ARTICLE IN BRIEF
– Bicarbonate of soda is a natural and non-toxic alternative for laundry.
– It helps remove sweat stains and other discolorations.
– Bicarbonate of soda can be used to clean the washing machine and dryer.
– Clothes become soft and odorless when bicarbonate is used instead of fabric softener.
Bicarbonate of soda is nowadays well known to be effective only in cleaning, and not only used for baking. In addition, it is perfect to have in the laundry. Unlike detergents, bleach and other cleaning products, it is a completely natural product that is even produced in our bodies.
Bicarbonate contains no corrosive substances and is completely non-toxic – and compared to other detergents, very affordable. So why not wash a little more naturally using bicarbonate of soda? Here’s how to do it.
Cleaning with bicarbonate of soda and baking soda
Baking soda and bicarbonate of soda are both leavening agents, where baking soda is a mixture of bicarbonate of soda, acid and starch. In the baking context, you can replace two teaspoons of baking powder with one teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda.
But when it comes to cleaning and washing, use pure bicarbonate! It’s much cheaper, more effective and better.
Baking soda makes clothes whiter
Bicarbonate is clearly a super help for whiter clothes. Mixed with citric acid, it makes clothes even whiter and fresher!
Bicarbonate works much like fabric softener
Using bicarbonate during the rinse cycle in the machine (the compartment where fabric softener is usually poured) makes your clothes as soft as with fabric softener – but without perfumes and other chemicals, which is good both for those with sensitive skin and for the environment. In fact, it’s also good for your clothes, which don’t do well with regular fabric softener. Add 1 deciliter of bicarbonate of soda to the fabric softener compartment. You can also make your own fabric softener from vinegar, here’s how.
Hot water is good for berry stains – even bicarbonate of soda on the stain can help with removal!
Getting rid of sweat stains
Baking soda is an excellent stain remover! Sweat stains under arms, on the back or on the collar easily discolor clothes when they react with deodorant, and sometimes the stains can be difficult to remove. But bicarbonate of soda helps. The same principle works if you have pee stains on your bed mattress, for example.
Get rid of the smell of smoke and sweat from your clothes
Baking soda helps to neutralize odors. In fact, bicarbonate of soda can be used to remove almost any type of bad smell. So if your clothes have the not-so-pleasant smell of tobacco smoke – or perhaps the smell of fire smoke after a sausage barbecue in the woods – put them in a bicarbonate and water mixture. The same goes for the smell of sweat! Soak your clothes in a mixture of bicarbonate of soda and water before washing them, or do this.
