Top Household Cleaners: Baking Soda

If you know what to look for, non-hazardous cleaners are easy to come by. In fact many are already in homes across America. However, if you are one residence which doesn’t have any, you don’t have to go far to find them.

One extremely common cleaner that every supermarket and grocery store has is baking soda, otherwise known as bicarbonate of soda. It is nontoxic, healthy for people to use, doesn’t harm the environment, and perhaps the number one reason why it should be considered before anything else: it’s cheap.

One of the easiest ways to use it is simply buy a box and leave it open anywhere in the home like a refrigerator or cupboard. It can sit for months deodorizing.

As for more hands on household cleaning jobs the following are baking soda musts.

In the Kitchen:

• For tough stains in pots or pans pour baking soda on burned food and moisten making a paste. After letting it sit for a while, even overnight, scrub with a good scouring pad to remove hard residue.

• For straight cleaning wet a rag and pour on baking soda.

• Pouring baking soda down drains will clean them out and keep them smelling fresh.

Bathroom:

• For soap scum stains or mildew in bathrooms pour on the baking soda moistening it to make a paste. Let is sit and then scrub with a good sponge.

• Scrubbing with a toothbrush and baking soda paste will help clean tile grout.

Dining/Living Room:

• For odors in the carpet sprinkle on the carpet allowing it to sit for a while. Then vacuum up.

• For spills, pour on baking soda letting it soak up the liquid.

Bedroom/Office:

• Baking soda clears up battery acid. Just pour it on any exploded battery.

Household maintenance:

• Clean dusty screens with two cups of baking soda and a bucket of water.

• Place some boxes of baking soda around your attic to reduce musty smells.

• Baking soda can be used to melt snow.  

• Cleaning silver? Make a paste of three parts baking soda to one part water and apply to silver lightly rubbing it on. Rinse when done.