Cleaning Tips With Vinegar and Baking Soda

You’ve likely heard about the dangers of many household cleaners on the market. Some emit dangerous volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and others may be flammable or corrosive.

These cleaners can cause health problems, from headaches to chronic respiratory issues. Fortunately, you can return to the basics by using vinegar and baking soda for many cleaning chores. Baking soda and vinegar are natural, inexpensive, and readily available.

What is Baking soda and Vinegar

Vinegar and baking soda may be common kitchen items, but when you clean with them, you’re doing some very scientific molecular manipulation. Baking soda is sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3). It’s what makes bread and cakes rise and puff.

Vinegar is a weakened solution of acetic acid (HC2H302). On the pH scale, it lies on the opposite side of baking soda. This is what makes the two kitchen staples effective cleaning agents. Baking soda dissolves dirt and grease while vinegar breaks down minerals formed by hard water.

How to Mix Vinegar and Baking Soda to Clean

Ideally, you should avoid combining vinegar and baking soda in equal amounts. Use a 2:1 ratio and keep the mixture on either the base or the neutral value’s acidic side.

When you mix baking soda with vinegar, the acid in the vinegar breaks down the sodium bicarbonate ( baking soda) and releases a carbon dioxide gas that loosens dirt from the surfaces you are cleaning.

How to Use Vinegar and Baking Soda for Cleaning

One typical way to clean with these common kitchen items is by sprinkling a surface with baking soda and spraying vinegar over this. The bubbling and fizzling help loosen the dirt. Clean hard-to-remove stuck-on messes by creating a paste with baking soda and vinegar.

You can make an all-purpose cleaner by adding 1 part baking soda to 2 parts vinegar to a spray bottle. Adding a little dishwashing liquid will create an even better cleaner. To mask the vinegar smell, add a few drops of essential oil like lavender or rosemary.

What to Clean with Vinegar and Baking Soda

Here are our favorite ways to make your home sparkle using vinegar and baking soda.

1. Freshen Your Sink Drain

Do you ever notice an unpleasant odor in the kitchen that you can’t find the source of? It could be coming from your sink drain. The build-up of food particles and soap scum causes it. Minerals from hard water can also be a source.

Baking soda and vinegar can keep your kitchen smelling fresher (and your sink draining better). Toss a cup of baking soda down the drain and let it sit for a few minutes. Follow with 2 cups of vinegar. Expect fizzing and bubbling. After 10 minutes, follow with hot water for a minute and then cold water for another minute.

While you’re at it, sprinkle any stains in the shower and sink with baking soda and scrub with an old toothbrush.

2. Clean Your Toilets

Use baking soda and vinegar to keep your toilet bowls and tanks clean and fresh. First, shut off the water supply and flush until the bowl is empty. Sprinkle in some baking soda and let it sit for a few minutes. Scrub discolored areas with a toilet brush.

Next, add vinegar to a clean spray bottle and spray inside the tank. Avoid the inside metal components. Coat a scrub brush with baking soda and scrub the inside. Let the bowl and tank sit for about 10 minutes. Turn the water to the toilet back on and flush to remove residue.

3. Freshen Your Tile Grout

Residue on tile grout makes tile showers, floors, and backsplashes look old. Make your tiles sparkle as new with an old toothbrush dipped into a 2:1:2 ratio of water, baking soda, and white vinegar. Remove any residue from the baking soda with a soft damp cloth. Then stand back and admire your tile.

4. Shine Your Pots and Pans

It can seem impossible to remove burned-on stains from your pots and pans. Let the power of baking soda and vinegar shine on your cookware. Simply sprinkle baking soda on the stains and use a wet cloth dipped in vinegar to scrub the stains away.

If this doesn’t do the trick, use 2 Tbs of vinegar and a half cup of baking soda to make a paste. Spread this mixture over stains, let sit for about 30 minutes, and then scrub with a soft damp cloth.

5. Freshen Your Refrigerator

An open box of baking soda left in the fridge is an excellent way to soak up odors. However, if things have gotten out of control, you may need to go a little further.

Use baking soda and vinegar to freshen the fridge. Take everything out and add a 1:1 mixture of vinegar and water to a spray bottle, Spray the fridge down well and wipe clean. Remove any gunk by sprinkling on some baking soda and scrubbing it away.

6. Bathroom

Clean any bathroom surface with vinegar and baking soda. It helps to cut down the tough scum on bathroom surfaces. Sprinkle baking soda on the bathroom surfaces and other things like the bathtub, sink, and toilet bowl; then, spry vinegar on it. After a couple of minutes, scrub with bush and rinse with water.

When Not to Clean with Vinegar and Baking Soda

Since baking soda is abrasive, you should avoid using it on wood or glass, as it can scratch or dull the surface. Please don’t use it on marble or natural stone countertops or antique or gold-plated silver for the same reasons. If used on aluminum cookware, the mixture can cause discoloration.

Never combine other harsh cleaners with the mixture because you may create toxic fumes or even an explosion. Safe ingredients like a gentle dishwashing liquid are okay, but use the mix in one application and don’t store it away in the bottle. The ingredients may create an oxygen gas.

Baking soda and vinegar are safe and effective ways to clean your home. When you don’t have the time to clean, you’ll be glad that many professional cleaners know how to use these two common kitchen staples.

Cleaning Heights is the best Toronto cleaning service, trusted by many satisfied customers. Call now and get a free quote instantly.

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