Cleaning Your Home with Baking Soda

| Tips From It’s Cleaning Time! |

 Professional House Cleaning, Austin Texas!

 

At It’s Cleaning Time, your professional Austin house cleaning company, we’re always looking for ways to reduce the number of harsh chemicals used in our customers’ homes. Many of the chemicals used in traditional cleaning products can irritate skin, eyes, and the respiratory system and even worsen conditions such as allergies and asthma, so we go green whenever we can! We’ve been an Austin maid service for 14 years and have discovered many uses for baking soda from every day cleaning to deep cleaning Austin Texas households. Did you know that the same baking soda you use in your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe can be used to clean your home? Here are some of our favorite uses:

 

 

• Absorb kitchen odors – Did something start to spoil before you realized it? Place an open box or a small bowl of baking soda in your fridge, freezer, or cabinet to absorb odors. Be sure to replace it once a month with fresh baking soda. You can also sprinkle baking soda on the bottom of your trash can each time you replace the bag.

• Clean counters and stovetops – Sprinkle baking soda onto a damp cloth and use it to wipe down messy surfaces.

• Remove grease and food residue – Add a little baking soda to your detergent for really messy dishes, or combine baking soda and dish detergent to clean up nasty spills inside your oven or on your burners or grill. Be sure to rinse away completely.

• Freshen up food containers and sponges – Wipe down stained or smelly food storage containers with a clean, damp sponge sprinkled with baking soda. For stubborn situations, soak the containers in a quart of warm water with four tablespoons of baking soda added. Then soak your smelly sponge in a water-and-baking-soda mixture to eliminate the odor!

• Unclog a drain – Pour half a cup of baking soda and then half a cup of vinegar down the drain. (Cover the drain with a damp cloth to contain the chemical reaction.) Wait five minutes, then rinse with hot water.

• Remove stains in the bathroom – Make a paste of three parts baking soda and one part water. Apply it to stubborn stains on countertops and in sinks, toilets, and tubs. Let it stand for several minutes, the scrub or wipe clean.

• Absorb odors from mattresses and pet beds – Sprinkle baking soda over the entire mattress or pet bed. For mattresses, wait at least thirty minutes; for pet beds, wait fifteen. Then vacuum up the powder using an upholstery or hose attachment.

• Clean kids’ toys – Mix a quarter cup of baking soda with one quart of warm water. Submerge toys, or wipe them with a cloth dipped in the mixture, then rinse with plain water. (This also works great for cleaning kiddie pools – dump the solution in, then wipe down all the surfaces.)

• Remove crayon from a painted wall – Sprinkle a damp sponge with baking soda and scrub gently.

• Remove tarnish from sterling silver – Make a paste of three parts baking soda and one part water. Apply with a lint-free cloth (don’t use paper towels – they can scratch), and then rinse with water and dry.

 

 

These are just some of the ways you can use fresh, natural baking soda around your home! For more green cleaning solutions, turn to It’s Cleaning Time, your eco-friendly home cleaning company in Austin! Call or email us today to see what we can do for your family.