My New Best Friend

Yes, I know it has been around for years but frankly, until recently I was not aware of some of the amazing things that baking soda could do! I used to think that the extent of usefulness for baking soda was as a fridge deodorizer, occasional baking ingredient and when mixed with vinegar, a cool science experiment. Boy was I missing stuff!

Perhaps it is because of my natural aversion to house cleaning that I never considered it as a cleaning solvent. However, this gently abrasive, odour destroying and perfectly safe substance is wonderful! It is a non-toxic cleaner that deodorizes, scours, polishes and removes stains.

The standard solution is about four tablespoons of baking soda to four cups of water [60 ml baking soda to 1 litre of water for the metric folks in the crowd]. Use this solution to wipe down and deodorize microwaves, sinks, counters, plastic containers, chrome fixtures etc etc etc. This has become such a staple for ‘wipe ups’ around the house that I have mixed this up and put it in a spray bottle so I can just spritz and wipe.

You can also use baking soda as you would a typical scouring powder.

One of the key benefits associated with this type of cleaning solution is that it eliminates many of the air borne toxins in your home. The health impacts of that ‘clean lemony’ smell are just starting to be realized.

So, the next time you are at the grocery store, pick up a fresh box of baking soda. You might end up just as surprised as I was!

For more details and suggestions about home healthy cleaning solutions, check out this link: http://www.ecocycle.org/hazwaste/recipes.cfm or do a google search on alternative cleaners.