What Is Sodium Hydrogen Carbonate Used For?
Sodium hydrogen carbonate (NAHCO3) is best known as baking soda or bicarbonate of soda (“bicarb”). Its everyday uses are chiefly in baking, cleaning and as an antacid, and it has been used in each of those applications for centuries. Baking As baking powder, sodium bicarbonate is mixed with such acidic compounds as potassium hydrogen tartrate. Their reaction produces carbon dioxide (CO2), which is what causes baked good to rise. Fire Suppression Sodium bicarbonate is used in some dry-powder fire extinguishers, which would be used for grease or oil fires. Deodorizing and Cleaning Victorian-era homemakers used sodium bicarbonate, in the form of soda crystals, to clean bathtubs and launder clothes. Anhydrous sodium bicarbonate readily absorbs water and odors, and homemakers use open boxes of it to deodorize refrigerators. Antacids Sodium bicarbonate’s alkaline properties neutralize acids, and so it is found in such antacids as Alka Seltzer. In its early days, it was sold as an antacid pow
