Baking soda has long been heralded as a cleaning miracle, and it remains just as effective for cleaning today, as it did many years ago when shop bought cleaning solutions weren’t so commonplace; best of all, it’s cheap and environmentally friendly.
Below are some ingenious ways to use baking soda to clean around your home:
- Soft scrub solution
Simply sprinkle baking soda on your tubs, sinks and tiles and wipe them down with a damp cloth; couldn’t be easier or quicker! A paste of water and baking soda is equally effective for more grubby areas of your home.
- Sparkling floors
Pour half a cup of baking soda into a bucket of warm water and proceed to mop your floors.
- Cut through grease
Baking soda is fantastic for cutting through grease, and you can add a generous scoop of it to your normal dish soap before soaking items in it for a while.
- Clean and deodorize your microwave
Grab a damp cloth, sprinkle baking soda over it and scrub to remove microwave stains and leave it smelling fresh. Use a paste of baking soda and water to clean your oven in the same way; although for best results, leave the paste smeared over the interior of the oven and leave it overnight before wiping it off.
- Give your laundry detergent a boost
Baking soda, when added to your laundry, helps to soften the water and make your clothes cleaner, fresher and much softer; you only need to add ½ a cup to see results.
- Eliminate oil and grease stains
Because baking soda is so effective at cutting through oil and grease stain, if you have any such unsightly stains in your garage or on your driveway, simply sprinkle soda over them and scrub at them with a brush.
- Keep your refrigerator smelling fresh
Simply place an open tub of baking soda at the back of your refrigerator to help neutralize any nasty whiffs. Change the box every 6 weeks or so for the best results.
- Unclog drains
A combination of baking soda and vinegar, when poured into a blocked drain, will unclog it wonderfully well, without the nasty odors.
- Rid trash cans of unpleasant odors
Baking soda, simply sprinkled over the bottom of your trash cans, can help to keep nasty smells at bay.
- Deodorize carpets
Grab your baking soda, sprinkle it over your carpets and leave it overnight. The next morning, vacuum and you’ll find all unpleasant aromas have disappeared.
- Sanitize cutting boards
To prevent bacteria from building up on your cutting boards, sprinkle baking soda over them, give them a scrub and wash them off.
Baking soda is a cheap, readily available and environmentally friendly way to clean many items and areas in the home, and if you’re considering hiring a cleaner to help you out but are concerned that they’ll use harsh chemicals, simply talk to them beforehand and request that they use only natural cleaning solutions; most will be happy to oblige and may already use those methods when cleaning professionally.
