Does Baking Soda Go Bad?

Learn how to tell if your baking soda is still fresh, and what to do if it's not.

If you were wondering "Does baking soda go bad?" the short answer is "Yes...and no." If it's important to get the perfect rise on your homemade Irish soda bread or quick bread, or if settling for anything less than fluffy homemade biscuits will do, it's vital to use baking soda that's well within its shelf life. If baking perfection is not your objective, using less-than-optimally effective baking soda is perfectly safe for baked goods, but you may get less-than-Instagram-worthy results.

Baking soda starts losing its potency as a leavening agent within 6 months of opening the package and lasts up to 3 years in an unopened package, but read on for ways to extend the life of your baking soda and an easy way to tell if your box is still potent. If yours has outlived its effectiveness for baking, don't toss it! We offer other ways to make use of it to ensure no box of baking soda goes to waste.

Baking Soda Basics

Baking soda (aka bicarbonate of soda) is a natural alkaline chemical used as a leavening agent for baking. When mixed with an acidic ingredient—such as lemon juice, milk, honey, or brown sugar—and a liquid, it creates bubbles of carbon dioxide gas that puff up your baked goods.

Unsurprisingly, baking soda is often confused with baking powder, which is a mixture of baking soda with an acid (usually cream of tartar) and a thickener (like cornstarch). While similar, they can't be used as a one-to-one baking substitute for each other, but if you have baking soda, you can easily make baking powder.

How to Extend Baking Soda's Shelf Life

To extend the shelf life of your baking soda, ditch the box! You can lengthen its effectiveness by transferring an open box of baking soda to a sealed container to prevent clumping and degradation. This protects baking soda from its arch-enemy—moisture—and is especially advisable if you live in a humid climate.

Store baking soda in a pantry, cabinet, or freezer. Yes! Freezing further slows down its loss of potency and can be a handy solution for those who don't use baking soda regularly.

How to Test for Expired Baking Soda

You can't tell if baking soda has lost its effectiveness by its color or smell, but it's still safe to use for baking well beyond its expiration date. When it "goes bad," that simply means it's lost its effectiveness as a leavening agent in baked goods, helping them rise.

If you're unsure when you bought or opened your box of baking soda, you can test it to see if it's still effective for baking. Just sprinkle a tablespoon of it in a bowl with vinegar:

• If it fizzes, it’s still fresh and effective to use for baking.

• If it doesn't fizz, it's still safe to use for baking but may offer less-than-optimal results.
  

Ways to Use Expired Baking Soda

If you have an expired box of baking soda, don't throw it away! There are plenty of uses for baking soda other than baking, and maximum effectiveness isn't required to get the job done. Store a past-its-prime box with your cleaning supplies—or in your medicine chest, garden shed, or pool house—because there's still lots of use left in it.

Clean Your House, Naturally

Baking soda is an effective household cleaner, and a mainstay if you're into natural cleaning products. You can use it for everything from cleaning a dishwasher to shining silver to refreshing a mattress.

Unclog a Drain

Whether it's a sink, tub, or shower, a little baking soda can help clear a slow-moving drain. Create a solution of distilled vinegar and boiling hot water, add 1 cup baking soda, and then pour it down the drain. It'll drain better and smell better, too.

Wash Produce

A bath of baking soda and water—about 1 teaspoon baking soda to 4 cups water—can help clean dirt, pesticides, and other contaminants off produce. Just let your fruit and veggies soak in the mixture for about 15 minutes to let it do its job.

Related: How to Clean Strawberries Effectively

Keep a Swimming Pool pH in Balance

Baking soda can help keep your swimming pool chemicals in balance when you need to raise the pH (alkalinity) in your pool, although you'll need more than a small box to make that happen. According to Arm & Hammer, it takes about 1½ pounds of baking soda per 10,000 gallons of pool water to raise the alkalinity by 10 ppm.

Deodorize Smelly Things

Many of us were introduced to baking soda's deodorizing power by putting a box in the fridge to fight food odors, but think outside the icebox! Many other places around the house can benefit from this natural refresher. Sprinkle some into garbage cans, smelly sneakers, the garbage disposal, a smelly rug (let it sit for 1 to 2 hours before vacuuming), pet bedding, kitty litter, or anywhere that smells a little less than fresh.

Add to First Aid Supplies

Baking soda has several medicinal uses, so keep some in your bathroom to address these maladies:

• For bee stings and bug bites, mix ¼ cup baking soda with 2 teaspoons water to create a paste, and apply frequently to help keep inflammation at bay.

• For poison ivy, use the bug-bite paste on rashes to help reduce swelling and itch, or soak in a tub of lukewarm water and ¼ cup baking soda.

• For acid reflux or heartburn, mix ½ teaspoon baking soda into ½ cup water to create an easy, always-on-hand antacid.

• For sunburn, add a few ounces of baking soda into a lukewarm bath to help soothe sunburn pain and reduce inflammation.
  

Wash Your Car

Since a baking soda solution easily removes grease and dirt, don't overlook it as an inexpensive car cleaner. Create a paste with ¼ cup baking soda and 1 cup warm water to rub into grimy tires, lights, seats, and windows, and then rinse. To wash the rest of the car, thoroughly dissolve ¼ cup baking soda in a gallon of water to remove dirt and grime. (Make sure the baking soda is thoroughly dissolved or it can be abrasive to paint.)

Enhance Plants

Baking soda has many uses in the garden: It's a natural cleaning agent and soil amendment, it controls weeds and pests, and it treats fungal diseases. Here are a few specific ways your plants—indoors and out—can benefit from baking soda:

• Clean dust off the leaves of your houseplants by wiping them with a solution of ¼ teaspoon baking soda to 1 quart water.

• Keep cut flowers looking fresh longer by putting them in a solution of 1 tablespoon baking soda with 2 quarts water, refreshing it every couple of days.

• Encourage flowering of alkaline-loving plants (like begonias, hydrangeas, and geraniums) by watering monthly with a solution of 1 tablespoon baking soda and 2 quarts water.

• Kill ants by sprinkling equal parts powdered sugar and baking soda. The sugar attracts the ants and the baking soda kills them. (Don't use granulated sugar because the ants will eat the sugar and leave the soda!)

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