Hi.
My name is Jz and I have a troubled relationship with baking soda.
My name is Jz and I have a troubled relationship with baking soda.
As a kid, I only saw baking soda when it was time to brush my teeth - or if I had a stomach bug. (And how I don’t have a permanent association between brushing my teeth and barfing is one of the great mysteries of life.)
Given that early exposure, you can imagine my surprise when I got older and realized that within that orange box resided not just a holistic health-aid with a funny name, but an actual, real live cooking ingredient. (Which also explained why we had to get our dentifrice from the baking aisle - Another Mystery Solved!)
I didn’t carry the baking soda brushing habit through my college years but after graduation, in those halcyon days of new-found independence, I found myself flat broke and having to pinch pennies until they screamed. Naturally, I began to look around for ways to save money… and my eye fell upon the fact that not only was a box of baking soda significantly cheaper than a tube of toothpaste, but I could use it for other things around the house as well.
So, I would spend the 79¢ on a box and split it up. Some went into a handy little (repurposed) jar that sat nicely next to my toothbrush on the bathroom sink, the rest stayed in the box and went into the pantry cabinet.
I thought no more about this perfectly reasonable solution until the time my friend Ron needed to use my bathroom. The next thing I know, he’s bounding out with an enormous grin on his face, exclaiming, “Hey! I brush my teeth with Wyler’s Chicken Bouillion, too!!”
It was years before he stopped teasing me about that.
(Note to self: remove old labels next time.)
Brushing, barfing, baking, bafflement, budgeting, bouillon-badgering…
Really, I’ve suffered quite a bit at the hands of bicarbonate of soda.
13 comments:
So the thing about brushing with bicarb - does it really whiten? and how does one do that? wet the toothbrush then dab it in the powder? I worry about the mess...
My husband has prescription sodium bicarbonate (in tablet form), which I've taken to using when I have tummy trouble. It's always a strange realization that "basically, I'm just eating baking soda." But it works!
Your suffering has birthed a brilliantly funny post--so it was all worth it.
Love this: "pinch pennies till they screamed."
I use turmeric powder with lemon to whiten my teeth (sometimes). Thought I'd share my food/tooth story with you;)
<a href="https://artismoments.blogspot.qa/2018/04/b-is-for-brihadisvara-temple-photo.html>B is for Brihadisvara</a>
This is funny stuff!
Hi Jz - that's a wonderful story ... love it ... and bicarb is so useful ... cheers Hilary - I shall have trouble cleaning my teeth now!!
my da always used it for an upset tummy... works well - I use it for the cat boxes (keeps odour down), baking, and cleaning - a paste of baking soda and vinegar is an amazing cleaner for flat top stoves!
Oh, you’ve brought back so many memories. My mother and my grandmother used to make me brush my teeth with baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, and lemon juice. I’m not really sure why, but I used to have to do it often. Very distinctive taste. Thanks for stopping by. I will visit again.
Bicarb is good for brushing, but i just use Dr. Bronner’s soap. Yes, i am weird.
F-
It really cleans, for sure. If you want whitening, you may want to use peroxide with it, rather than water. I don’t know how the rest of the world does it but I just shake a little into my cupped palm and use a wet toothbrush. (Or add a drop or two of peroxide if I’m going that way.)
Mrs. F-
Well you know, for 79¢…
;-D
It really does work well, doesn’t it.
A-
That’s interesting - I would have guessed, given my experience with turmeric and my cookingware, that turmeric might stain, rather than whiten. However, I’m a turmeric newbie anyhow. I bow to your more experienced knowledge. :-)
Cindy-
Thank you - and welcome!
H-
Glad you enjoyed it - but I’d hate to think I put you off your brushing! ;-p
s-
Oh, yeah. I cannot tell you how excited I was when I discovered that a paste of it took off the gelatinous grease geeb that was on my stove knobs, as well! I’ve battled that for years and with that bicarb paste, it just rolled itself right off. Why did I not know this sooner?!?!?
L-
Yeah,the peroxide taste is a bit funky - neutral and yet somehow my nose always crinkles. I’m trying to imagine the lemon on top of it. Not sure I’m succeeding… but not sure I’ll try it to find out, either!
Thanks for stopping, yourself! (And welcome!)
mm-
Does Dr. Bronner’s soap not do that “wash your mouth out with soap” curling of the tongue, then? Or are you just made of sterner stuff, Miz Mimi? ;-D
Jz,
I never used baking soda to brush my teeth as a kid. In fact, I was horrible with that routine. It was one of those habits that my parents failed to institutionalize at our house. I paid the price throughout my childhood and I'm quite blessed that I didn't lose every tooth in my head. Anyhow, somewhere along the way in my adult years after having my own kiddies that I discovered baking soda used as a tooth cleaner and brightener. Of course, it doesn't do much for freshening the breath. We buy toothpaste that has this ingredient added for the extra reassurance to do the best job on our teeth. Baking soda alone is a bit too abrasive for my mouth but it works really well in my biscuits. :) I loved your friend's remark and oh the ribbing you must have taken for it over the years. lol Thanks for joining me in yesterday's A2Z iPad Art Sketches through the Alphabet on Curious as a Cathy!
C-
Do you think the soda itself is too abrasive, or just too salty?
The grit of it doesn't bother me but it does pack a salt wallop, for sure!
Glad you liked the story! :-)
I grew up only knowing baking soda for, well, baking. I remember trying some toothpaste with baking soda in it and nearly gagged over it, so I can't imagine brushing my teeth with it straight up - ugh! I think I'd rather brush with chicken bouillion! :)
D-
True - If I hadn't been raised to use it on my teeth, I'm not sure I could cheerfully switch.
But I will say, your teeth feel *really* well polished after using it. And your mouth may not be minty but it is quite clean, in a neutral sort of way. :-)
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