We all know that Baking soda is safe to the environment, it is also the basis for some of our top leading cleaners. So what makes us spend money on new items that are on the market today? Is it the advertising gimmicks, the idea that something might prove to be better? It is still known and proved that baking soda does everything that needs to be done as far as cleaning, freeing our clothes from odors and keeping our homes smelling fresh and clean. Try some of these things and see how great baking soda does the job:
Great for Upkeep Around the House
Do you use rubber gloves when you are out in the yard or in the workshop?
Pour a little baking soda inside the glove and they will slide on easier, keep your hands soft and dry.
Have a clogged drain
Pour cup of baking soda down the drain and follow with a cup of vinegar. Let sit for a few minutes, the chemical reaction will cause bubbles and foaming inside your drains, loosening all of the contaminates and then flush with hot water to let it clean the rest of the drain.
** This is a great way to use up the leftover baking soda that is from in your refrigerator. It has absorbed all of the odors and has lost a small amount of action, but it still has enough left to be able to clean your drains.
Great to use in the KITCHEN
Use as a glass clean for vases, crystal, knick knacs and more.
Fill the sink with hot water, add a cup of baking soda and mix. Place all of your glassware and crystal in the sink and let it soak clean, rinse off and dry and it will sparkle like crazy.
Are you tired of using scouring pads, once and having to throw them away because they will rust?Mix a cup of baking soda to 16 oz. of water and keep it under the sink. When you are through with your scouring pad, place it in the jar and recap until the next time that you need it.
Do you have Rubbermaid and Tupperware that still smells like onions or garlic?
Place a teaspoon of baking soda in, add a squirt of dish soap and HOT water and a Tablespoon of vinegar. Do this in the sink because it will bubble and may flow over the top of the container. Let sit for 10 minutes and the odors will be gone for good.
For a Great Scouring Powder
Mix 1 cup of baking soda, a cup of borax and a cup of salt
Keep a cup of baking soda or your scouring powder mixture in a fancy container or shaker right at your kitchen sink.
It will be handy when you need it and you will have a fast and easy clean up after you do the dishes.
Get rid of contamination and ugly bacteria by using baking soda for a clean up. Pour a cup of baking soda in a gallon of hot water and wipe your kitchen and bathrooms clean and bacteria free.
Want an easy way to keep your coffee pot clean?
Fill the pot with HOT water, add a cup of baking soda and mix well, pour into your coffee pot as ususal and put thru the brewing cycle and rinse. If you have a pot that has the second reservoir, you will have to pour into the reservoir, run a pot of hot water. Add a pot of clear hot water to the reservoir, run the pot with the dirty baking soda water, then add another pot of clear hot water and run another pot of water. You now have a totally clean pot in both reservoirs and have eliminated all of the mineral build up that was in the pot and cleaned all of the holes and mechanism.
A great microwave cleaner too
Fill a bowl with HOT water, mix a cup of baking soda in the bowl. Turn your mic on high for 3 minutes. Let the bowl and water cool. Dump out the water and wipe the mic with a paper towel and it will be clean, smell good and bacteria free.
Laundry Tips Using Baking Soda
Do you have something that has oil on it and the oil won't come off?
Sprinkle baking soda on it and let it sit for about 30 minutes, the baking soda will absorb the oil.
Ring around the collar
Do you have stains from body oils and makeup on your collar and NOTHING gets it out? Try mixing a little baking soda and water (enough to form a paste) and rub it on the stained area. Then, right before throwing in the washer, pour a little vinegar on top to make it bubble and foam. It will eat into the stain (releasing it) but won't harm the material. This is great for on those colored clothes that get all different kinds of stains!
Smelly hunting clothes
Everyone knows that a deer, turkey or for that matter, any animal can smell a human being no matter how the wind blows. So, in order to get those body smells out of your hunting clothes, just throw about a 1 cup of baking soda into the washer, turn on and add water and wash. This is great for taking the odor right out. Then hang outside for that fresh out doorsey smell, the deer will never know where you are!
Do you have delicate items that you would like to bleach?
We all know that by using bleach time after time, it will weaken the fibers in your delicates, so what do you do?
You mix a little baking soda with lemon juice and add to the wash load.
Fabric softener
Add baking soda to the rinse cycle and it makes a great fabric softener. I use my fabric softener ball and mix cup of baking soda and water (to the line), shake well and throw in the washer. Easy to use, environment friendly and inexpensive too!
Use a box of baking soda in your gym locker to keep all of those odors out!
Great for Pets too
If you have a light colored dog and you notice that it is getting dirty or the hair is matting a lot.
Sprinkle baking soda, right from the box, on your pet and rub in. Then take a brush or comb and groom your pet. The dirt will come right out, the hair will get soft and manageable.
Use baking soda as a deodorizer in the liter box.
It is cheaper than deodorizers on the market and will clump up in the box for easy disposal.
Baking soda isn't only good to brush peoples teeth, it is great for your pets too. They like the flavor, and it helps their stomach, if swallowed, with digestion.
Jan Hayner is a Professional Organizer, Easy Home Organizing offers tips and hints on home organizing and house cleaning shortcuts for men, women, parents, senior citizens and kids. Monthly newsletter, checklists and free pamphlets '50 Things to Organize in 10 Minutes or Less, GuiltBusters for Working Moms and 50 House Cleaning Shortcuts' are available to guide you. You can read more about her at her website http://www.organizingyourlifetheeasyway.com.
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» left by Dave Tanguay (195 days 2 hours ago.)
Hello Jan, when I was in Jr. high school one of our teachers told us baking soda was the best thing to use for brushing your teeth. So I always use it despite the bad taste. Only I was told by a dentist a couple of years ago my teeth were very dry so she advised me to use tooth paste. Respond to this comment
» left by Jan Hayner(3,827) Jan Hayner (194 days 5 hours ago.)
Hi David, what you say is very true. But, years ago, baking soda was the only thing to use. To this day, Toothpaste, that has baking soda in it, is the best for your teeth and body. The main tip is to dilute as much as possible and don't leave on your teeth for a period of time. Baking Soda will wear off the enamel on your teeth.
However, arm and hammer toothpaste with baking soda is good for you.
As Arm and Hammer states: As a cleaning agent, baking soda is less abrasive than virtually any other cleaning agent used in toothpastes. Less abrasion means less tooth wear, which helps keep your teeth healthier, longer. And when it comes to cleaning, recent studies indicate that baking soda in high concentrations, like those found in most ARM & HAMMER® toothpastes, break down into tiny particles that are able to penetrate enamel crevices and remove food particles and deep stain embedded there. Other cleaning agents, like silica, don’t readily break down into such tiny particles, so they are too big to clean inside the enamel crevices.
In addition to cleaning well and delivering fluoride, baking soda toothpaste provides many additional functional benefits that separate it from other toothpastes:
Baking Soda is gentle—it has significantly lower enamel and dentin abrasivity than the cleaning agents (i.e. silica) used in conventional toothpastes.
Baking Soda freshens—it imparts a distinct freshness and clean-mouth feel (which has proven itself to help promote compliance with a sound oral hygiene regimen, i.e., brushing after meals).
Baking Soda deodorizes—it provides superiority compared to conventional toothpastes in deodorancy control due to its unique ability to reduce acids in the mouth. They also add Floride to our teeth.
1.baking soda rinse neutralizes the acid by raising the pH level in the mouth also.
Thanks for the comment and I do agree, that if used alone, it WILL eliminate enamel.
Jan Respond to this comment
» left by Marie Bacon (194 days ago.)
Wow, you are so right. I have veered away from the tele and I notice when I do watch it, there are all of these commercials telling me what I need that I don't have. ha. I want a the basics, everything else is in the way. This was the first article of yours that I have read. I have to go to sleep soon, work comes early, but I look forward to tomorrow when I can see what other good advice you have. :) have a wonderful night. :)
Marie Respond to this comment
» left by Jan Hayner(3,827) Jan Hayner (193 days 7 hours ago.)
Thank you for your nice comments Marie. I hope you find some good sugestions and tips that you can use in the rest of my articles. If at any time their is a subject you would like me to give you tips for (under organizing or cleaning), just email me. I am always open to questions. Jan Respond to this comment
» left by CT Mesa (193 days 1 hour ago.)
Hi Jan,
I think that all the uses of Baking Soda you suggested are quite remarkably interesting. Baking Soda is also inexpensive. Thanks a million. I will make sure that I stock up the next time I go grocery shopping. Respond to this comment
» left by Jan Hayner(3,827) Jan Hayner (192 days 16 hours ago.)
Hi CR;
Your right, a 2 lb. box is less than a dollar. Thats a big change from some of the cleaners on the market today. Then if you add a gallon of vinegar (less than $2.00) You have one of the most potent cleaning duo's for less than three dollars and it lasts a lot longer too! Economical, good for the environment and kills bacteria. What a winner! Jan Respond to this comment
» left by Camille Strate(1,193) Camille Strate (192 days 11 hours ago.)
Jan~ Thanks for this article. I knew about a few of these tips, but you offer so many I DIDN'T know about. Bravo! Eco-friendly uses and inexpensive to boot. Greatly appreciated! Respond to this comment
» left by Jan Hayner(3,827) Jan Hayner (178 days 11 hours ago.)
Thank you Camille. I have the readers of my newsletter to thank for adding to my list. They always come through for me with great ideas! Working together, we CAN make a difference in all of our lives! Respond to this comment
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