Drain Refresher – Day 26 – 31 Days of DIY Cleaners
December 26, 2015
Baking soda is a white powder that is indeed magical. If you’ve been hanging out with Clean My Space content of any sort (video, blog or otherwise) for some time now, you probably know about my passionate love-affair with baking soda. This little box of awesomeness is basically cleaning royalty and the amount of things you can do with it would blow your mind!
Back in 2012 we actually made a video (um, watch it!) about just how awesome baking soda is for cleaning things – 10 things to be exact. Since time has passed and we’ve found even more great uses for it, I figured it just about that time to do another video and post about this mystical, magical cleaner. So get your little box out and prepare to learn 10 more ways you can clean with baking soda!
Remove all the built-up oil and hair product residue that’s stuck in your brushes and/or combs by creating a simple soak using about a tablespoon of baking soda and a cup of water. Just add this mixture in a deep container or bowl which will allow you to entire submerse the burhs and all you need to do is let your brushes and combs soak in this solution for 15-20 minutes, rinse and dry well! Be very careful if your brushes are wood, you don’t really want to get them wet!
Here’s a quick and easy way to get some of the stank up out your dishwasher – all you have to do is sprinkle in about a cup of baking soda in to the bottom of your dishwasher and then run an empty load through. The baking soda should handle any foul food odours that have been lingering around in there.
Now, this isn’t a replacement for actually cleaning your dishwasher – and we have a video on that if you are interested, however, a cup of baking soda and an empty will really help tackle those bad smells. The method I describe in the video is so effective and works wonders (and please pardon the humour – that was a really old video).
We can all agree that killing anything is not desirable. That being said, if ants are taking over a space and you’re desperate, I have a solution for you. A lot of people have asked about this so, here’s the secret.
Simply use equal parts baking soda and powdered sugar; put a couple of tablespoons worth of that mixture into a jar lid, or similar dish. The ants will be attracted to the sweet, sweet call of the sugar and will be killed by the sweet, sweet reaction that takes place in their intestines which kinda makes them explode. Sorry dudes…
If one of my recipes could win a recipe of the year award, this would have to be the one. This is an AMAZINGLY useful cleaner to use around the bathroom for sinks and tubs and tiles and whatnot, you can also use it in the kitchen for anything greasy or grimy. All it is is a teaspoon of dish liquid, a few drops of an antibacterial essential oil (I chose tea tree oil) and a cup of baking soda. Then, add just enough water to make it into a gooey-paste and use a sponge to scour away any marks on all sorts of grimy surfaces! You’ve got the soap doing the cleaning and the baking soda providing abrasion and the essential oils making everything smell fab and provide some beneficial properties. Try to use it all up in one cleaning day, since it dries out and then you’ll have a puck of baking soda.
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If you’re a nail polish junkie like me, you most likely know about that annoying yellowish tint that nail polish can leave behind on your nails. So, to whiten your nails all you need is a small plastic bowl into which you will place 3 tablespoons of baking soda and a tablespoon of 3% hydrogen peroxide. This will form a paste which you can spread on to your nails with your fingertips. Be sure to get under your nails too! Scrub with a cleaning toothbrush or a nail brush and then keep the paste on your fingernails for about 5 minutes, finishing up by rinsing away with warm water. Voila!
If you’re looking for a great video about cleaning out and deodorizing the inside of your luggage do I have the video for you. That said, if you’re looking for a handy tip to keep your luggage smelling fresh while you are traveling, look no further! Simply fill a small sachet with baking soda and toss this into your luggage. This is especially helpful after your luggage contains as many dirty clothes as it does clean clothes! You can make a sachet out of linen or purchase small muslin sachets at a craft store.
You can also use some essential oils if you want to replace the scent of funky undercrackers with something a little more pleasing.
No need to buy fancy, expensive produce wash if you have some baking soda lying around your house! There are two ways to wash your fruit and veggies clean using baking soda. You can either sprinkle a little onto the produce, gently scrub with your hands and rinse well (rinse REALLY well). Or, you can create a simple spray bottle of produce wash by mixing 3 tablespoons of baking soda to 1 cup of water and then spray directly on to the fruits or veggies prior to wiping and rinsing them! The baking soda scrubs off that waxy coating you feel and scrubs away dirt. This doesn’t work for produce like grapes or spinach though, (you’d be doing a lot of scrubbing) so you can actually soak those in a clean sink or bowl, filled with water, vinegar and a sprinkle of baking soda for 10 minutes and then rinse well.
I mentioned this one in our first ever haul video. This makes for an excellent freshener for your sock drawer, or the shoe closet or anywhere else for that matter. You just need a shaker like this. All you have to do is fill it with baking soda and optionally add some essential oils to the mix and voila! You have yourself a deodorizer. If you worry that the baking soda being knocked about in there you can add a piece of cheesecloth at the jar opening and then seal it to prevent any spillage.
If you want to give the loo a quick cleaning but don’t have time to get on hands and knees to scrub away at it, just give it a quick wash and rinse with nothing more half a cup of baking soda and your toilet brush. Pour the baking soda in there (in the bowl as well as around the sides), let it sit for about 20 minutes and then using the toilet brush, scrub and swirl it around the sides of the bowl and finish by flushing. Done!
As wonderful as pets are, they also tend to leave bits of themselves behind everywhere they go. That includes odours which get trapped in the fabric of your furniture. As a cat owner two times over, I can attest to this.
There is however, an easy fix to manage the smells coming from the sofa. Just start by vacuuming your furniture and then sprinkle baking soda over the entire surface. Use enough to see the baking soda residue covering the whole sofa and let it sit for about 30 minutes. Vacuum it all up and the smells should be gone. If you have stubborn odours, try leaving the baking soda overnight before vacuuming it up.
Now that’s not too bad at all – 10 tips and tricks for price of 1!!
Now it’s YOUR turn Clean My Space nation – let me know if YOU have any tips or tricks for using baking soda around your home – because I am always trying out new recipes and tricks and creating new lists for all to enjoy :).
For more cleaning secrets check out our E-Book Bundle! It has 3 e-books (The Complete Guide to Essential Oils, My 3 Wave Cleaning System, 50 DIY Cleaning Recipes) and will get you started with all your cleaning needs!
Now, go add baking soda to your shopping list and have fun!
