If you've only ever used baking soda in home baking as a leavening agent in cookies, cakes and muffins, you might be surprised to know that it's really effective when used around the house to keep everything from mugs and ovens to carpets and curtains fresh and clean.
Ingesting an excessive amount of baking soda can result in a variety of health concerns. Seizures, renal failure, and dehydration are all possible consequences of high salt content. It is the bicarbonate that has an effect on the pH of bodily fluids.
Since it's gentle, Baking Soda is safe and effective as a cleaner for glass, chrome, steel, enamel and plastic. Because Baking Soda is a pure, natural product that is also a food, it is non-toxic, unlike many other household cleaners.
Baking soda is abrasive enough to remove grime, but won't damage the glass. Take 3 tablespoons of baking soda and mix with water to create a paste. Take your baking soda paste and apply it to the stained areas of your shower screen. Work it in a circular motion using a sponge.
Baking soda is a powerful all-purpose cleaner. Its slight abrasiveness won't harm your stainless steel, but it will help unstick stuck-on stains. Make a thick paste with baking soda and water (here's how), and glop it on tough stains. Let it sit for 20 minutes, then wipe, rinse, and dry.
Which natural detergent comes out on top? Well, that would depend on its intended use. For instance, vinegar is potent at fighting mold while baking soda is great at fighting wine and coffee stains. The former is a better disinfectant but the latter is a phenomenal deodorizer.
First, make "flush" a family rule. Also, make a simple routine part of your weekly cleaning: Sprinkle the toilet with cup of baking soda. Let it sit for 30 minutes, then spray or squirt with vinegar (a mild acid) to moisten. Scrub with a bowl brush and flush away [source: Niagara County].
When it comes to hair care, baking soda can function as a clarifying agent that penetrates the hair shaft, removing dirt, oil, and product buildup. As a result, gray hair becomes brighter, smoother, and less brassy.
How often is it OK to use baking soda to brush teeth? The Journal of the American Dental Association states that baking soda is safe for daily use. It is a good idea to only use baking soda to brush the teeth once per day. Use a good fluoride toothpaste to brush teeth the rest of the time.
Cleaning your toilet tank is pretty quick and easy with vinegar and baking soda. You only need to do it once or twice a year, and it can help get rid of bacteria, mold, and mineral deposits to keep you and your family healthy.
When cleaning your carpet with baking soda, let it sit for at least 15 minutes. The longer the baking soda stays on the rug, the more odor, dirt, and oil it will absorb, for a more thorough clean. Try leaving baking soda on the carpet overnight and vacuuming in the morning.
While baking soda is more often known for its odor control qualities, it does have natural whitening capabilities that are appreciated by people who would rather not turn to bleach. Adding baking soda to the laundry gently cleans your clothes and removes tough smells and stains.
Baking soda and vinegar is a marvelous cleaning agent, and when dumped into a clogged toilet, often will break up the clog without you having to do a thing. This is what you want to do: combine two cups hot water with two cups white vinegar.
If the clog still seems to be intact, start over at step 1 and repeat the process a couple of times. For extra-stubborn clogs, you can let the fizz mixture sit overnight or combine this method with plunging.
Baking soda is a base, and vinegar is an acid. When they're combined, acids “donate” protons to bases; in this case, it's acetic acid lending a hydrogen proton to the bicarbonate. When bicarbonate gains a hydrogen proton, it forms carbonic acid (or H2CO3) which is unstable and eventually decomposes.
The combination of dish soap and vinegar is highly effective for a few different reasons. They're both excellent at breaking down tough grease and grime, but vinegar alone will simply run off of most surfaces, and dish soap is too thick to use on its own.
Baking soda is especially great for cleaning plastic because it absorbs any funky odors that the plastic may have soaked up. Rinse the plastic item with hot water to get all the food out. Sprinkle on baking soda with a bit of water to make a paste. Scrub the paste with a sponge or scrubber.
Baking soda is abrasive which means it can damage lightly sealed surfaces or discolor some metals.
Aluminum. It's OK to use baking soda to clean your aluminum pots and pans, but it's just important to remember to rinse them right after. “Baking soda can cause aluminum to oxidize,” says Jack Prenter, founder of Chore Bliss. “Extensive contact will cause oxidization which will turn the surface brown.”