20 Ways to Use Baking Soda to Clean and Freshen Your Home

Baking soda isn't just for baking—try using it for these household cleaning uses, too.

Baking soda might just be the most versatile staple in your pantry. Also known as sodium bicarbonate, baking soda is an alkaline compound that produces small bubbles of carbon dioxide gas when mixed with an acid (like vinegar, lemon juice, or buttermilk), making it ideal for leavening cakes, breads, and cookies to fluffy perfection.

But its uses go far beyond raising our favorite cake and cookie recipes. Baking soda's naturally abrasive texture and chemical properties make it ideal for household cleaning uses as well, like scrubbing and scouring dirt, deodorizing bad smells, and lifting stubborn stains. "Baking soda is an economical and environmentally friendly cleaning option," says Marla Mock, president of Molly Maid, a Neighborly company. "It's also a versatile cleaner that can tackle various cleaning tasks."

However, you should practice some caution with using baking soda, as that abrasive texture is not appropriate for cleaning everything in your home. "Baking soda can be abrasive, so it's not suitable for cleaning glass surfaces like mirrors or windows, certain flat stove tops, or finished wood furniture/floors," says Mock. You also shouldn't use it to clean aluminum cookware, natural stone surfaces, gold-plated items, electronic devices, or precious gemstones like pearls and opals. "Avoid cleaning surfaces that may easily scratch, such as aluminum or marble," says Katie Dills, senior vice president of The Cleaning Authority. Baking soda also has the capacity to react with some materials like aluminum to cause discoloration.

Things to Never Mix With Baking Soda

Of course, you want to be safe when using baking soda to clean in and around your home, so be sure to never mix baking soda with the following items.

• Hydrogen peroxide (in a closed container)

• Ammonia

• Chlorine bleach

• Chemical cleaners

• Alcohol

• Other cleaning agents

In some cases, mixing these agents (like with alcohol or other cleaning agents) just reduces baking soda's effectiveness. But in other cases, harmful chemical reactions can occur—oxygen gas or other toxic fumes can be formed when mixed with hydrogen peroxide in an enclosed container, ammonia, chlorine bleach, or chemical cleaners).

In most situations, you'll only need water to mix with baking soda to achieve your desired cleaning results.

Related: 23 of Our All-Time Best Cleaning Tips

Deodorize Trash Cans

Trash cans naturally can become quite malodorous over time. But you can combat the smells emanating from your trash can by sprinkling a bit of baking soda inside. "You can also mix it with water and use it as a spray to clean and deodorize the inside," says Alicia Sokolowski, president and co-CEO of Aspen Clean.

Related: How to Use Baking Soda to Absorb Odors (Plus, the Science of Why It Works)

Remove Coffee and Tea Stains

Baking soda is great for whitening and removing stains, and sometimes nothing is tougher than coffee and tea stains left behind on our favorite ceramic mugs. Simply sprinkle baking soda into your mug and gently scrub the stain away with a damp sponge, says Sokolowski.

Clean Oven Racks

Oven racks can take a beating. Grease, oil, crumbs, and more can easily become stuck on during the cooking process. "Soak oven racks in a bathtub with baking soda and hot water," Sokolowski says. "After a few hours, scrub them clean with a brush."

Related: How to Deep Clean Your Oven With Baking Soda and Vinegar

Unclog Drains

Generally speaking, you'd typically want to avoid mixing baking soda with an acid like vinegar because it produces bubbles, and you could be looking at combustion of some kind. But that reaction comes in handy when you have a stubborn drain clog. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of baking soda down the drain and follow it with 1/2 cup of white vinegar. Cover the drain and let it sit for 30 minutes. "Follow it with hot water to flush away debris," says Sokolowski.

Clean Grout

Baking soda's natural abrasiveness really shines as a grout cleaner. You can make a simple paste with baking soda and water, then apply it to darkened grout lines and scrub with a toothbrush.

Freshen Toilet Bowls

Of course, you could use a specific toilet bowl cleaner for your toilet cleaning needs, but a more natural and eco-friendly way to go is to use baking soda to remove stains and freshen the bowl. Sprinkle baking soda into your toilet bowl and let it sit for a bit before scrubbing it with a toilet brush.

Pre-Soak Stained Laundry

Pre-treating with baking soda is an easy and effective ways to help lift stubborn stains on your laundry. "Soak your clothes in hot water mixed with baking soda for a couple of hours or overnight," says Sokolowski.

Boost Laundry Detergent

Additionally, you can add baking soda to your laundry cycle to give your regular detergent a bit of a cleaning action boost. "Adding baking soda to your load of laundry is perfect for removing odors from clothes and brightening your white laundry," says Dills.

Related: How to Make Homemade Laundry Detergent That Will Effectively Clean Your Clothes

Clean the Washer Drum

Baking soda's myriad laundry uses don't stop with clothing—it's also effective for cleaning your washing machine. "Run an empty washer cycle with baking soda to clean and deodorize the washing machine drum," says Sokolowski.

Scrub Pots and Pans

Scour off stubborn baked-on bits with baking soda. "Baking soda is great for cleaning your oven, pots, pans, and other cookware," says Dills. "Simply make a paste with baking soda and water and apply to your cookware. Allow it to sit 15 to 30 minutes in your cookware before scrubbing away the residue."

Related: How to Clean Stainless Steel Pans the Right Way

Cleaning Shower Doors

Shower doors are susceptible to limescale and mineral deposit buildup. Get your shower doors sparkling again with a combination cleaning of vinegar and baking soda. According to Tommy Patterson, director of new product development and technical training at Glass Doctor, a Neighborly Company, first, dip paper towels into hot white vinegar and attach them to the door and track, letting them sit there for 30 to 60 minutes. "The slight acidity of vinegar allows it to penetrate and loosen mineral deposits," he says. Then, using a damp rag or sponge generously sprinkled with baking soda, gently wipe down the doors. "Avoid vigorous scrubbing to prevent scratching," says Patterson.

Lastly, rinse the doors off with distilled water to remove the vinegar and baking soda. "If limescale deposits persist, repeat the baking soda scrub until all buildup is removed," he says.

Related: How to Remove Hard Water Stains From a Glass Shower—and Prevent Future Build-Up Before It Forms

Freshen Carpets

Take advantage of baking soda's deodorizing power by using it to clean your carpets. Sprinkle some down on the carpet and let it sit for a few minute before vacuuming it up.

Spruce Up Your Mattress

Cleaning your mattress is paramount for good health (you spend quite a bit of time in there, after all). Deodorize your mattress by sprinkling baking soda on it and letting it sit for a few minutes before vacuuming. Or, if there are stains that need to be removed, utilize vinegar with your baking soda, and first spray the stain with vinegar before adding a sprinkling of baking soda. Cover with a towel and let it sit for a couple of hours before taking a vacuum to it.

Remove Shoe Odors

Neutralize less-than-appealing shoe smells by sprinkling baking soda inside your shoes. Remember to empty your shoes of baking soda before you slip them back on your feet.

Related: How to Get Rid of Shoe Odor—and Keep Them Smelling Fresh

Scrub Down Stovetops

Stovetops can become a mess with stuck-on bits of food or grease. Cut through the grime and restore your stove top to pristine condition by scrubbing it with a baking soda and water paste. Just be aware that certain stove tops (like electric stove tops) could be susceptible to scratching, so always test a small area first.

Related: How to Clean Stove Burners (and the Rest of Your Stovetop)

Clean Your Wood Cutting Boards

Wooden cutting boards take some diligence to maintain well to ensure they are in good working order. Clean your cutting board with baking soda and half a lemon, using the lemon to scrub the baking soda into the board. It'll help lighten stains and deodorize any lingering smells.

Absorb Refrigerator Odors

To neutralize odors in your refrigerator, you don't even have to take the baking soda out of its packaging. Most baking soda boxes come with a mesh side insert so that you can remove the cardboard box covering to expose the mesh side. Simply place one of these in your refrigerator and let it work its deodorizing magic.

Clean Stainless Steel

Refresh and clean dull stainless steel sinks, fixtures, and appliances with baking soda. For sinks, sprinkle a generous amount of baking soda in the sink, and use a damp microfiber cloth or sponge to scrub stains and areas with buildup before rinsing with cool water. For appliances and fixtures like faucets, start by sprinkling baking soda onto a damp rag, and buffing the stainless steel gently to clean and brighten.

Shine Silver

A simple baking soda paste made with just water is all you need to restore silver to its natural shine in a natural and eco-friendly way. Immerse your silver items in the paste and let them sit for a few minutes (up to 10 minutes for heavily tarnished silver). Then, rinse with cool water and buff gently with a cloth.

The one exception to this is if your silver has oxidized with a patina and you'd like to keep the patina. "Baking soda can remove the desired patina on certain silver items, such as jewelry or decorative pieces," says Sokolowski. "It's best to use a silver cleaner or polishing cloth for maintaining silver with a desired patina."

Remove Stains from Plastic Food Storage Containers

Food storage containers have been known to become stained after several uses with things like red sauce. When running them through the top rack of your dishwasher isn't cutting it anymore, fill the container with a sprinkling of baking soda and water and let it sit overnight. In the morning, rinse the baking soda paste out and revel in your newly stain-free containers.

Read the original article on Martha Stewart.