Baking Soda: So da Stuff Gets Clean
December 23, 2014 | Posted in Fight odors, Laundry | By admin
You’ve probably heard this before, but Baking Soda is a workhorse around the home. Not only can you use it for baked goods like biscuits or soda bread, you can clean the pans with it after you get baked-on crud.
Baking soda can work a couple of ways. It makes a gentle yet effective scrubber. It bubbles up when combined with vinegar — a chemical reaction that can clean or power a balloon rocket. And it’s a good odor remover.
Sprinkled baking soda on pans, sinks, countertops, and more. Scrub with a damp sponge. Or mix with a little soap to combat baked-on grease. The little grains blast through crud without scratching your cleaning surface.
Baking soda can make a really effective tooth polish too! Sprinkle some on your toothbrush. Add a little over-the-counter hydrogen peroxide for extra whitening.
You may remember the cool reaction of mixing baking soda with vinegar from elementary school science classes. That same fizzing can work wonders on stains. Liberally sprinkle baking soda on a stain and then pour a little vinegar over it. Be careful not to wash off all the baking soda when you pour the vinegar on top. The bubbling foaming action helps push the stain particles right out of the fabric. Wash when the foaming action is complete. Stain is gone. For extra greasy or oily stains add a little soap. Either pre-treat the stain with soap or mix some into the vinegar before pouring over the baking soda. For organic stains like wine, blood, or grass stains, add some peroxide to the mix.
Baking soda and vinegar makes a good, gentle drain opener. Pour in baking soda. Follow with vinegar. For best results, plug drain with a stopper as it foams. Helps keep the drain smelling fresh too!
You’ve probably heard of putting an open box of baking soda in the fridge to fight odors. It works well — eating odors right out of the air. Change the fridge box every couple of months. Instead of throwing it away, put it in your drain with vinegar to keep the drain from getting clogged and keep it fresh.
You can use baking soda similarly to help fight odors other places too. Put some in a pair of clean socks and secure at the top with a pin, clip, or rubber band. Put the baking-soda-filled socks into shoes to help fight orders. Add some lavender and tea tree essential oils to the baking soda to help the sock sachets to smell extra nice and help fight fungus and bacteria in shoes too.
Sprinkle baking soda or baking soda mixed with a few drops of the same essential oils on carpet or furniture cushions to freshen and clean. Put the mixture in a shaker bottle for easy and even application. Let sit a few minutes then vacuum up. For extra stinky applications like pet bedding, gently work it in with a brush then let sit and vacuum.
Works well in laundry too.
Copyright 2014 Deb Kapke used with permission, MegaClean.com
