All About Baking Soda and Cleaning – How Do You Clean with Baking Soda?
Sara Idenfors
How to clean with baking soda
Baking soda is a versatile and effective cleaning product that can be used throughout the home. It is gentle, environmentally friendly, and perfect for anyone who wants to clean without harsh chemicals.
Here are some ways to use baking soda for cleaning:
- Against bad odors: Sprinkle baking soda in the trash can, shoes, or refrigerator to neutralize unwanted odors.
- Cleaning surfaces: Mix baking soda with a little water to make a paste and use it to scrub the kitchen counter, stovetop, sink, or tiles. Gentle but effective.
- Clean the oven and baking trays: Sprinkle baking soda over the surface, spray on a little water, and leave it to work overnight. Wipe off with a cloth or sponge.
- Freshen up carpets and sofas: Sprinkle on a thin layer of baking soda, leave it for 15–30 minutes, and vacuum it up.
- Drains and sinks: Pour a few tablespoons of baking soda down the drain, follow with vinegar, let it work, and then rinse with hot water.
Baking soda also works well together with Soapa – for example, when scrubbing the kitchen counter or when you want extra scrubbing power.
Tip! Always keep a jar of baking soda ready in your cleaning cupboard – it is a natural cleaning product that works for almost anything.
Why baking soda works so well for cleaning
Baking soda has many uses. Here we cover tips related to cleaning, laundry, and sanitation. No home remedies or beauty tips—our baking soda is intended for cleaning and laundry.
A baking soda solution is mildly alkaline, or basic—the opposite of acidic. A 1:10 water solution (9%) is mildly alkaline (pH 8.3), while a 1% solution has a pH of 8–8.6.
Baking soda tips—here’s how!
1. Ants do not like baking soda: If you have ants in kitchen cabinets or other spaces, sprinkle a line of baking soda where you suspect the ants are getting in.
2. A tip you may have seen on TV: Sodium bicarbonate removes dark tarnish from silver and copper (the oxide) through electrolysis without damaging your valuable items. Here’s how:
Place a large piece of crumpled aluminum foil in the sink or another stainless-steel container. Sprinkle over 10 ml (2 tsp) of sodium bicarbonate. Place the items inside. Sprinkle over more sodium bicarbonate. Pour in 1 liter of boiling-hot water; it will start to bubble as carbonic acid forms. Let cool, rinse, and dry. (For nickel silver and brass, weak acids work better, such as citric acid, vinegar, ketchup, or cultured buttermilk.)
3. Clean the thermos: Pour hot water into the thermos, add a couple of teaspoons of sodium bicarbonate, and let it stand—in 15–20 minutes, simply rinse it out and it will be completely clean inside.
4. A stainless-steel sink can be wiped with sodium bicarbonate on a damp cloth to make it really shine.
5. Remove bad odors: Easily remove the smell of smoke by placing dry sodium bicarbonate in a bowl in the room. It also removes odors such as diesel, garbage, and more.
6. Sweat odor in clothes: When sweat odor refuses to leave the fabric, add two to three tablespoons of baking soda to the washing machine. Note that baking soda also has a bleaching effect. It can also be used when washing whites to help keep them white.
7. Urine: Sprinkle baking soda and, if desired, a little lemon oil where the cat or dog has urinated—vacuum it up the next day.
8. If you have accidentally scratched a wall or a child has drawn on it, try mixing water and baking soda in a 50/50 ratio and gently scrubbing with a sponge.
9. Make white shoes white again. Dust baking soda over the shoe, dab with vinegar, and let the bubbles do the work.
10. Yellowed appliances/plastic: Make a solution with 1 part baking soda and 4 parts water. Apply the solution, let it dry for about 10 minutes, and then wipe it off.
11. Dry-cleaning alternative: Sprinkle baking soda over the mattress topper, leave it for a while, and then vacuum it up.
12. Accident, urine in bed: Wash the sheets immediately, try to absorb as much as possible with paper towels, then generously sprinkle baking soda over the mattress and vacuum it up the following day.
Baking soda is approved by the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation as a Good Environmental Choice alkaline substance. KRAV-approved acid/base/salt.
______________________________________________________________________________
- How can baking soda be used to clean silver and copper?
By combining baking soda with aluminum foil and boiling-hot water in a stainless-steel container, the oxide can easily be removed through electrolysis.
- How can baking soda help clean a thermos?
By filling the thermos with hot water and baking soda and letting it stand for a while, it becomes easy to rinse out and clean inside.
- What can you do with baking soda to remove bad odors from a room?
Placing baking soda in a bowl in the room helps absorb and neutralize unwanted odors, such as smoke or garbage.
- How can baking soda be used to deal with sweat odor in clothes?
Adding baking soda to the washing machine can effectively remove sweat odor from clothes and help preserve the whiteness of white laundry.
- Is baking soda environmentally friendly?
Yes, baking soda is approved by the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation as a Good Environmental Choice and is KRAV-approved as an acid/base/salt. It is an environmentally friendly alternative for cleaning and laundry!
can be ordered here