You’re driving in the rain and the droplets stick across your windshield, limiting your visibility. For most drivers, it’s a dangerous fact of life to circumvent. Some know that you can buy a water repellent to help rain roll away. Fewer still know that you can get the same water repellent solution with a container of baking soda and a damp rag.
TikTok user @daddybrownn is a self-proclaimed “Home Hack” and “DIY Guy,” who mainly posts different baking soda hacks.
“Here’s a tip that will make your life so much simpler in saving money,” he tells his 140,000 followers while holding a small box of Great Value baking soda. “This is one of my favorite baking soda hacks that I’ve ever done. You can use baking soda on your windshield to repel rain. No more need to buy Rain-X, spend money on name-brand stuff.”
Then, the content creator demonstrates how to do this. “You’re gonna take your baking soda and going to pour it in a chunk like this,” he says, pouring some baking soda onto a damp rag. “Now, you’re gonna take this and literally rub it on your windshield until it dissolves.” Next, @daddybrownn does this, rubbing the rag onto the windshield. “Once the baking soda is dissolved, you can just get more and continue to do it.
Afterward, @daddybrownn explains why this hack works. “It’s that simple. It gives you the same results as the name-brand stuff,” he says.“If you look at the ingredients in the name-brand stuff, the No. 1 ingredient in most of them is baking soda,” he states. “Why would you spend the extra money? Just go to the dollar store for $1.25 and can do it yourself.”
@daddybrownn praises baking soda in the caption, “Baking soda is amazing!”
The Daily Dot reached out to @daddybrownn via Instagram direct message and TikTok comment. The video racked up over 365,000 views and some viewers appreciated the hack.
“Homie for the win!! Always appreciate ya,” one vieieirr praised.
“Thank you for this!” a second applauded.
On the other hand, some weren’t convinced, calling for the results.
“I love the part where you showed us that the windshield was now, indeed, repelling water (face palm emoji),” one user remarked.
@daddybrownn Baking soda is amazing! #bakingsoda #rain #carsoftiktok #trucks #trucksoftiktok #carsoftiktok #hacks #lifehack #carhack #homehacks #foryou #foryoupage ♬ original sound – daddybrownn
“I would like to see you spray water and show us how it worked for you,” a second agreed.
“Show us the end result,” a third stated.
Does baking soda work for a windshield?
Indeed, it does. Dealer Auto Glass confirms @daddybrownn’s technique. “Combine the baking soda with a bit of water to create a paste-like texture. Using a cloth, scrub the hard water spots with baking soda paste until all of the spots have cleared away. Water-Right offers this as a reliable solution against water stains with harder buildup. Afterward, use water to rinse the glass clean and immediately follow it with a glass cleaning product. Use a piece of newspaper to dry the glass off without leaving any streaks,” per Dealer Auto Glass’s website.
Does the Rain-X contain baking soda?
Rain-X doesn’t contain baking soda. Instead, the ingredients are: “Ethanol, Isopropanol, Polydimethylsiloxanes (PDMS), Ethyl sulfate, Chlorotrimethylsilane, and Siloxanes and silicones, di-me, hydroxy-terminated.” It’s a spray-on coating that repels water.
How does the baking soda work?
According to Folsom Lake Honda, “Baking soda is a natural dehumidifier. It means that it can help absorb the moisture in the air, preventing foggy windshields and windows.”
