Ode to Baking Soda

I have been trying the past few months to be more biodegradable and non-toxic in my apartment, so I’ve been doing some research on more eco-friendly cleaners. Green products are great, but either tend to cost more or are hard to find. But I did some research and discovered that most household cleaning products are both neurotoxic and unnecessary, and I have ventured into the world of homemade cleaning products.

Normally, cleaning my apartment doesn’t excite me all that much because it just gets dirty again and scrubbing the toilet isn’t a real good time, but this week, I discovered that I could clean most of my apartment with vinegar, baking soda and water which gave me a warm fuzzy glow of virtuous feelings, in addition to a cleaner living space.

And because I get happy about geeky things sometimes, I will share with you what I learned. First, I tried the furniture polish – ¼ cup white distilled vinegar and a few drops of olive oil – and dusted all my wood furniture with it. It got rid of the dust and doesn’t seem to have harmed the wood. Then I unclogged a slow shower drain with 1 cup of baking soda and 3 cups of boiling water, and it worked as well as when I used Drano. Next, I decided to tackle my oven and the pumpkin pie accident I had around Thanksgiving and everything else that has accumulated in my oven since I moved in three years ago. That wasn’t quite as successful, although it worked better than I thought it would. All you have to do is cover the bottom of the oven with baking soda, spray it with water, and leave it on overnight. Supposedly, I wouldn’t have to scrub anything, but I did, and some of the black gook still didn’t come off. So I’m giving it another go-round to see if two applications of the baking soda work.

Did you know that a straight 5 percent solution of white distilled vinegar – the regular stuff you buy in the supermarket – kills 99% of bacteria, 82% of mold, and 80% of germs? There’s a tea tree oil and vinegar combo that is supposed to work on mold and mildew, which I haven’t tried yet, and I want to try the soft scrubber recipe and see if it works on my bathtub.

Probably nobody cares about this but me, but if you are interested in learning more about this sort of thing, you can check out care2.com for more info.

Comments

[Michelle]

I care too! I've been looking at eco-friendly resin/wax coatings for my newly-sanded parquet flooring, and know the best way to clean windows is with vinegar and newspaper (for excessive grime, rub with a cut onion first). I'm repainting my walls with low-VOC water-based Earthcote paint in a week's time too, and hoping to rip up the old and grotty carpeting in most of the house as soon as possible.

This year I'm on a mission to live more lightly on the earth, and hopefully inspire those around me to do so too. Of course I face the usual resistance from those who don't give a damn, but am not going to make their apathy mine.

Enjoy your eco-endeavours! It may seem a small thing to do, but it does make a big difference.

[bobbie]

hey christy, if you dump the baking soda on the spill in the oven you can leave it there and cook and the heat absorbs the stain and kind of cooks it off as you go so there is less scrubbing involved (my mother in law gave me this jewel!)

the best oven advice i've been given though is to put a cookie sheet under anything i think is going to boil over though or just a loose piece of aluminium foil set in 'just in case'.

thanks for the tips about the furniture polish, will be poking around the website too.

[Heather]

Some years ago Consumer Reports did a study of which household cleaning products worked the best. Water on a rag won most competitions. I've been dusting the house with a damp rag ever since. It also works fine for most floor cleaning.... once every couple of months I throw some vinegar in the water to "disinfect" the floor. But water is my #1 cleaning agent. Thanks for the Draino replacement idea, though!

[rebecca]

if what you said is true, (months ago) about living space as a reflection of our interior, i am rejoicing with you!

[Faux Real]

I had no idea baking soda was so useful. I'm going to have to get some and try this out. Thanks for the tips!

[tonya]

this is great, i'm definitely going to try this. thanks!

[ms.bug]

if you're into books, there's a nice one called Clean House, Clean Planet that has a lot of recipes for eco-friendly cleaning.

[Christy]

Thanks for the tip - I'll check it out.

[eva.]

I'd advise against the use of olive oil for cleaning - I've heard it can rot. Mineral oil is the substitute.
Just to tell :o)

[Christy]

thanks for the tip, eva

[Fuller Brush]

Great post. Vinegar unclogs drains too.