Monday, March 4, 2013

Use Baking Soda to Avoid Harsh Chemicals in Cleaners

One of the suggestions offered at the lecture I attended last week dealing with the safety of personal care products was to "use fewer products whenever possible." It's great advice, whether it be for personal care products, household cleaning supplies or food ingredients.

Coincidentally, over the weekend, I bought a new box of baking soda and its manufacturer (Whole Foods) offered a handful of additional uses for baking soda that could spare us exposure to superfluous (and expensive) products and their untested chemical agents.


Here are two possibilities; the first (which I had known about) obviates the need for commercial scouring powders and the second (which I just tried for the first time) works pretty well.

"Sparkling Kitchen Surfaces: Clean counters, tile floors, appliances, even food prep surfaces—with no chemical residue left behind. Simply sprinkle baking soda directly onto surfaces for gentle but effective scouring. For tile floors dissolve a ½ cup of baking soda in warm water to cut through dirt and grime.
"Freshen Musty Duds: When the dryer shuts off before the clothes are completely dry and they're left with that sour smell, you don't have to re-wash the entire load. Simply sprinkle a little baking soda on them, turn the dryer back on, and run it for at least 20 minutes."
I am sure a quick Google search would reveal dozens of additional great ideas. Anyone have any?

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

I also use white vinegar for cleaning. Works quite well for taking mineral deposits off glass shower doors, etc., instead of the harsh-smelling and warning-laden lime-dissolving commercial cleaners. On the shower floor I just leave a towel soaked in vinegar all night, and then, voila, the soap scum and mineral deposit just about rinse off.

Chef Rob said...

I agree, white vinegar is great. But I had never heard of the soaked towel on shower floor trick; I will try, thanks.

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Great recipes, and it's so true that white vinegar is a miracle-worker. I use it to soak the kids' thermoses (with the pesky straws) at the end of the school week. A natural disinfectant. A friend told me that cider vinegar is just as good, with a more pleasant smell. I'm going to look into that!

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Unknown said...

What great information about how to dilute harsh chemicals. Baking soda really has so many different abilities that it doesn't surprise me that it can bring down the harshness. Something that I really like is that there are great options for being able to clean our houses without having possible harmful chemicals. Thank you for taking the time to share. http://www.banksenterprise.net/office_cleaning.html

Enola Ford said...

It's nice to see people getting into natural cleaning products!If you use just a bit of baking soda on an almost dry cloth, you could have also got sparkling clean new looking drain and strainer.. Its amazing to get the old baked on grease off of all your pots and pans... WITHOUT SCRATCHING!! The trick is to have it almost dry.. and to use it liberally. Amazingly works better than store bought poisonous horrible chemicals.

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Unknown said...

Weekdays make up the busiest days of the week. It is barely possible to even clean the countertop after breakfast, or wash dishes after lunch. But to be able to maintain sanitation, it is essential to do these light chores regularly. Cleaning dishes, doing the laundry, taking out trash, and filing bills and other papers must be done on a daily basis. This way, you are able to get rid of clutter and move freely around the house, as well as prevent fungus and molds to grow on grimy tableware and soiled clothing.
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