10 Brilliant Uses for Club Soda: From Cleaning Tips to Beauty Hacks

The next time you decide to treat your loved ones to Sunday morning flapjacks, wow them by replacing the milk in your favorite pancake recipe with club soda. The bubbly liquid will aerate the batter, resulting in a lighter, fluffier stack. Bonus: You’ll save 148 calories for every cup of whole milk you cut out. 

A low-cost chemical-free way to fix a slow-draining kitchen sink: Combine two cups of club soda with two tablespoons of salt and pour the mix down the drain. Wait one minute, then follow with a kettleful of boiling water. The combination of fizzy soda and abrasive salt helps break down the grease and grime while the water quickly dissolves the mess.

Cooking steak in a cast-iron pan gives it a delicious flavor, but cleaning the cookware can be a hassle. To make the job easier, pour some club soda in the pan while it’s still warm and let it soak while you enjoy your meal. Carbon dioxide in the beverage helps soften food particles so you can wash them off after dinner.

To add a bit of oomph to your locks, try this: Shampoo as usual and rinse, then pour a cup of club soda over your hair. Immediately follow with a cool-water rinse. The sodium bicarbonate in the drink strips strands of built-up residue, leaving you with soft, shiny hair. Beautiful!

A cup of joe is one of life's simple joys, but your java habit has left your best mug with a brown tinge. A no-scrub fix: Pour club soda into the mug, let sit overnight and rinse. Acids in the sip will eat away the stain.

To get your bathroom fixtures sparkling without harsh cleaners, pour club soda on a clean washcloth and use it to wipe down chrome surfaces. Carbonated molecules in the soda fizz away grime — without leaving spots.

Argh! You finally found time to replace the towel bar in your bathroom, but one of the screws is rusted and it won’t budge. The save: Pour club soda on the hardware and let sit for five minutes, then twist again with the screwdriver. Carbon dioxide in the soda reacts with rust to bubble it away, so you can easily turn the screw.

If your indoor plants are looking less than healthy, give them a boost with club soda. To do: Use a room-temperature bottle of club soda that’s gone flat to water the plants. The beverage contains nutrients like potassium bicarbonate, sodium citrate, and disodium phosphate that enrich the soil, encouraging healthy growth. Your plants will be vibrant again in no time!

The gold necklace Mom handed down to you has lost most of its shine. Instead of running to the store for jewelry cleaner, soak the necklace in five ounces of club soda mixed with a few drops of dish soap. Let sit for 10 minutes, then rinse with warm water and dry with a soft cloth. The soap cleanses while the carbonation loosens built-up dirt and oils.

Oops! Fido had an accident on your living room carpet, and if you don’t get every trace of it cleaned up, he’ll do it again in the same spot. To break the cycle, saturate the area with club soda. Let sit for five minutes, then blot with paper towels. Minerals in the soda deodorize the spot to prevent a repeat occurrence.

This article originally appeared in our print magazine, First For Women.