Mix Baking Soda and Vinegar
Boost the cleaning powder of dry baking soda by sprinkling a few drops of vinegar on the surface you're cleaning. There will be fizzing but the chemical reaction will help release soil. Scrub gently and rinse well.
Some of the most effective household cleaners aren't meant to be mixed. You probably already know never to combine harsh chemicals like bleach and ammonia (or really, bleach and anything). But common pantry essentials that are often used for cleaning — like baking soda and vinegar — shouldn't be mixed either.
If you're wondering if it's safe to mix baking soda and bleach, the answer is yes, with some caveats. First and foremost, avoid mixing them if you have a water-sensitive surface or item. Also, make sure to read the instructions that come with your cleaner before using it.
Let it sit for 30 minutes, then spray with vinegar. The baking soda dissolves stains and then the vinegar combines with it to create a chemical reaction that creates a powerful chemical reaction. Scrub the stains clean and flush the solution down the drain.
The disinfectant properties of hydrogen peroxide will first remove all the fungal or bacteria growth that you may be developing in your sink or faucet. Moreover, mixing it with baking soda will make a potent whitener that easily removes tough stains of hard water and soap froths.
For example, you should never mix Lysol with vinegar or baking soda. Lysol is an acidic cleaner while vinegar and baking soda are both bases. When these products are mixed together, they create a chemical reaction that produces harmful chlorine gas.
Phosgene gas, also known as mustard gas, is actually a byproduct of bleach when combined with ammonia. A few other elements that are created as a byproduct include hydrochloric acid, chlorine gas and hydrazine.
Soft scrub — Mix ½ cup baking soda with enough Dawn dish detergent to make a paste. Use to clean sinks, tubs and counters. Rinse and dry. Deep-cleaning scrub — Great for soap scum and mildew.
Baking soda is a naturally mild and abrasive cleaning agent, so it, combined with the soap, does a wonderful job at removing food particles and germs on your dishes. If you've got particularly stuck-on food, you can add a bit of kosher salt for extra scrubbing power.
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].
Let the baking soda sit for several hours or overnight.
If you can let it sit for 24 hours, that's even better. The longer it sits, the better your results will be. Baking soda naturally neutralizes and absorbs odors rather than covering them up.
Baking soda makes a great stainless steel sink cleaner because it is abrasive enough to scrub away light hard water deposits and stuck-on grease and food, but not so abrasive as to scratch shiny stainless steel fixtures like faucets.
Dissolve 1 teaspoon of baking soda in 2 cups of hot water; add 1 teaspoon of lemon juice. Pour the solution into a spray bottle and spray as you would an air freshener.
Cleaning paste: Mix lemon juice with baking soda. Dishes, surfaces, stains: Cut a lemon in half and sprinkle baking soda on the cut section of the lemon. Use it like you would a sponge. Furniture polish: Mix 1 cup olive oil with 1/2 cup lemon juice for a natural furniture polish for hardwood furniture.
When vinegar (dilute acetic acid) and baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) mix together, the pair "foams up" to produce carbon dioxide gas, as well as liquid water, acetate ions and sodium ions. The carbon dioxide gas is what produces the bubbles.
However much you are making, just add twice as much hydrogen peroxide as you do the detergent. So for a small stain mix 1 teaspoon of Dawn with two teaspoons of peroxide. For a large batch 1 cup of hydrogen peroxide to ½ cup detergent works!
Mix together two tablespoons hydrogen peroxide, a tablespoon of baking soda and a tablespoon of dish soap. Spread the mixture over any stain; let it sit for a bit and then launder as directed.
All you'll need is one cup of white vinegar and one cup of baking soda. You'll be using these two ingredients separately, as using them together will only cancel out the effectiveness of each one, during two washes on the same load of towels.