Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) is inexpensive and found in any grocery story. It has myriad uses and performs as well as many more-expensive products. At 50 to 75 cents a pound, it’s hard to complain about the price. At a warehouse club, it may be as low as 20 cents a pound.
Credit: Thinkstock A shiny bit can be as simple as using a little baking soda.Some of our favorite uses around the barn include:
– Clean bits, stirrup irons, any metal. Rinses off easily with plain, cold water and leaves no after-taste.
– Scrub algae and any type of buildup from water buckets/troughs and feed buckets.
– Excellent choice to scour automatic waterers.
– Absorb spills of hoof oil and other greasy substances.
– Soak brushes clean.
– Gentle spot cleaner to remove urine or manure stains from coats and blankets. Mist area to be cleaned with water, apply paste of baking soda, rub in with a small brush. Brush off when dry.
– Use as a deodorizer on wet spots in stalls.
– Sprinkle in barn aisle to control odors and moisture.
– Use liberally on trailer floors to neutralize manure and urine odors before hosing off.
– Keep barn drains free flowing with four tablespoons per week of baking soda.
– Remove mold from walls.
– Treat mouth sores with a rinse of 1 tablespoon of baking soda mixed into 1 ounce of water.
– Apply as a paste to soothe bites, stings and sunburn.
– Use as an emergency remedy to cut gut acidity in ”horse got into the grain bin” emergencies (call your veterinarian for approval and dose).
– Effective cleanser for barn refrigerators and bathrooms.
– Sprinkle along an ant trail to destroy their scent signal.
