If you’ve read this post on natural cleaning, you’ll know how white vinegar makes for a brilliant alternative cleaner that not only saves money but also helps you to use fewer chemicals around your home.
Today, we’re looking at another natural cleaning superstar: baking soda.
You’ve probably seen many posts on baking soda being an alternative for everything from toothpaste to carpet cleaner. But why is it that the same stuff that makes your bread and brownies light and airy, also makes such a great household cleanser?
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What is baking soda?
Baking soda, or sodium bicarbonate, is a white powder that is used in a range of baking. It makes cakes and countless other items rise because, when it’s exposed to heat, it forms carbon dioxide bubbles that get trapped in the mixture. The carbon dioxide bubbles cause the volume to expand and result in that finished, fluffy texture.
Why is it also good for cleaning?
Baking soda is a good cleaner for several reasons:
As a mild alkali, baking soda works to ‘dissolve’ dirt and grease into an emulsion that is easily rinsed away with water.
It’s also a mild abrasive, due to its slightly grainy texture, so it’s good for scrubbing and physically dislodging dirt and stains. It’s still incredibly gentle however and so won’t scratch things like cast iron pans.
Fun Fact: the Statue of Liberty was blast-cleaned with baking soda for its 1986 centennial restoration.
Baking soda is also good for absorbing odors. Many odors are acid-based and baking soda as an alkali neutralizes them rather than covering them up. This is why many people place a bowl of baking soda in their refrigerator, sprinkle it onto their carpets before vacuuming or use it to deodorize their dishwasher
Also, because baking soda is naturally occurring, it is completely non-toxic and therefore safe to use around children and pets.
How do you use baking soda to clean?
There are so many recipes for baking soda, here are just a few:
- Sprinkle it straight onto a damp sponge to clean many household surfaces including kitchens and bathroom tiles
- Mix with water to form a paste and let sit to remove baked-on residue from pots and pans
- Add a cup to your washing machine to brighten whites.
- Dissolve ½ cup in a bucket of warm water and mop for shiny floors
- Add ¼ cup to your toilet bowl, swirl, then scrub
- Mix a teaspoon with a little warm water in a shot glass to make a paste and use a baby toothbrush to clean delicate jewelry
- Sprinkle a light covering over your stainless steel sink and scrub with an old toothbrush
Baking Soda, Aluminum Free (1 Gallon Bucket)
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Is there anything you shouldn’t clean with baking soda?
Whilst baking soda is gentle and effective enough to be used on just about anything you have at home, one myth that should be dispelled is about mixing it with vinegar.
As two of the best natural cleaners, many think that mixing vinegar and baking soda forms some kind of natural super-cleaner. – And anyone who’s made the classic at-home volcano science project can tell you, the result is an impressive bubbly foaming mixture.
What’s left after the foam dies down, however, is just a weak salt solution with few cleaning superpowers! It’s better to look at what they’re each best for and to use them separately.
Looking for more ways to save time and money on your household cleaning? These are my top picks
Want to shop all our cleaning & organization supply picks in one place? Check out our dedicated shopping page, full of all our best finds from the interwebs!
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