of wool, to scrub, scrub, scrub my silver. The process was always messy and stinky. On really old, dirty, heirloom silver, it didn't even work at all, besides stripping away my silver plate to reveal the copper beneath.
Blech. These methods are MUCH better:
1. Baking soda and water, mixed into a paste, cleans the tarnish right away. Spread the goop all over your silver item, let it sit for ten minutes, then rub with your fingers (or an old toothbrush) until dirty baking soda paste falls away. Rinse, buff - and if necessary - repeat. This method cleaning and safely bids the grime begone from my stemware and plates.
2. The other method is great for utensils. Fill a plastic bucket, or your sink with hot water. Add a square of aluminum foil. Sprinkle your silver with baking soda, drop into hot water, and let sit 15 minutes. Take out the silver and buff with a soft cloth. My silver turned clean and shiny with very little effort!
What a useful book! April 10, 2008
J. Peeples (Dallas TX USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
If you are tired of using harmful or expensive products or just want to know some old-fashioned remedies, this is the book for you. As the title says, it contains over 500 ideas covering a wide variety of subjects-- stain removal, cooking, health problems, cleaning, even some organic pest control. I guarantee you will find many new uses for baking soda, even if you are already a believer in it's powers!
good book April 7, 2008
Suzanne E. Kornmaier
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Great information and details on how to use baking soda instead of other less environmentally friendly cleaners.
 Lovely little book :) February 20, 2008
1ToughCookie (Sunny California)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Great little book with lots of cool info. on how to use common baking soda in ways you never dreamed possible. Perfect for anyone trying to do natural cleaning methods without using harsh chemicals.
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