Baking soda can be used to bake biscuits, but it can also be used for many cleaning jobs. It cleans caked-on pans, removes limescale from taps and sinks, removes stickers that are impossible to remove from surfaces, even removes bad odours from clothes, unclogs blocked sinks and makes white trainers really white again. In short, it is a real all-rounder when it comes to cleaning ánd it is environmentally friendly. So time to pay tribute to this fantastic remedy and share the best cleaning tips.
Ode to baking soda
These days, for every cleaning job, appliance or surface, you can find a special ‘handy’ product that promises to do the job even better, faster and shinier. With all these different products, your cleaning cupboards are in danger of overflowing, they are anything but environmentally friendly and you often don't need them at all. My conclusion: the best remedies our grandparents used were green soap, citric acid, natural vinegar and baking soda. These true all-rounders in the household are environmentally friendly, effective and dirt cheap. You can say that about few other remedies.
In this article, I take a closer look at baking soda and tell you why I am so enthusiastic about this cleaning product. Since I discovered this, I can handle almost any cleaning job around the house. I am surprised every time how often this baking soda, as it is also sometimes called, is the solution to a stubborn cleaning job. I couldn't live without these inexpensive jars in my kitchen cupboard. What is the secret anyway?
What is baking soda?
Baking soda (officially sodium bicarbonate) is a mineral substance found naturally in rocks. It is also called sodium hydrogen carbonate, baking soda, baking soda or E500. Baking soda is multifunctional for use in and around the house. You can bake with it, use it in your personal care (such as making DIY beauty products) and you can clean well with it. It also descales and deodorises very well, so it's ideal if something smells.
It was already used some 150 years ago in America and England for raising dough and batter and in household cleaning. It is an eco-friendly alternative to chemical cleaners and great for personal care too! I got these great cleaning tips from the book Life without afval by zero waste expert Emily-Jane Townley. If you want more tips for a zero waste household, this book is highly recommended!
Watch out!
There is only one small drawback. You just have to be very careful with it in combination with aluminium, wood, marble or other porous rocks. With those surfaces it really doesn't go together, it then even damages the surface. I can relate to this because I once spilled a few drops of baking soda water on my wooden floor (the solution was not so simple: designer water - nasty stuff).
Baking soda versus washing soda
Baking soda is so is is not the same as regular cleaning soda or washing soda (sodium carbonate) that absolutely not can be used for baking and also not for personal care Cleaning soda is much more potent and also usually looks different. They are crystals instead of powder.
You can use baking soda to do lots of cleaning jobs around the house: cleaning the mattress of your bed, the litter box, but it is also a very handy and safe cleaning agent in the bathroom.
Eco-friendly cleaning with baking soda: cleaning tips
Using baking soda as a cleaning agent is incredibly versatile. It is good to know, though, that no cleaning product should end up in nature, including baking soda. Have you finished the cleaning job? Then make sure to empty the bucket into the sink or toilet. You should always assume that if something kills fungi and bacteria in your home, it will also kill micro-organisms in nature. This applies to any cleaning product, including eco-friendly cleaners like this one.
- Bathroom: baking soda works as a safe and effective abrasive. Clean tiles, grouting, the sink, shower and bath by sprinkling a little baking soda on a wet sponge or cloth. Scrub for a while and then rinse well with water and rub dry. Suffering from mould between the joints? Make a paste of baking soda and a splash of water and spread the paste on the joints with a sponge or cloth. Leave for ten minutes and clean the joints with an old toothbrush.
- WC fizzy cleaning: normally, you shouldn't mix soda (acid) and baking soda (base) unless you want to give things a bit of a fizz, for example if a toilet is stubbornly dirty. Then sprinkle one (small) glass of baking soda in the toilet and pour one (small) glass of soda vinegar over it. Let it fizz for ten minutes and then clean the toilet with a brush.
- Taps and sinks with limescale: Cut a lemon in half, dip it in baking soda and clean the tap and sink with it shiny. Wipe off with some water and dry with a cloth. You're done.
- Laundry: white and coloured laundry becomes even cleaner and fresher with a few tablespoons (depending on how full the drum or how dirty the laundry is) of baking soda added to the laundry in the drum. Baking soda also works perfectly as a pre-wash for dirty washable nappies. Also check out the article on why washable nappies are more sustainable.
- Shower curtain: sprinkle baking soda on a sponge and clean the curtain, rinse with water and you're done again.
- Caked pans : Bring a frying pan to the boil with one part water and one part baking soda and let it boil for five to 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, rinse it and then gently scrub the pan clean with a soft sponge and baking soda. We got even the pans with the most stubborn dirt clean with this. This cleaning trick also works for dirty pots and baking tins.
- Trash: Sprinkle it on the bottom of your bin and foul smells will disappear. By the way, an old newspaper on the bottom of your bin can also help here.
- Floor: dissolve half a cup of baking soda in a bucket of warm water and mop the floor with it. Then rinse with clean water using a cloth. Not suitable for waxed wooden floors!
- Microwave and oven: Sprinkle baking soda on a warm, wet sponge or cloth and clean. Wipe clean well with a wet cloth.
- Coffee and tea deposits: brown stains in the cups? You can easily remove those with some baking soda on a wet sponge or cloth.
- Silver polish: Make a paste of three tablespoons of baking soda and one tablespoon of water and use this paste with a clean cloth to polish silver. Rinse well with water.
- Carpet/ rug/ mattress/ car seats/ sneakers/ children's soft toys: Sprinkle some baking soda on carpets or rugs or mattresses with dirty stains or musty smells and leave it on overnight. The next morning, vacuum up the baking soda with a hoover. The complete instructions for cleaning your mattress can be found here.
- Drains: Prevent or fix blockage in your drain by putting half a cup of baking soda in the drain and then pouring boiling water over it. It will fizz and the drain will flow better again. Repeat if necessary, but usually once is enough.
- Cleaning toothbrushes: Mix one-fourth cup of water with the same amount of baking soda. Put the brushes in and leave overnight, then rinse.
- Pets: Brush a dog's or cat's fur with baking soda to remove foul odours.
- Litter box: Cover the bottom of the litter box with baking soda before sprinkling in the cat litter. This neutralises foul odours.
- Refrigerator: place an opened container of baking soda (or sprinkle some in a bowl) in the back of the fridge to neutralise odours from strong cheese, for example. Stir occasionally. Replace the packet with a new one every month and use the old one to clean the toilet with.
- Wardrobe: Place an opened packet of baking soda (or pour some into a container without a lid) in your wardrobe for a fresh scent. Or mix baking soda with bath salts. Put it in small breathable fabric bags and place them anywhere in the house.
- Dirty cutting board: remove odours from a cutting board by sprinkling some baking soda on it. Scrub well and rinse.
- Stinky trash: Sprinkle baking soda on the bottom of your bin and foul odours disappear. Replace it after two weeks for a fresh coat.
- Bloodstains: Clean fresh blood stains immediately with cold water, sprinkle baking soda on the stain and let it soak in. Soak a dried blood stain in a bowl of cold water with baking soda for a few hours. Then wash in the washing machine with baking soda added if necessary. Find more tips for removing stains here.
- Sticker remover: Mix water with baking soda to a paste and rub on glue residue. Leave for a while and wipe off with a warm damp cloth.
- Getting trainers white again: Mix a little baking soda with water in a bowl until a paste forms. Apply this paste to white trainers. Scrub the shoes well with a scouring pad and then remove the paste with a damp cloth. Keep repeating it until the shoes are completely white.
Baking soda for your personal care
You can put it in a foot bath (for example, if you have an inflammation), but it is also a fine ingredient for your own shampoo or deodorant, you can use it as a face scrub, toothpaste or mouthwash, it helps against itching and gives relief to skin after it has been burnt by the sun. It is a true all-rounder, not only in the household but also in your personal care. Do you have a skin ailment? Chances are that baking soda is again the miracle cure you are looking for.
It's a miracle!
If you read this list like this, it won't surprise you that I am so enthusiastic about baking soda in my household. It is cheap, long-lasting, safe around children and pets, it is natural and eco-friendly, non-toxic (even edible) and vegan. In short, it is a versatile product. Do you have another great cleaning tip? Be sure to let us know! You can get in touch with the editors via the follow and contact buttons at the bottom of this page.
More sustainable cleaning tips from thegreenlist.nl
- Also see: eco-friendly cleaning: natural vinegar is a miracle cure.
- Also see: Environmentally friendly cleaning with citric acid: also a panacea.
- Also see: eco-friendly cleaning: this is how to get your dishwasher spotlessly clean.
- Also see: eco-friendly cleaning: a fresh fridge in a few steps.
Photo credits: Charlotte May (Pexels) (main picture). Other images: Pexels.
