Baking Soda: The Versatile Household Cleaning Hero
Baking soda can do much more than just ensure the cakes rise properly. It’s one of the most effective and inexpensive household cleaning aids. Its powder acts as an odor absorber and a gentle abrasive that can loosen stuck-on dirt without damaging the surface. Let’s go over what it can do.
Boosting Other Cleaners
When you mix baking soda with other household cleaners, such as dish detergent, it increases their effectiveness. It can not only remove greasy residue but also polish metal, unclog sink drains, etc. In doing so, baking soda is available in just about every grocery store and drugstore. It’s not even expensive. Therefore, if you want to use it for more than just cooking, it’s worth buying it in a larger package.
Bathroom Cleaning
You can use baking soda to clean your shower or bath and tiles, for example. Put a small amount of baking soda and a few drops of dishwashing liquid on a damp microfibre cloth. Create a lather with which to scrub the walls and floor of the shower. Then rinse with warm water and wipe dry with a microfibre cloth. You can clean the shower curtain in the same way.
Clear the Drain in the Kitchen and Bathroom
Loosen the drain in the kitchen and bathroom Once a week, clean sink, tub, and shower drains with baking soda. Start by pouring a few tablespoons of baking soda down the drain. Add heated vinegar, which will cause the baking soda to fizz, loosening the dirt inside the drain. Finally, flush the drain with hot water.
You can also easily clean stainless steel sinks with baking soda. Sprinkle baking soda on half a lemon (or make a paste of lemon juice and baking soda) and scrub the sink or basin with it. It will shine and smell wonderful.
Boosting Sponge Effectiveness
Baking soda helps scrub surfaces. It makes kitchen sponges more effective without becoming too abrasive. Sprinkle baking soda powder on a damp sponge with a scrubbing surface. Use the sponge to scrub bathtubs, sinks, and toilets to remove stubborn dirt.
Say Goodbye to Burns on Dishes and in the Oven
You can also clean burnt pots and pans and grease from the kitchen with baking soda. Bring the vinegar to the boil. Sprinkle the baking soda over the burns and add the boiling vinegar. Leave the mixture for 30 minutes, then wipe with a damp sponge and rinse. If the grease is not completely removed the first time, repeat the process.
You can clean the oven in a similar way. Coat the sides and bottom of the oven with a paste of baking soda and water. Spray the paste with vinegar and leave it to foam. Repeat the process as needed until you can easily remove any burnt-on food residue.
Combination with Hydrogen Peroxide
Mix baking soda with hydrogen peroxide. Pour a quarter cup of baking soda into a glass bowl and add enough hydrogen peroxide to make a paste. You can also use this cleaner to remove burns from dishes, to polish large and small kitchen appliances, and to clean joints between tiles.
Gentle on Painted Surfaces
Painted surfaces require a gentle cleaning method that won’t damage the finish. Sprinkle baking soda on a damp sponge and lightly wipe down walls and painted furniture to remove dirt and stains. Wipe dry with a clean cloth. This method works well for grease stains such as smudges and fingerprints.
Effective Floor Cleaning
With the help of soda, you can also easily clean different types of floors, ideally tiles, but also vinyl, PVC, or varnished wood. Mix half a cup of baking soda in a bucket of warm water, mop the floor with the mixture and rinse. Beware though, due to the effective cleaning abilities of soda, it is not suitable for cleaning wax-treated solid wood floors. Soda could erode the protective wax layer.
Preserves the Freshness and Cleanliness of Laundry
The cleaning and odour-absorbing properties of baking soda are also put to good use in the laundry. Add half a cup of baking soda to the washing machine drum with your regular detergent before washing. This trick can also help remove odours from dirty clothes, as well as the washing machine itself. In addition, baking soda helps soften hard water when washing and also works as an effective fabric softener.
Removes Odours from the Fridge, Shoes, and Bin
And we can go even further in removing odours. For example, just pour it into a small bowl and place it loosely in the fridge. It will absorb any unpleasant odours left over from aromatic foods stored outside of closed containers.
It can also neutralise unpleasant odours coming from the kitchen waste bin. But there is a need to proceed in stages. As waste accumulates in the bin, sprinkle layers of soda over it. This will ensure fresh air in your kitchen even on days when you haven’t gotten out with the trash for a few days.
Another tricky item where baking soda can help eliminate odor is shoes. Work with baking soda in this case in a similar way to the fridge, i.e. pour it in a fine layer inside the shoe and make sure it’s evenly spread over the surface. Leave to sit overnight and then shake the soda out of the shoes. If you suspect that the soda may have damaged the inside of an expensive shoe for any reason, proceed as you would when trying on a new cosmetic. Apply it to just a tiny bit of the inside of the shoe at first, and only when you’re sure nothing has happened can you sprinkle it over the entire area.
Refresh Your Carpets and Upholstery
If your carpet at home seems a little dingy, and maybe doesn’t smell too good, it’s time to “give it a soda”. In practice, this will mean that, like a spreader, you spray the soda in a thin layer over the surface of the carpet and leave it on for 15 minutes. Then vacuum the carpet thoroughly. Together with the soda, the odours it has absorbed will disappear.
If the carpet needs more thorough care, sprinkle it with a mixture of baking soda and salt. Then pour cold water into a spray bottle and spray the carpet to make it slightly damp, but not too wet. Then use a brush to work the mixture into the fibres of the carpet. Allow the carpet to dry thoroughly and then vacuum up any residue from the baking soda mixture.
A Simple and Inexpensive Air Freshener
Wherever you need to remove odours effectively, whether they’re caused by a cooking mistake or perhaps cigarette smoke, a quick and cheap air freshener comes in handy: simply pour a few tablespoons of baking soda into a glass bowl and drizzle with your favourite essential oil. The soda absorbs unwanted odours, the oil gives the air a fresh scent.
The Last Piece of Advice: Don’t Try This at Home
In various lists of old wives’ tips, you may also come across the idea of using a mixture of baking soda and lemon as a homemade teeth whitener. But dentists won’t recommend it. It can damage tooth enamel. In this case, it is better to stick to proven products that are actually designed to whiten teeth.
