Baking soda is my go to ingredient. And not just for cooking! Baking soda has a wide variety of uses. It can be used for cleaning, odor control, and a host of other household projects. I didn’t realize this before, but it can also be used extensively in the yard. I’ve gathered some of the best baking soda uses for outdoors–hopefully, you’ll find a tip that suits your needs!

12 Awesome Baking Soda Uses In Your Yard

Reader’s Digest recommends sprinkling baking soda onto your tiled patio and then sweeping the baking soda into the cracks. This will help kill pesky weeds and keep your patio squeaky clean. And of course, it’s all-natural! You don’t have to use any of those toxic chemicals.

eHow suggests using baking soda to balance the pH in your pool. It may help to balance the pH levels of your pool water and is a great alternative to expensive (and dangerous) chemicals that are typically used.

If your pets are leaving large dry spots on lawn from going to the bathroom, try sprinkling baking soda and water on the pee spots as soon as possible. The baking soda will help counteract the acidity of the urine and keep your lawn looking lush and green.

The Gardening Cook uses baking soda to sweeten tomato plants. All you have to do is sprinkle about 1/4 cup of baking soda around the base of each tomato plant, being careful not to get any on the plant itself. The baking soda will help lower acidity levels, leaving your plants super sweet!

If your outdoor mats and rugs are bit dirty or smelly, you can sprinkle baking soda on spots and then scrub with water. This should get out most dirt and debris. Make sure that you rinse the mat well after cleaning.

You can use baking soda to help control flames from outdoor fires. If a fire starts to get too big, you can douse it with baking soda to help put it out. You can also fill a spray bottle with water and baking soda and then spray the fire whenever you want it to calm down a bit. This is a great tip to use while camping!

When your sidewalks, patio, or driveway start to get icy, you can sprinkle baking soda to help melt the snow. Baking soda is better to use than salt because it is less damaging to concrete and your surrounding plants. This is one of my favorite baking soda uses!

If the armpits of your white shirts have yucky yellow stains, get rid of them by sprinkling baking soda directly on the surface and then pouring vinegar over them. Let it soak for 30 minutes or so and then launder. Repeat the process until the stains are gone.

You can use baking soda to wash off patio furniture. Harsh chemicals are not recommended for furniture, so baking soda is a great alternative. You could either mix some baking soda with water and wash the furniture clean, or powder the furniture (for tougher dirt) and then scrub it off.

You can soak outdoor toys in a solution of baking soda and water to help clean them off. First, you’ll want to scrub off the tough stains, then let the toys soak. This will leave the toys squeaky clean so that you can feel comfortable letting your kids play with them.

We recently bought a second-hand couch and my upholstery cleaner was on the fritz. I didn’t want to bring it inside without cleaning it as best I could at the time. So I sprinkled it with baking soda, let sit for 30 minutes, and then vacuumed the whole thing. It’s like new again AND I don’t have to wait for the surface of the upholstery to dry.

If ants are invading your home, find the guilty ant mounds in your backyard and sprinkle them with baking soda. Follow that with a bit of vinegar and the bubbling that results will kill most of the ants. I hope these baking soda uses help you out!