I am all about saving money and keeping my home clean without unnecessary harsh chemicals. Cleaning with baking soda is not only practical but cost-efficient, too! You’ll be shocked at how many commercial cleaners you can replace with hot water and baking soda and save money!
If you’re new to my blog, welcome! My name is Michaela, and I am a homeschooling mom of six, sharing my money-saving tips, recipes, and non-toxic swaps we’ve made throughout our son’s cancer treatment. I started this blog to share my passions with other moms who want to save money and swap out products for cleaner options! If this sounds like you, here are more of my recent posts:
The Most Toxic Products in Your Home
The Ultimate Guide to Non-Toxic Makeup
The possibilities here are endless. Today, I’ll share some of my favorite tips and tricks to clean your home with as few ingredients as possible! Cleaning with baking soda will save money and protect you from bringing endless amounts of harmful chemicals into your home. Your family is precious! You can protect your children without sacrificing your clean home, and I’ll show you how to do that today.
Here are some topics we’ll cover in today’s post:
How to effectively clean with baking soda
Products to clean using baking soda
Money saving tips
Safety considerations
When my son was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia, I knew it was time to make changes in our home. With no history of cancer in our family, his diagnosis came as a shock. In addition, providers couldn’t give us a cause for his cancer either. It was just ‘bad luck’. I refused to accept this, to accept that bad luck caused his cancer, and started researching potential causes of cancer and potential links in our environment.
What I learned shocked me.
I had no idea how many chemicals I was using on a daily basis that were directly linked to cancer.
Making change in our home and researching safer products gave me a sense of direction. Losing all control over decisions regarding my child’s treatment was difficult, but learning how to transition to cleaner products in our home helped me feel like I could do something to help. I want to make it clear that I don’t make changes from a place of fear. For some, that can be a motivator, but I make changes because, after the research I’ve done, I know there’s a better, safer way. That’s why I share what I’ve learned.
If you’re ready to start making changes but unsure where to start, I have a free checklist I’d love to send you! My Learn Your Labels Checklist is a one-page download that teaches you common chemicals to look for and which products you’re most likely to find them in. Click here, and I’ll send you the free download!
How to effectively clean with baking soda
Cleaning with baking soda is simple when you know what you’re doing. From running the dishwasher to scrubbing toilets or tubs to removing caked-on foods from a sauté pan, baking soda is an excellent alternative to cleaning products riddled with harmful chemicals. Baking soda is versatile, eco-friendly, and saves money in the process. Once a month, I buy a 13.5-pound bag from Costco and use it almost daily. It cost less than $9 and has saved us so much money!
Cleaning with baking soda is excellent for scrubbing power. Removing scum from the bathtub, residue from toilets, stains from carpets, and more. Especially with so many little ones running around, saving time is an added bonus.
We have 4 bathrooms in our home, which is great when all of our kids come home and need showers, but cleaning them can be a pain. Baking soda helps make the process easier by scrubbing for me. It can be used to scrub soap scum in the tub, remove stains from the shower curtain, and remove hard water stains in the toilet. I also recently switched to stainless steel pans as they are safer than nonstick pans. Still, if one of the kids hasn’t taken the time to preheat them properly, food gets stuck easily. Using baking soda to create a thick paste saves me time and frustration when trying to clean our pans!
Products to clean using baking soda
Here is a list of some items you can clean with baking soda. This list is continually growing, and I love that there are so many household cleaners I don’t have to buy because I’ve been able to replace them with something safer. Removing these products from our home has saved money but has also dramatically reduced the number of chemicals we are exposed to every day.
Toilets
I like to use baking soda in the toilet water to scrub and vinegar on the lid and around the base of the toilet, but if you strictly use baking soda, simply sprinkle everywhere and scrub! If any residue is left behind, get a clean, damp washcloth and wipe the toilet again.
Showers and bathtubs
Similar to the toilet, sprinkle everywhere and scrub with a wet washcloth. The baking soda helps remove scum and gunk without breaking a sweat! Then, turn the water on and wash away any remaining baking soda.
Dish detergent
This is probably my favorite hack of them all! Dish detergent is absurdly priced, and I hate it. Instead of spending $25 for a tub of liquid detergent from Costco, I can use baking soda and save! We use about ¼ cup and sprinkle it at the bottom of the dishwasher. It deodorizes the machine and cleans our dishes at the same time!
Laundry detergent
If you haven’t tried my easy laundry detergent recipe, what are you waiting for?! It is so easy, uses just 4 ingredients, and cleans our clothes without harmful ingredients. Baking soda is one of the main ingredients in this recipe because it works so much better than regular detergent. My clothes smell fresh and last so much longer.
Brighten clothing
To brighten clothing, stir one cup of baking soda into one gallon of boiling water. Remove water from the heat and add your dirty clothes. Let the clothes sit for at least an hour, but preferably overnight. Wash and dry as usual.
Soften clothes
I love it when my clothes come out of the dryer soft, cling-free, and smelling fresh. Baking soda helps with all of this! If you make my homemade laundry detergent, then you’re already covered. If not, add ¼ cup to your load of laundry and watch the magic happen!
Remove stains from clothes
I’ll be the first to admit that I am a messy person. Between caring for our kids, cleaning, and cooking, I am almost always covered in something. I hate when I find grease or dirt stains on my favorite clothes. Instead of tossing them out or adding them to my ‘scrub’ pile for when I just don’t care what I put on, baking soda and hydrogen peroxide save the day! Spray or drizzle stubborn stains with hydrogen peroxide, sprinkle a little baking soda on top, and let it sit overnight!
Another excellent option for stain remover is clear dish soap and baking soda. Drizzle the soap on your stain, sprinkle baking soda on top, and let sit overnight! The stains will be gone, and you’ll get to keep wearing cute clothes.
Deodorize sinks and trash cans
Sometimes the disposal can get a little stinky. When this happens, pouring a heaping pile of ice and about 1 cup of baking soda down the drain will help grab any residue from the sides of the disposal and deodorize simultaneously.
For trash cans, just sprinkle at the bottom of the can before lining it with a new trash bag.
Baking
I don’t think I can share tips on cleaning with baking soda without mentioning that you can cook with it, too! Baking cakes or cookies, frying chicken, faster browning onions—the possibilities here are endless! Baking soda is also used in baking as a leavening agent that allows baked goods to rise and provides a fluffy texture.
Remove burnt food from dishes
Another great hack for cleaning with baking soda is removing burnt or stuck-on food from dishes! We use glass and stainless steel, which sometimes means food gets stuck. To remedy this, turn your faucet as hot as you can, fill the bottom of your pan or dish with water, and then sprinkle enough baking soda to make a paste. Let it sit for a few minutes, and scrub it with a damp sponge or soft cloth! More often than not, with a little elbow grease, this will remove everything. If not, repeat the process again to remove any remaining food.
Clean appliances
Baking soda is excellent for cleaning appliances like the oven, microwave, coffee maker, crockpot, and even your washing machine. To clean your oven or microwave, sprinkle baking soda on caked-on foods and make a paste by spraying with water to help scrub away foods. To clean your coffee maker, pour some baking soda into the water basin of your coffee pot and fill it with water, then run your machine as usual. Once the basin is empty, fill it with plain water and run again.
You can also clean stainless-steel sinks and sterling silver with baking soda for a streak-free shine. Use a clean cloth and a baking soda paste to gently buff out marks, and wipe clean.
Oven Cleaning
I used to hate cleaning my oven. It made the house stink and took hours when using the cleaning setting. Now I use baking soda and a cup of white vinegar to eat away stubborn burnt-on food. The two ingredients create a chemical reaction, so don’t mix them together in a spray bottle or sealed container. Instead, sprinkle the baking soda on the bottom of the over, then spray or drizzle the vinegar on top. Let the mixture sit for a few minutes, then with an old toothbrush or wet cloth, scrub away the stains. Wipe away the paste and food particles and your oven is ready to use! Now you can toss those smelly commercial oven cleaners and enjoy a beautifully cleaned oven!
Clean and deodorize mattresses and carpets
Cleaning and deodorizing your mattresses and carpets is super simple. Just sprinkle baking soda over your mattress or carpet, let it sit for at least 30 minutes, and then vacuum! If you plan to steam clean, make sure you’ve vacuumed thoroughly and cleaned up any loose baking soda. The baking soda will absorb any musty smells before vacuuming.
Remove marker from walls
With six kids at home, my walls are often scribbled on. Making a paste with about half a cup of baking soda and a quarter cup of warm water, I gently rub the mixture into the stain with a damp cloth to help lift it away. For tough stains like permanent markers or dark crayons, spraying hydrogen peroxide can also help.
Exfoliate skin
I like to exfoliate before shaving to get the closest shave possible. It helps remove dead skin and leaves me feeling smooth. Remember to have a light hand when exfoliating, especially if it’s your first time! Because baking soda is abrasive, you could leave little cuts in your skin if you’re not careful. Grab a small amount and gently rub arms or legs in a circular motion until smooth.
Cost breakdown
I mentioned this previously, but cleaning with baking soda has allowed me to replace dozens of products in our home with something safer and works to clean our home. I want to create a cost breakdown for some of the products I’ve replaced and the cost-per-use comparison!
Toilet bowl cleaner
My favorite toilet and shower cleaner used to be Ajax. While not necessarily expensive, the active ingredient sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate can irritate the nose and throat and cause breathing issues. Cleaning with baking soda instead is just as effective without the harm.
Here is the price-per-use comparison:
Ajax: $1.29 per 21 oz unit. 2 oz per use= $0.12 per use.
Baking soda: $8.59 per 216 oz unit. 2 oz per use= $0.06 per use.
Dishwasher detergent
The most common active ingredient in dishwashing detergents is sodium lauryl sulfate. This chemical is known to cause dry skin, irritation, and allergic reactions. It can also be irritating to the eyes and throat. We choose to use baking soda- or sodium bicarbonate instead and avoid this harmful chemical touching our dishes. There are dozens of brands available, but one of the most popular is Cascade. As it is widely available, we’ll use this brand for comparison. Prices will vary, but most brands are similar. Dishwasher pods may be convenient, but as you’ll see in the cost breakdown, this option is not cost-efficient.
Price comparison:
Cascade powder: $6.59 per 75 oz unit. 28 loads per container $0.23 per load.
Cascade pods: $19.99 per 78 pacs. 78 loads per container $.25 per load.
Baking soda: $8.59 per 216 oz unit. 2 oz per use $0.06 per use.
Safety considerations
Like all cleaning supplies, there are some safety considerations to remember when cleaning with baking soda. Baking soda is abrasive, that’s why it’s so great for scrubbing pots and pans and removing scum from bathtubs. It shouldn’t be used on fragile materials or items that may scratch, like soft metals or wood. If you’re allergic to baking soda or have any open skin, remember to take caution as it could irritate you further.
As a reminder, be careful when using multiple products in your home. Baking soda and vinegar can foam up when mixed together and explode if in an air-tight container, and always clean in a well-ventilated area.
Final thoughts
Cleaning with baking soda is an eco-friendly, cost-effective alternative to harmful products you may be using to clean your home. Learning that such a simple product could replace so many other toxic products I had been purchasing was so eye-opening for me. I love that I can clean my home without worrying about what I’m exposing my family to.
If you test it out for yourself and find that you enjoy it more than your current products, let me know in the comments! I’d love to chat and share more non-toxic swaps. Thank you so much for being here today! If this post was helpful, please remember to share it with a friend and pin it to your favorite board on Pinterest!
Until next time,
-M
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