There are three main reasons why baking soda is such a good cleaning agent. Firstly, it’s a powerful deodorizer. Secondly, it offers mild abrasiveness and thirdly, it’s a brightener and whitener – the ideal cleaning combo.
Clean a Stainless Steel Coffee Mug
If your stainless steel cup looks and smells a bit strange, baking soda can solve this issue for you. Have a cup half full with hot water and add a tablespoon of baking soda to the solution. Fill the rest of the mug with hot water and let it soak for a couple of hours or overnight. The following day, take a sponge, or a bottle brush, along with a bit of dish soap and give it a good scrub. This will effectively eliminate any stains and persistent odors.
Microwave Cleaner
If there was a nasty burst in your microwave – no judging, we’ve all been there – there’s an easy way to clean that mess up using a cup of water in a microwave-safe bowl and two tablespoons of baking soda. Mix it all and microwave for 5 minutes. When the 5 minutes are up, remove the bowl and then take a cloth and wipe the microwave clean inside. The steam from the water will help dissolve crusty food and help transport tiny baking soda granules on the sides of the microwave, which provide mild abrasiveness to help remove stubborn stains.
DIY De-odorizer
If you want to freshen up a stinky corner of your home, baking soda will help. Take a jar or can – an old candle jar is perfect – fill it about half full with baking soda and add 5-10 drops of your favorite essential oil (this is totally optional). Place the container near the unpleasant orders and voila – the smell is gone! Baking soda is fantastic at absorbing and neutralizing odors and it’s a great set it and forget it type situation.
Scalp Scrub
If you rely heavily on dry shampoo or use many styling products in your hair, you might notice that your scalp feels a little bit yucky over time and you might start to feel a bit bored. In this case, you’d be looking for a cleansing scalp treatment and baking soda is the perfect solution. When you’re in the shower, simply add a little shampoo to your palms as usual, then mix in a tablespoon of baking soda. Your scalp will feel extra clean – you’ll have a great hair day! You’ve to be careful about two things; firstly, don’t overdo it, once a month maximum. Secondly, if you have artificial color in your hair, you don’t want to use baking soda at all.
Toilet Stank
There’s no nice way of saying it – you may have a stinky toilet. If you do, here’s a remedy for you. Next time you clean the bathroom, take a cup of baking soda with you before you do anything else. Start by taking out your toilet bowl brush and use it to wet the sides of the bowl. Then sprinkle the baking soda generously all over the toilet. Let it sit for at least 15-30 minutes to let the baking soda do its work. When you’re done, go and scrub that toilet clean, flush it and then you can use your regular toilet cleaning solution to do another clean. Pre-cleaning with baking soda will help remove any odors and then a regular toilet clean will help get rid of any residue and clean your toilet thoroughly.
Glass & Mirror Residue
Removing residues from glass surfaces can sometimes be difficult if only a liquid cleaner is used. The properties of baking soda can help remove stubborn residues from hairspray, toothpaste, etc. What you do in this case is moisten a microfiber cloth and sprinkle some baking soda on it. There’s no exact measurement here, but let’s call it a teaspoon and then you start cleaning the glass surface using the S-pattern from top to bottom. Once that’s done, wipe again to remove any remaining baking soda. Finally, treat the glass with your glass cleaner of choice – we suggest using vinegar and water with a microfiber cloth.
Let us know in the comment section if you have ever used baking soda for cleaning.
