40 Baking Soda Cleaning Hacks!

We have rounded up 40 of the best cleaning hacks using bicarbonate of soda. 

Baking soda is a great all-round cleaner that puts many of the big brands to shame. 

Read on to see just how much you can do with this great household staple!

  1. Scour down the bath or shower tray.

After many days of refreshing showers or relaxing baths, your bath or shower tray will cease to appear so inviting! Cutting through the soap scum is made easy by using a paste of baking soda as a gentle abrasive. 

  1. Give your Dutch oven a facelift.

Dutch ovens are beautiful pieces of cooking equipment that deserve to be kept at their best. Burnt on dirt in your Dutch pot doesn't stand a chance against persistent rubbing with bicarb. 

  1. Revive your closet.

Simply rip the top off a box of bicarb and set it at the base or on a shelf of your closet and forget about it. Bicarb is an odor magnet and will suck up any musty smells over weeks and months. 

  1. Sanitize a wooden cutting board

Cleaning wooden chopping boards can be tricky but rubbing in baking soda means that your cleaning will penetrate the wood grain leaving it free of contaminants.

  1. Create a homemade ant deterrent.

Once summer hits ants and other critters want to take up residence in your home. Give them the heave-ho by placing a small dish with bicarb and lavender oil in the corner of any affected room. This disturbs them immensely and should drive them away.

  1. Give your hairbrushes a good clean.

Dead skin, oils, and product residues build up on combs and brushes and get dragged through your hair day after day. Break the cycle by using baking soda soak to strip your hair tools of dirt for a thorough clean.

  1. Make a DIY fruit and vegetable wash.
Make a DIY fruit and vegetable wash

Bicarb is great for getting residues off your fruits and veg. Cold soak your produce in a dilute solution of this wonder powder!

  1. Clean your shower curtain with minimal fuss.

Baking soda is great for getting the grime off vinyl shower curtains. Sprinkle it on and scrub or soak the curtains in a bicarb solution.

  1. Upgrade your grout!

A baking soda paste can be rubbed on the grout with a toothbrush.

  1. Remove unpleasant odors emanating from your vac.

Simply vacuum up some essential oil-scented baking soda while cleaning your carpets and rugs to disperse any staleness coming from your vacuum cleaner exhaust.

  1. Give your garden furniture a good clean-up!

A trusty paste of bicarb will lift off the tired weather-worn staining in time for summer fun in your backyard.

  1. Clean your dentures or retainer.

Water + bicarb + your dental hardware +/- peppermint oil. Yes - it's that simple!

  1. Give soft toys a spa treatment!

Clean plush toys the non-toxic way by placing them in a Ziplock bag with bicarb for a few days.

  1. Take on stinky sneakers and win!

Even the smelliest sports shoes cannot withstand the sustained attack of bicarb. Sprinkle baking soda in the shoe or fill a cut-off pantyhose toe with baking soda to place in the shoe. 

  1. Treat your oven to a good polish!

Again, the abrasive properties of bicarb work wonders.

  1. Deal with drains.

Throw a whole box of bicarb down the drain and leave overnight. Follow up in the morning with white vinegar. 

  1. Soak your pans

If you have been hitting the kitchen hard, leave pans and oven trays to soak in a bicarb and warm water solution before tackling them. 

  1. Boost your scouring

Dip your scourer in bicarb for a cleaning boost. 

  1. Banish odors from pet bedding

While Fido is in the garden, why not sprinkle his dog basket down with bicarb, leave for a few hours, and vac the whole lot up?

  1. Pamper your sponges
40 Baking Soda Cleaning Hacks

Inhibit the growth of microbes by soaking your sponges in a bicarb and lemon oil solution. 

  1. Strip down your toilet bowl.

Tackle limescale, uric acid crystals, and all sorts of nasties by dusting down your lavatory bowl with a thick layer of bicarb. Leave a while and add white vinegar liberally to finish the job. 

  1. Get the stink out of your cat litter.

Dust down the litter tray throughout the day to freshen your home. 

  1. Remove the musty smell from your microwave.

Microwave + baking soda + a shallow dish of water + 30 seconds on the high setting. Wipe to finish.

  1. Love on your worktops.

Important note: Do not use bicarb and vinegar on natural stone like marble as it will erode the stone and spoil your worktop. 

  1. Give cloth diapers a pre-wash soak.

After removing solids, bicarbonate of soda will help loosen dirt and neutralize urine before your washing machine finishes the job.

  1. Lighten your laundry.

A cupful of bicarb in with your regular laundry detergent can help lift stains and add brightness to your clothes. 

  1. Clean your toothbrush.
Deep-Clean Toothbrushes and Retainers

You can clean your toothbrush and your teeth with bicarb.

  1. Scrub down your stove.

Sprinkle bicarbonate of soda and Dawn dish soap on your stovetop for a deep clean. A small amount of white vinegar can be added to boost the clean.

  1. Smarten up your cutlery

A bicarb soak is effective at lifting dirt and impurities from your silverware before polishing them. Avoid using dry powder as it can scratch silver cutlery.

  1. Give faucets and showerheads a real shine.

Grab a freezer bag, an elastic band, some white vinegar, and baking soda. Sprinkle bicarb on the showerhead or faucets and cover them with the freezer bag containing white vinegar, sealing the bag using the elastic band. This will lift off the scale and water staining in a few hours. 

  1. Stop the dishwasher stink!

Dust down the entire dishwasher with bicarb and run it on a sanitizer cycle with a bowl of white vinegar on the top shelf.

  1. Tackle fridge funk.

Like the closet, just rip open a pack of bicarb and place it on the top shelf of your fridge. 

  1. Deep clean the kitchen sink.

Scrub your sink with bicarb and finish with a white vinegar rinse for a sparkling shine!

  1. Revive carpets and rugs.

Dust down your carpets with bicarbonate of soda mixed with your favorite essential oils. Vacuum up and enjoy the freshness. 

  1. Lift urine from a mattress.

Act quickly! Blot the stain, add white vinegar, then pile on bicarb and leave for 24 to 48 hours. Vacuum up and repeat if necessary.

  1. Make the trash can approachable!

Leave a liberal amount of baking soda at the bottom of your trash can to absorb odors. 

  1. No more musty drawers.

Those baking soda-filled pantyhose can be stashed in a drawer to keep its contents fresh.

  1. Sanitize your blender.
Sanitize your blender
Sanitize your blender

Bicarb + white vinegar + water and press PULSE.

  1. Remove crayon marks from the walls and hard surfaces.

Gentle rubbing with bicarb can lift these marks. 

  1. Clean down your hard floors.

Add half a cup of bicarbonate of soda to warm water and a dot of dish soap to make your floors sparkle!

Best pals for your baking soda cleaning hacks!

  • White vinegar packs a punch when combined with bicarb creating a frenzied effervescence that breaks up scum and loosens dirt. Harness the potency of this classic acid/alkali reaction in particularly stubborn areas.
  • Borax is an all-natural mineral that is great for cleaning tasks when combined with baking soda. This combo is great as an all-natural laundry detergent for sensitive skin.
  • Lavender oil not only smells sublime but is also excellent at warding off ants and spiders. It is oestrogenic and appears to interfere with their hormonal signaling (pheromones) making them unwilling to remain in your home.
  • Lemon oil is a great antimicrobial agent to add extra cleansing and sanitizing properties to your baking soda. It's great on chopping boards too.
  • Tea tree oil is also antibacterial and has an unobtrusive fresh smell around your home.

In conclusion

Baking soda is a cupboard staple that will never go out of style! It is so versatile and effective at what it does that you will easily save a wad of cash on a hundred different cleaning sprays and solutions.

We hope that among these 40 baking soda (bicarbonate of soda) cleaning hacks are one or two that will become your household’s go-to cleaning hacks. And with bicarb being so cheap there is no easier way to join the natural cleaning revolution!

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