Baking soda is not just an ingredient you use in your cooking efforts to make the best chocolate chip cookies. Believe it or not, this item has a ton of uses in home cleaning, which you will do well to consider the next time you are engaged in any such activity. It is an excellent abrasive, which is quite effective and also gentle enough. It possesses superb deodorising properties and can easily be your go-to solution for some cleaning emergencies. Here are some of the uses you should know about:
- Remove bad odours from a fridge – if you are worried that last night’s yummy but smelly fish dish will leave a lasting scent in your fridge, you should know that baking soda is the solution to this problem. It can absorb any negative smells in the refrigerator so that they don’t linger inside and transfer to other foods in the area.
- Clean stains from plastic food containers – food leftovers usually leave a mark on food containers. To clean them, you must wipe with a sponge and the soda. Alternatively, you can remove stains by soaking them in a solution of 4 tbsp. baking soda with a quart of warm water. That is a quick and scrub-free method of cleaning plastic containers.
- Scrub kitchen surfaces – keeping kitchen surfaces clean is a must since that is where you prepare your food. You will be happy to learn that pretty much every area in there can be cleaned with the aid of baking soda. When you combine it with water, you can pretty much deal with the gunk on stainless steel sinks, cooking utensils, range hood, microwave and other small appliances as well as countertops. Baking soda sure is quite universal.
- Deal with greasy pans and dishes – when your cooking efforts result in a mess; you can quickly deal with the aftermath. Baked-on food can be addressed with a pinch of it and dish soap. Pretty much all you need to dissolve the greasy stains is a hot water soak of dirty items, a scrub sponge and some baking soda. Well, some elbow grease as well.
- Remove musty smell from upholstery – if your soft furnishings have developed an unpleasant musty smell, it is time to banish it with it. Sprinkle a generous amount of soda on the surfaces and let it sit for 15 minutes. Then, vacuum up the area. It works like a charm on your mattress too! You can also use it to remove strong odours from pet beds, as a safe alternative to any other cleaning solution out there.
- Freshen smelly shoes – your gym class shoes may not be the most pleasant thing in the world, but you can still freshen them by sprinkling some soda inside. Tap out any amount of soda before wearing them again, or use the vacuum cleaner.
As you can see, baking soda is quite versatile in cleaning multiple areas of your home. It is up to you to include this fantastic solution in your cleaning rounds – it is cheap and eco-friendly!