I luv baking soda. I should have a bumper sticker that says that. it’s my favorite cleaner of all time.

Baking soda is an amazingly versatile  substance. There is a ton of info out there on the interweb singing the praises of good ole sodium bicarbonate. We all know about the box in the fridge. There’s even a book dedicated to all the uses for baking soda.

It’s cleaning power comes partially from the fact that it is mildly alkaline and also from it’s very mild abrasiveness. It basically turns grease and dirt into a form of soap. Soap just makes water ‘wetter’ so the funk particles are suspended in a form that is easily rinsed away. That’s enough of this chemistry shit though. I just know it works.

It is also environmentally friendly and safe for our water system. It cuts down on the packaging and chemicals in common petroleum-based cleaners too. Cleaning products are a huge source of water and air pollution and they contain such cheery sounding things as ‘hormone disrupters’, ‘carcinogens’ and ‘neurotoxins’.  thanks, but no thanks. I have something that does the job just as well, is cheaper and safer too. Plus, they all seem to smell like nasty ass fake flowers or mountains and make me sneeze.

I believe the marketing of these products is out of control and leads people to believe that if you do not kill all of the germs in your house with their products, your children will die a horrible, germy, green glowing death. Please don’t fall for it! We have immune systems for a reason. Some of the chemicals in commercial cleaning products actually weaken the immune system and make it harder to fight off the germs so you need more cleaner! Coincidence?  LOL

Antibacterial products in cleaners are so bad for us too! Ever heard of antibiotic resistance? Some of  those cleaners basically have antibiotics in them. I say, unless you have a damn good reason (immunocompromised, post surgical, etc.), Just make sure things are visually clean and your amazing body and it’s little buggies will do the rest.

That being said, I do occasionally need to use a stronger cleaner like bleach or mr. clean and I do not hesitate to do so. I just use as little as I need to do the job.

But I digress….

I’ll just cover my favorite uses here.

In cooking, it neutralizes acids and releases carbon dioxide to help things rise.

In the kitchen, it can be used to extinguish fires.

Doc told me to use it on bee stings.

I also use it for damn near any and all cleaning projects that require a mild abrasive.

The key, I’ve found,  in most scrubbing applications is to keep the cloth barely damp, not wet, and use the baking soda like a dry scrub. you’ll actually feel it ‘grab’ the dirt. And you’ll feel how clean the surface is afterwords. squeaky!

Use with a barely dampened cloth to clean soap scum from the tub. My tub is white acrylic (I think) and this works very well. also nice on the tiles. On a really grungy tub you may need to bust out some elbow grease, but it will work. A good scrub never hurt anybody.

Scrub mildew out of kiddy pool

Use with a toilet brush to clean the toilet bowl (I use a stronger version of my all-purpose cleaner for the seat).

Shine up faucets and fixtures.

Clean kitchen sink and sweeten the drain & disposer.

Use it in homemade laundry detergent (i’ll post about this at some point).

or just throw some in the washer for a cold presoak to attempt remove icky odors.

Put a few cups in the bottom of the trashcan and sprinkle with a few drops of lemon or some other essential oil. Change it out periodically because it will absorb the odors and then it will start to stink. Bad. Like to the point that you ask yourself what that smell is and go on a stank-hunt. Don’t laugh, you know what a stank-hunt is.

Clean the stove top – especially after making jam. Wet the spilled, carbonized nasty, crusty jam on the stove top and then sprinkle baking soda thickly on it. Let it sit for an hour or so with a barely damp cloth on top then use a plastic scraper to remove it. Repeat if needed, then follow-up with a barely dampened cloth till shiny. or at least not revolting anymore – hey, I don’t judge, matter of fact, my stove top is just about at revolting right now. Have to clean it tonight.

It takes coffee stains right off of mugs with no effort.

It will sweeten a musty cooler or thermos.

It will freshen shoes.

Or carpet. just make sure it’s not even the slightest bit damp before you sprinkle it on otherwise you get paste. Not what we’re after and a big pain in the ass to clean up. Just trust me on this one.

I sprinkled it on the dog after he rolled in something dead (or otherwise rotten) when he got out the other day. I bathed him then sprinkled on the still stinky spots and let it sit for a bit, then I rinsed it out very, very, very well.  He still smells a wee bit rank, but it is a significant improvement over the eye-watering stench that he came in the house with.

I also use it to clean out the pets’ water dishes. Just dump some in the rinsed bowl and rub it on with my fingers till squeaky.

and there are so many more.

I do not use baking soda for toothpaste or deodorant, but every once in a while I’ll mix it with some of my face wash for a scrub.

I get my baking soda in bulk so it really is cheap. Apparently you can get 50 lb bags of non-food grade sodium bicarbonate at feed stores even cheaper. Haven’t checked that out yet.

Using baking soda can be a good way to reduce household cleaning costs and reduce the impact of things we use every day.

Hope you decide to give it a shot. Comment me and let me know what you use it for.

Shine On!