15 Amazing Uses for Alka-Seltzer You Never Dreamed Of!

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If you thought that Alka-Seltzer was only good for indigestion, bloating, and headaches, you might be shocked by what you read here. Alka-Seltzer has been around since 1931 and people have found dozens of uses for it besides its original purpose. Did you know that Alka-Seltzer used to be advertised as a great way to cure the blues? Well, although we won’t recommend it for that, this natural mixture of aspirin, sodium bicarbonate, and anhydrous citric acid does have some pretty amazing abilities that most people are completely unaware of.

Keep reading for the top 15 unbelievable uses for those little plop, plop, fizz, fizz tablets that you never imagined were so versatile.

1. Get Your Whites Really White

Don’t you hate it when you have some beautifully pure looking white clothes and after a few washings they get those yellow stains around the neck, around the sleeves, and under the arms? It seems as if they can become discolored after just one or two washings but no matter how many times you wash them after that those yellow stains just won’t go away!

Alka-Seltzer to the rescue. Put two tablets in a gallon of warm water, wait a few seconds so the tablets are actively fizzing, then put the clothes in the water and swish them around a bit so that all parts of the clothes are wet. Let the clothes soak for 30 minutes and look to see if those annoying stains are gone. If not, repeat the process, and then wash as usual. Your white clothes will be white once more!

2. Clean Your Ice Chest

Are you getting things ready to go camping or fishing or are you planning a picnic but when you opened the ice chest…yuck! Clean it quickly and easily by adding an inch or two of water to the cooler then add 4 Alka-Seltzer tablets. Wait one hour, rinse, and your ice chest should be odor free, mildew free, and clean as a whistle.

3. Clean Your Toilet

Cleaning the toilet is probably the most unpleasant task in the house but you can make it a whole lot easier by letting Alka-Seltzer do most of the work for you. Flush the toilet, then put two tablets in the bowl after it refills. Walk away. Come back in 20 or 30 minutes and the citric acid in the tablets will loosen that grime and remove water stains. Give it a quick scrub, flush again, and you are done!

4. Clean Your Thermos

If you have a thermos that you regularly bring to work then you know how hard it is to clean leftover soup, milk, or even coffee from the bottom. Alka-Seltzer to the rescue! Put some warm water in the thermos, toss in two tablets, set it in the sink and forget about it. After 15 minutes, pour out the water, rinse it well, and your thermos will be clean and shiny like new!

5. Make an All Purpose Cleaner

If you are looking for a simple, yet natural cleaner for your home, Alka-Seltzer is the solution you are looking for. Depending on the size of your cleaning job, add two tablets to one gallon of warm water. When it has finished fizzing, feel free to clean away. This is the perfect cleaning solution for tubs, sinks, and countertops. You can use a sponge or put it in a spray bottle to use it where ever you want. This is an all-natural solution that is super inexpensive as well! Read also about lemon and baking soda as a super cleaning agent.

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6. Deodorize the Fridge

Nothing is more disgusting than opening your refrigerator and being greeted by stinky food odors. Although most people just pop an open container of baking soda and put it inside to control odors, baking soda only lasts about 1 month. Unlike baking soda, you don’t have to leave this in your fridge forever, just a few hours. Mix two tablets in a glass of water and place it in the fridge. Wait half an hour, then remove and pour the water, along with the smells, down the drain.

7. Remove Stains from Plastic

Don’t you hate it when you store something in one of your plastic containers, like spaghetti, and no matter how much you wash that container afterwards, and those red stains never come out? Well, they will if you use Alka-Seltzer. Fill the container with water and drop in two tablets. After 30 minutes, simply rinse and all those stains, even if they have been there for years, will disappear almost like magic.

8. Stop a UTI

Although Alka-Seltzer has many amazing abilities, this might be one of the strangest. It works best if you take it when you feel the very first tingling sensation before you come down with a full blown urinary tract infection (if you have ever had one of these you know what we are talking about.) Dissolve two tablets in a glass of water and drink it right down. Many people say that they feel almost immediate relief.

9. Polish Jewelry

Don’t pay money to have your jewelry cleaned and don’t buy those little jars that promise to clean your jewelry overnight. Both methods are expensive and those little jars rarely do a good job. All you really need to clean your jewelry is a little Alka-Seltzer. Put two tablets in a glass or a bowl of water. Drop in your jewelry and wait just two or three minutes. You will be amazed at the gunk and oxidation that appears to melt off your jewelry. Rinse thoroughly and dry your jewelry afterwards. NEVER put pearls or opals in Alka-Seltzer as it can damage those items, but everything else is good to go.

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10. Unclog a Drain

This is a super simple and super inexpensive way to clean your drains when they get clogged with grease and/or hair. Put 4 tablets in the drain, then pour one cup of white vinegar over the tablets. Wait for 10 minutes, and then pour in one pot of boiling water. Your drain should be clear. If not, repeat this a second time. Alka-Seltzer will not harm your pipes.

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11. Clean Your Vases

If you have some of those beautiful glass vases that have a very narrow neck, you know that it makes cleaning these vases extremely difficult. However, with a little Alka-Seltzer, cleaning these vases becomes a breeze. Put the vase in a sink and fill it about ¾ full of water. Drop in two tablets (you can break them in pieces if they don’t fit) Wait 10 minutes, and then pour out the water. Run the faucet on high and any dirt, old leaves, or other debris should come right out. Repeat if necessary but usually one application will do the job.

12. Remove Burnt On Food

Don’t you hate trying to clean pots, pans, or casserole dishes that have burnt on food? Even if you soak them and scrub them, sometimes it seems as if they will never come clean. Well, don’t bother with all that, all you need is some Alka-Seltzer. If you have just one pot or pan, simply fill it with water and drop in one tablet. Wait 10 or 15 minutes, and watch how all the burned on food just comes right off. If you have a couple of dishes, put them in the sink, fill the sink with water and drop in 4 to 6 tablets. This works so well you will wish you had heard about it years ago!

13. Clean the Coffeemaker

Have you ever really looked inside your coffeemaker? The part where you pour the water? It’s hard to understand how this happens but somehow all kinds of gunk, mildew, and yucky stuff gets all inside and it’s almost impossible to put your hands in there and get it out. You can clean it easily, however, by filling the coffeemaker with water, as you normally would, then dropping in two tablets of Alka-Seltzer. After 10 or 15 minutes, run your coffeemaker through its regular cycle to clean every part of it. Then run one more pot of clean, fresh water through a cycle and you are done!

SEE ALSO: 10 Surprising Uses for Vinegar

14. Clean Dentures

You don’t need expensive cleaning tablets. All you need to do is add one Alka-Seltzer tablet to a glass of water and drop in those dentures. After about 15 minutes, you will find that your dentures are as white as when you first bought them.

15. Might Help You Quit Smoking

OK, this may seem pretty strange, but some people swear that this works. If you have tried to quit smoking but find that the headaches, indigestion, nausea, and fatigue are just too much to deal with, try the Alka-Seltzer method. (Ask your doctor first, but as long as you aren’t on a low-sodium diet, this should be OK.) Try taking a glass of Alka-Seltzer after every meal and anytime you feel a craving. There are many people who claim that his method works really well.

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