ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Cleaning with Baking Soda and Vinegar

Updated on November 23, 2011

Cleaning with Baking Soda and Vinegar is Amazingly Easy

I am always amazed at how very flexible simple ingredients can be when it comes to cleaning around the house. So much better in many cases than the harsher chemicals that are so popular and cost so much more.

Baking soda and vinegar are my two favorites. They can each do some of the work on their own, and work quite well in combination.

My start was learning that you could use baking soda and vinegar to clear a clogged drain. If you ever did the old volcano experiment in school, it's pretty much the same thing.

You pour a cup of baking soda into the drain, followed by a cup of vinegar. Wait several minutes, then pour boiling water down the drain.

In just about every case, the drain will quickly be cleared with this method. Just don't try it if you've already poured commercial drain cleaner down. The mixture can be dangerous.

These two safe and common household items can be used for quite a bit more. You can replace most of the usual cleansers you buy at the store with these for your regular household cleaning.

Cleaning with Vinegar

Vinegar by itself can be quite effective. In most cases you are best off diluting it with water to cut the acidity. A one to one dilution is generally sufficient.

Vinegar works well as a disinfectant and deodorant. You can even use it in the laundry as a fabric softener. DO NOT try this if you use chlorine bleach in your laundry. The fumes created by mixing vinegar with chlorine bleach are dangerous.

There are some things you should not clean with vinegar, of course. Marble tops the list. Pure vinegar can also be too hard on tile grout, which is why dilution is so strongly recommended.

If you aren't sure if you should be using vinegar on a surface, do just as they suggest for other cleansers. Test it on a small, inconspicuous area.

But most hard surfaces can be cleaned quite nicely with it. That's your tile floors, sinks, countertops and appliances.

This includes your coffee maker. Run vinegar through the coffee maker's brew cycle to clean it out. Run water through a couple times after to rinse so you don't get a vinegar flavor to your coffee.

Vinegar also helps to remove sticky residue, such as what price labels leave behind on dishes and jars.

It can even help with lime deposits, although you need to be a bit more patient. Soak a paper towel in vinegar then leave it covering the area encrusted with lime for about an hour.

Vinegar can even replace your air fresheners. I've never liked the idea of spraying assorted chemicals into my home to make things smell like whatever scent they're calling "fresh" these days.

Instead, I boil a small pan of vinegar. Yes, it smells like vinegar at first. But the vinegar smell will fade away and take the other smells with it. This of course works best in the kitchen with cooking smells, where the smells are coming from in the first place.

Cleaning with Baking Soda

Baking soda is useful when you need something a little more abrasive. It's not nearly as abrasive as many commercial preparations, so you may have to scrub a little harder or use some vinegar if appropriate. However, it gets the job done in many cases.

Don't forget the classic role of baking soda in the refrigerator to absorb odors. It also works in the garbage can.

If you like, baking soda works in laundry much as vinegar does. However, you would add it with the detergent rather than treating it as you would your fabric softener. 1/2 cup is good for top loading washers, 1/4 cup for front loading. Use about half the bleach if you use baking soda.

A paste made of baking soda can clean most surfaces. It can take some extra effort to rinse them off if you let it dry on, but it has that little bit of abrasiveness that can make cleaning go faster when you're dealing with stains.

It can even remove marks from painted walls. Do this gently, so you don't remove the paint, of course. All it takes is a bit of baking soda on a damp sponge.

Mix with salt if you need something a little more abrasive.

Cleaning with Baking Soda and Vinegar Mixed

Baking soda and vinegar together do more than just clear out drains. That's just the classic one that gets people interested in the possibilities, I think. But there's much more they can do together.

Mix a half cup of vinegar, a quarter cup of baking soda into a half gallon of water and keep in a spray bottle. Use for regular cleaning.

They also combine well to get stains out of carpets and clothes. Sprinkle on some baking soda, then spray on vinegar. Scrub and allow to dry. This will remove many kinds of stains. Just be sure you do a spot test first. The excess can be vacuumed out of carpets when dry, or washed out of clothes as you would normally.

Share your ideas, successes and even problems.

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)