If you absolutely love snow like me, but you are running out of patience waiting for mother nature to create snow for you, then you are in luck! There are many ways to create your own snow at home and we are going to break down 3 different ways on how to make snow with baking soda.
The kids will have so much fun making this snow, and the best part is that you don’t have to go to all the work and hassle of bundling them up to go outside in the cold!
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3 Easy Ways How to Make Snow With Baking Soda
1st Method: How to Make Snow With Baking Soda and Water
Supplies Needed:
Baking Soda
Water
Mixing Bowl
Large Baking Sheet (Optional for playing with snow)
Steps:
Put your box of baking soda in the freezer for a couple of hours, or the night before if you want it to feel cold like real snow.
Pour 3 or 4 cups of baking soda into a mixing bowl depending on how much you want to play with.
Slowly mix in a small amount of very cold water until the snow reaches your desired texture. More water=slushy, good packing snow, and less water=powdery snow.
Optional: You can also a little salt to the mixture to give the snow a little more grainy, realistic feel.
Test Results:
Cold Test: The temperature of this baking soda and water snow is about as close to feeling like real snow as you can get if you put the baking soda in the freezer for a while and use very cold water in the mix.
Packing Test: If you are very careful to add just the right amount of water, this snow will pack well enough to make a nice snowball or snowman.
Texture Test: The texture of this baking soda and water snow feels pretty close to the real thing! You can even make it feel more powdery and look more decorative by adding less water. You can also go for a wet and slushy texture by adding a little more water.
Clean-up Test: Since this is made of only baking soda and water, the clean-up process is very easy to wipe off when you are done playing in your snow. It does tend to stick to your hands a little bit though.
For more details on this method with baking soda and water check out How to Make Instant Snow.
2nd Method: How to Make Snow With Baking Soda and Conditioner
Supplies Needed:
Baking Soda
Conditioner (white)
Mixing Bowl
Large Baking Sheet (Optional for playing with snow)
Steps:
For the coldest snow, put your baking soda in the freezer a few hours before making your snow.
Pour baking soda into a large mixing bowl. You can add as much or as little as you want, depending on how much you want to play with.
Pour some hair conditioner into the bowl of baking soda and mix it together. Much like the water, you will want to add less if you want powdery snow, and more if you want wet and slushy snow.
Test Results:
Cold Test: The baking soda and conditioner method feels pretty cold if you put the baking soda in the freezer first. I do not recommend freezing the conditioner though. With the conditioner being room temperature, the snow mixture is not quite as cold as the 1st method.
Packing Test: The baking soda and conditioner excels in the packing test category! You can make a great snowball and snowman with this snow!
Texture Test: The texture of this snow is a little less crumbly and powdery when using the conditioner instead of water mixed with baking soda. It’s great for playing with and packing, but probably not the best for decorative purposes or if you are doing for powdery snow.
Clean-up Test: Very easy to wipe up with a towel or rag. This gets a 10 out of 10 on the clean-up test.
3rd Method: How to Make Snow With Baking Soda and Shaving Cream
Supplies Needed:
Baking Soda
Shaving Cream
Mixing Bowl
Large Baking Sheet (Optional for playing with snow)
Steps:
If you want your snow to be really cold like real snow then keep it in the freezer a few hours before the experiment. If you are looking for warm and tropical feeling snow, then skip the freezer step.
Add baking soda into a large mixing bowl. You can use as much or as little as you want, but I usually use about 3 or 4 cups.
Slowly add some shaving cream to your baking soda and mix it to your desired texture. I usually use about half a can of shaving cream to a 16-ounce box of baking soda.
Test Results:
Cold Test: Since you should not freeze or chill shaving cream, this method will not get as cold to the touch as the baking soda and water method. You can still freeze the baking soda though to still give the snow a chilly feel.
Packing Test: Baking soda and shaving cream snow packs into snowballs, but is a bit too crumbly for a very sturdy snowman.
Texture Test: The shaving cream adds a little extra fluff to the snow, while still allowing it to pack nicely too! It makes for a great middle-ground between powdery snow and slushy snow but making a snowman will be a struggle!
Clean-up Test: Cleans up pretty well and leaves less residue on your hands as long as you mix it with a spoon first. Once it is mixed the shaving cream snow will be very easy to clean up.
The baking soda and water (method 1) proved to be the best in the cold test category. This snow really felt as cold as the snow you would find outside on a cold winter day!
This is thanks to the baking soda being well below freezing to start with and the very cold (but not frozen) water that was mixed together.
Packing:
The baking soda and conditioner (method 2) created the best snowball and was some of the best packing snow I have ever experienced (artificial snow or real snow!). It was also perfect for making a snowman or any other fun snow creatures!
Texture:
The baking soda and shaving cream (method 3) gave us the best overall snow-like texture. It was a nice and fluffy texture that gave it a real snow look, but still was a good consistency to pack a nice snowball with too!
Clean-up:
Honestly, all of these recipes on how to make snow with baking soda are super easy to clean up after you and your kids are done playing, but I would have to say Method 2 and Method 3 get the edge in this test.
Read more :
Method 1 involving the water and baking soda tends to leave a little more residue on your hands at the end and is just slightly more sticky to wipe up, but still is not too bad to clean-up.
The Best Instant Snow Recipe With Baking Soda:
After comparing these three different methods on how to make snow with baking soda, my personal favorite would have to be Method 2: How to make snow with baking soda and conditioner.
I really like how easy the baking soda and conditioner snow is to pack into a perfect snowball and makes it super easy for the kids to play and build a snowman!
Depending on the type of conditioner you choose to use, it also makes your snow smell really really good (mine smelt like coconut)! Just make sure to use a white conditioner unless you want your snow to be a different color!
Even though this method with baking soda and conditioner did not get quite as cold as method 1, I still think it wins as the overall best homemade snow and it is super easy to clean up!
Garden Courte is a blog written by [James Marcus], a passionate gardener and writer. She has been gardening for over 20 years and has a deep understanding of plants and how to care for them. In her blog, she shares her knowledge and experience with others, providing tips and advice on gardening, plant care, and more.