Baking Soda

[Virginia Craft]

Thru-hiking the AT right now and I've found baking soda to become quite the multi-use item.

Stored in a snack-size ziploc bag, I brought along a few ounces.
Its uses:

-Toothpaste (I wet my toothbrush, dip it in to coat it, and brush away. Also a good mouthwash)
-Relieving heartburn (~1/2 or 1 tsp. with water and *poof* no more heartburn!)
-Stings/Bites (can be used as a scrub with water to remove poison oak, ivy, sumac oils and to heal. Also for insect stings/bites, put a little bit directly on the sting/bite and mix with a few drops of water to make a paste. You can cover with wrap or gauze and tape if you're on the go, or leave uncovered if you're lounging around.)

Definitely worth carrying around for me so far. :)

[Franco Darioli]

Works well as a deodorant too. At home put some in a bowl to absorb fridge smells.
On the trail sprinkle some in your shoes.

[Tim Zen]

Polish up your stainless steel sierra cup too.

[stephan q]

Hey, you made me laugh.

As a guide in the '80's I advised my attendees to have a paper sandwich bag with a 1/4 cup, secured by a rubber band, in the bottom of the sleeping bag to combat stink-bag. Young adults on a 35 day trip, you learned about these things….

stephan

[Virginia Craft]

Heck yea — Team Baking Soda for the win!

[Ian]

I use Baking Soda as shampoo. I mix a teaspoon or so into a small Smart Water bottle with a couple few inches of water. I don't go backpacking long enought to worry about washing my hair but would use this technique if I was thru hiking a long trail or THE Long Trail.

My haircut is miltary short so I don't bother conditioning it but for you Fabio types, you can use cider as a conditioner back home.

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Go-No-Poo/?ALLSTEPS

[Mary D]

51 fantastic uses for baking soda: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/51-fantastic-uses-for-baking-soda.html

75 extraordinary uses for baking soda: http://lifehackery.com/2008/07/22/home-4/

etc., etc.

It's actually quite useful stuff!

[M B]

next to the wheel, baking soda may be the most versatile invention of mankind

[Franco Darioli]

If baking soda had been invented first, we would have not bothered with the wheel.
That would have solved traffic congestion AND global warming too.

[Adam Kilpatrick]

I just started using it today as shampoo by coincidence. My hair is also "mil spec" short. I followed it with a splash of apple cider vinegar as conditioner. I won't need to do this every day, just some water scrubbed through pretty much does the trick with hair this short.

I also use both for cleaning and deoderiser at home. Actually I was just thinking about finding a good (home) dispenser for the baking soda. Its messy in a cardboard box. Might have to take some on longer walking trips too.

[Virginia Craft]

I love what this thread has become! Thank y'all for the contributions!

Apple cider vinegar and baking soda are definitely two of the most versatile products I've come across. I will try baking soda as a shampoo for sure, so thanks for that tip!

That link, "51 Fantastic Uses for Baking Soda", also added in a couple more uses for the trail.

[M B]

dont forget it also cures cancer. Seriously.

[Anthony Meaney]

You might not want to do this regularly…

http://blog.kanelstrand.com/2014/01/baking-soda-destroyed-my-hair.html

[Ian]

As mentioned earlier, I'm a guy with short hair so I'm not at risk of what the author encountered in that article. One of the points of no-poo is to slowly work your way to where you're only using baking soda once or twice per week. Part of the issue, as I've read, is that our scalps are thrown out of whack by all the shampoos we use and the body compensates for this by producing extra oil. Theres a more regimented program, easy enough to google so I won't get into it here, where you slowly transition from shampoo, to baking soda, to only using baking soda once or twice per week and just rinsing with water the other days of the week.

I never stopped using baking soda on a daily basis or used apple cider so I can't speak to how it works taking it to the next step.

Like most things in life, this works for some people but not all people.

[Kate Magill]

I store my trail baking soda in a film canister. Good as toothpaste, especially when mixed with an equal amount of unrefined coconut oil.

[BlackHatGuy]

"One of the points of no-poo is to slowly work your way to where you're only using baking soda once or twice per week."

I work from home so I only shower once or twice a week. That solves all problems (including the problems of unwanted guests…)

[Ola Akerstrom]

I love this post!

Baking powder is a mixture of 30% sodium bicarbonate (a weak alkali), 40% of pyrophosphate (a weak acid), and 30% corn starch. The starch is there to prevent the mixture to unintentionally start to react by moisture. When water is added, the chemical reaction starts.

To save weight, you might consider to bring pure sodium bicarbonate and citric acid powder in separate plastic sealable bags. Mix them together with water when needed, and you have baking soda, alkaliser, a vitamin C drink or everything else mentioned in this thread

[Rosaleen Sullivan]

Hey, Ola-

Point of information:  Citric acid is not Vitamin C.  It does come from fruits, primarily citrus fruits, but Ascorbic acid is Vitamin C.

[Peter H]

Stinky dish sponges? 1 tbsp BS in a bowl of hot water, let it soak for an hour or so. Great thread.

 

[Eugene Hollingsworth]

wow. I’m bumping into your old thread.

A previous post kind a mixed up Baking Soda with Baking powder. (note CAPS used only as a highlight, I’m not yelling ?)

Baking powder is a mixture of BAKING SODA 30% sodium bicarbonate (a weak alkali), AND 40% of pyrophosphate (a weak acid), and 30% corn starch. When water AND HEAT is added, the chemical reaction MAKES DOUGH RISE.

To save weight, you might consider to bring sodium bicarbonate (BAKING POWDER) and citric acid powder (AND CREAM OF TARTER?) in separate plastic sealable bags. Mix them together with water when needed, and you have baking soda, alkaliser, a vitamin C drink or everything else mentioned in this thread

[Virginia Craft]

That’s interesting! Thanks for the suggestion :)

[Jerry Adams]

I get canker sores when I eat too many tomatoes (normally just a problem when I grow them and have too many, just at the end point right now)

If I gargle with baking soda water it seems to alleviate the canker sores.  And usually swallow it.

[Rex Sanders]

Store water bottles and bags between trips with a TB or so of baking soda inside. Rinse and empty the bottle, then shake out most of the drops. Drop in the baking soda and shake it around to coat the inside. Put the cap back on and throw it in your gear box.

Stops weird things from growing and stinking. Rinses clean before next trip.

Been doing this for 40+ years, works great.

— Rex

[Brad C]

Ok.. this one doesn’t seem to have emerged yet…

I love good ramen but I *hate* instant ramen and the hold it seems to have over so many hikers.

But if you cook ordinary noodles, mixing 1T baking soda into the cooking water, they develop a texture, colour and taste that’s very close to proper ramen (which has an alkali embedded in the dough)

[Anonymous]

I’m new to this website but I’ve got a few miles on my shoes.  I was recently thinking of the benefits of small vial of baking soda , and salt.  Multi use is the way to go.

[Author]

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