Written by Angela Reviewed by Daniel

15 Surprising Uses For Baking Soda In The Bathroom

Most of us have a trusty pot of baking soda (bicarbonate of soda) sitting in our kitchen cupboard. waiting to be called into action for baking cakes or freshening up the fridge. But did you know this humble household hero can transform your bathroom from blah to brilliant?

In this brief article we’ll be looking at ways you can use baking soda in your bathroom. If you’re tired of harsh chemical cleaners or have run out of your usual supplies, buckle up, you’re about to discover the hidden powers of baking soda.

How To Use Baking Soda In Your Bathroom

Bathrooms, with their inevitable moisture and lack of ventilation, are a breeding ground for unpleasant smells, mould, and water stains. Throw in hard water (an affliction for 60% of UK households) and you’ve got a cleaning challenge worthy of its own action movie.

Enter baking soda, our pint sized cleaning superstar. Here are 15 unexpected ways it can work wonders in your bathroom.

Shower Cleaner

Tired of battling soap scum and grime in your shower? Forget commercial cleaners, all you need is baking soda, white vinegar, and a can do attitude. Mix four tablespoons of baking soda with two tablespoons of white vinegar to make a paste, and apply it to your shower’s stubborn stains.

Leave it for 15 to 20 minutes (enough time for a cuppa), then scrub with an old toothbrush. Rinse with the shower head, and voilà! Your shower’s not just clean, it’s sparkling.

Bonus: As the paste rinses away, it cleans your drain, too. Talk about multitasking!

Toilet Cleaner

You can use bleach to clean your toilet but that stuff is about as environmentally friendly as a 6 litre car engine! The green alternative is to sprinkle bicarbonate of soda all around the toilet pan and leave to work its magic.

The bicarb should be left for at least an hour but overnight is better. Then simply flush away to leave the toilet bowl clean and bacteria free once again.

Cleaning The Cistern

Once every month or so, sprinkle a few tablespoons of bicarb into the cistern and leave overnight. The following morning, flush the toilet to keep your toilet working smoothly and germ free. You’ll be flushed with pride at the result.

Cleaning The Toilet Seat

To keep the toilet seat clean and bacteria free, make a solution of 2 tablespoons of water and two tablespoons of bicarb and wipe the seat. Don’t forget to wipe under the seat and all round the hinges too.

Rinse with a damp cloth and use a dry cloth to dry, congratulations, your throne is now fit for royalty.

Cleaning The Shower Trap

Most showers have a removable shower trap that needs regularly cleaning out to remove hairs and other undesirables that could potentially clog the drain. If your shower trap is coated in soap scum (and they often are) you can clear it away easily with baking soda.

There are two ways to do this and the one you decide to use will depend on just how badly affected your shower trap is;

Soak The Trap
If the shower trap is literally caked full of soap scum and limescale deposits, soak it in white vinegar for 20 to 30 minutes and then add baking soda to the bowl and leave for another 15 to 20 minutes. Then rinse and wipe clean, if some stains prove more of a challenge to remove, use an old toothbrush to scrub it all away.
Wipe The Trap

If the soap scum is minor, simply mix a 50/50 solution of baking soda and white vinegar and wipe the trap with a cloth dipped in the mixture. Then rinse and return the trap to the shower.

Cleaning The Bath & Basin

If your sink or bath has soap scum marks or limescale deposits including water marks, you can remove them with bicarb. Just make up a paste of two tablespoons of baking soda and one tablespoon of white vinegar.

Apply the paste using a soft cloth or old toothbrush for hard to reach areas. Leave it to soak for 10 to 15 minutes (just enough time for a cuppa), then rinse with cold water. The drain gets clean as the residue is washed away, result!

Tap Cleaner

Bathroom taps often get that dull look. It’s the result of soap scum and limescale deposits coating them. To clear, simply mix two tablespoons of bicarbonate of soda with one tablespoon of white vinegar and apply to the taps using a soft cloth.

Allow to soak for 10 or 15 minutes before wiping away with a damp cloth. If the bit where the tap joins the sink is affected (and it usually is) use the same mixture but apply it with a toothbrush and leave for the same period of time.

We tried all manner of commercial cleaners for this particular problem but none of them worked until we used bicarb and white vinegar. Now our bathroom taps are something to be proud of.

Shower Curtain Cleaner

If your shower is over the bath and you have a plastic shower curtain it can get black mould patches in what seems like no time at all. To remove the mould stains, put the shower curtain into the bath and brush it or sponge it with four or five tablespoons of baking soda. Use an old toothbrush to get right into the seams and rinse with a 50/50 mix of white vinegar and hot water.

Then hang the curtain outside on the washing line (weather permitting) or back on its rail in the bathroom.

Tile & Grout Cleaner

Bathroom tiles are notorious for getting dirty from soap scum and limescale deposits. The tiles become dirty and faded looking while the grout between the tiles gets discoloured or even black! To restore the tiles and grout to their former glory all you need is baking soda, white vinegar and an old toothbrush.

Make a paste using two parts baking soda to one part white vinegar and scrub those tiles and grout using an old toothbrush. Don’t worry about the smell of vinegar, it will soon disappear and your bathroom won’t smell like an old chip shop!

Once you’re satisfied with the result, rinse the tiles using the shower head running cold or hot, your choice.

Freshen The Cupboard Under The Bathroom Sink

The cupboard under the sink in the bathroom often gets that old, damp, musty smell about it. This is caused by a number of things like;

Storing Damp Cloths
Old Toothbrushes
Disused Flannels
Old Half Used Lotions
Unwanted Perfumes
Or Whatever Else!

To get rid of that damp smell, all you need is, yep, you guessed it, baking soda! Just pour half a tub of bicarb into a container and leave it under the sink in the cupboard. It will absorb the damp and remove the smell.

Toothbrush Cleaner

person putting toothpaste on a toothbrush

If your toothbrush smells funky (camping trip, anyone?) Baking soda will restore the freshness. Just sprinkle some baking soda onto the bristles of your smelly toothbrush and rinse under the cold tap.

Cleaning Combs & Brushes

If you use products on your hair, your comb or brush will definitely benefit from this one. To remove a buildup of hair products from your comb or brush simply soak them in a solution of baking soda and warm water.

For best results, immerse the whole brush into the solution. But if the brush is antique or you’re worried about damaging the handle, simply swish the bristles in the solution without getting the handle wet at all.

You can thank your great granny for this one, because this is how it was done in Victorian times.

Cleaning Curling Irons

Curling irons can get hair products like hairspray or gel literally baked on. But as always baking soda comes to the rescue. Just remember to unplug the curling iron or tongs first!

Then mix up one tablespoon of baking soda, with 1 teaspoon of salt and enough white vinegar to make a paste. Then use a soft cloth to apply to the tongs and wipe off using another cloth. The gunk will be removed with the paste leaving your curling irons clean and ready for styling again.

Getting The Bathroom Floor Spotless

Cleaning the bathroom floor can sometimes be a difficult task but our cleaning superhero is up for the job! However, different floors require different treatments. For instance;

Vinyl Floors
To clean vinyl bathroom floors just sprinkle baking soda onto the floor and scrub with a wet sponge.
Tile Floors
To clean tiled bathroom floors add half a cup of baking soda to a bucket of warm water and mop the floor.

You can also add lemon juice to the bucket to give it a fresh lemony smell.

Drain Unclogger

Sometimes the drains from the bath, shower or sink become slow to drain or get clogged and stop draining altogether. Once more it’s our old friend baking soda to the rescue.

Simply pour one or two cups of baking soda down the offending drain followed by the same amount of white vinegar. Stand back and watch the fizz action for a while (typically 10 to 15 minutes), then flush with around two buckets of hot water.

It’s worth doing this every four weeks or so as a preventative measure.

Pamper Yourself With Baking Soda

So there you have 15 surprising uses for baking soda in your bathroom. After all that cleaning, you deserve a treat. Here’s how to turn baking soda into a bathroom luxury:

Homemade Bath Bombs

You might not know this, but the main ingredient in fizzy bath bombs is baking soda. It’s really simple to make your own at a fraction of the cost. With the added bonus that you’ll know exactly what they’re made from (no nasty chemical surprises!).

Just mix three parts baking soda with one part citric acid. You can add your own fragrance to this mix using essential oils of your choice. We find lavender is great as it is really relaxing, but the choice is yours.

You can also add colouring if you want to as long as it’s a water based colour and not a pigment which could cause staining. You don’t want to use too much colouring either because you’ll find a little goes a long way.

Once you’ve decided on which essential oil to use and whether you’re going to use a colouring or not, just mix the ingredients together and roll into small balls. You can either buy premade moulds or use an old egg carton to store your bath bombs in.

Leave them to dry for a couple of days and when you want a nice relaxing bath, add one to the water. If you find the mixture too dry, you can add a few drops of oil, like almond oil.

Homemade Bath Detox

To create your own chemical and additive free bath detox simply sprinkle one teaspoon of baking soda and one teaspoon of sea salt into your bath water.

Then just lie back and relax for 15 to 20 minutes. After detoxing in the bath, rinse all of the salt from your body in the shower.

Homemade Bath Time Treat

Mix together four tablespoons of baking soda, two tablespoons of sugar, one teaspoon of ground cinnamon, a pinch of ground ginger and a pinch of ground cloves. Pour the mixture into a jar and seal the lid. This mixture will last for a long while with the lid sealed.

The next time you run a bath, add two tablespoons of the mixture to the running water as the bath fills. Lie back and relax in your sweet smelling bath water.

Bath Water Softener

For that relaxing soft water experience even in hard water areas, add half a cup of baking soda to the running water as your bath fills. But be prepared, because soap goes a lot further in soft water!

So, There You Have It

Baking soda isn’t just for baking, it’s your secret weapon for a cleaner, fresher bathroom. Who knew such a small tub could pack such a big punch?

Now go forth and clean, confident in the knowledge that you’re an eco-friendly bathroom warrior. Oh, and don’t forget to share this with anyone you think might benefit from hearing it. Let’s clean bathrooms one home at a time.

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