Vinegar, lemons, baking soda, and other natural homemade cleaners do a fabulous job of cleaning, disinfecting, removing stains, and more.
Alone they each have their own benefits: lemon is a potent antibacterial and its clean citrus smell leaves behind a fresh scent that countless commercial cleaning products have been trying to recreate for years; and baking soda is an almost perfect drawing agent to pull out stains, odors and even venom from stinging ...
Dissolve 1 teaspoon of baking soda in 2 cups of hot water; add 1 teaspoon of lemon juice. Pour the solution into a spray bottle and spray as you would an air freshener. Place a few slices of a citrus fruit, cloves, or cinnamon in a pot with enough water to simmer gently for 1 to 2 hours.
Mix the vinegar, lemon juice, and baking soda in a bottle and grab yourself a sponge. For the bathroom and whiteware, the baking soda will act as the scrubbing agent while the vinegar will remove the dirt and grime. Grab your sponge and use the mixture on your bathroom and kitchen surfaces and scrub clean.
Another way to use lemon juice for cleaning your shower is to dip the cut side of a lemon half in baking soda. Rub the lemon on the glass. Rinse and dry the surface with distilled water. To reduce soapy build-up, coat the interior of the glass with a layer of lemon oil.
Lemons are acidic and therefore contain antiseptic and anti-bacterial properties, plus they cut grease, dissolve soap scum and hard water deposits and can be mixed with baking soda and vinegar to make a nifty cleaning paste.
Clean & Deodorize Your Trash Can
First, routinely clean your in-home trash can as well as your outdoor garbage cans with baking soda to keep them from holding on to old odors. Just make a cleaning paste with baking soda and a bit of lemon juice. Scrub your trash cans inside and out and then rinse.
Start off by mixing 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of baking soda. Next, moisten a cotton ball with the mixture and apply directly to your face in a gentle circular motion and leave on the skin for 15-20 minutes.. Once you've covered your face, remove with lukewarm water.
When basic baking soda (NaHCO3) is combined with acidic lemon juice (mainly citric acid, H3C6H5O7) an acid base reaction occurs. The reaction releases CO2 which can be captured using dish soap to form bubbles.
You can clean toilet stains with a toilet brush, baking soda, and white vinegar. Household cleaning ingredients like Borax or a wet pumice stone can also scrub away tough mineral stains.
Baking Soda + Vinegar
"Baking soda is basic and vinegar is acidic," says Bock. "When you put them together you get mostly water and sodium acetate. But really, just mostly water." Plus, vinegar causes baking soda to foam up. If stored in a closed container, the mixture can explode.
Baking soda is a safe deodorizer, whitener, and household cleaner—and it's an effective natural grout cleaner. Because baking soda is also a mild abrasive, using it for cleaning grout lines gives you extra firepower without the risk of scratching your tile.
Here's how to clean your kitchen sink:
Wet the sink, sprinkle baking soda over the surface, and scrub, then rinse. Use a soft-bristled toothbrush and the same paste on the rim and caulk. Line the sink with paper towels that you've soaked in white vinegar. Leave them there for 20 minutes.
In a small bucket or 4-cup Pyrex measuring cup, combine vinegar, baking soda and hot water. Squeeze in the juice from half a lemon, then drop the rind in as well to infuse the cleaner. Stir well to dissolve the baking soda and allow to cool.
White vinegar – the best choice.
All-Purpose Cleaner: Combine 1 teaspoon baking soda, 2 teaspoons vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon dishwashing liquid, 1 teaspoon lemon juice and 2 cups hot water in a spray bottle and shake well.
Baking soda is activated when it is mixed with an acid. So in baking, we activate baking soda by pairing it with an acidic ingredient (such as lemon juice, buttermilk, or yogurt) in our recipes. Note that heat can also activate baking soda.
Remove Stains With Fresh Lemon and Baking Soda
Simply: Cut a lemon in half. Cover the stain with 1 tablespoon of baking soda. Rub the lemon over the baking soda, working the juice into the fabric.
Owing to its bleaching properties, baking soda can help fade away black marks and spots on the skin. However, it's important that you mix baking soda with other natural ingredients as it can be harsh on your skin if used topically.
Aside from using bleach or white vinegar, you can actually make very powerful odor eliminators at home. Try mixing a cup of peroxide, three tablespoons of baking soda, and a couple drops of dish detergent. Spray the area, allow it to sit for about 20 minutes, and rub the area until the foul smell is eliminated.
Neutralizing stomach acid
Many people with excess stomach acid take over-the-counter (OTC) antacids to relieve their symptoms. Consuming baking soda and lemon juice together may also neutralize stomach acid in a similar fashion as an antacid. A 2017 study examined the antacid effects of various foods.
Baking soda alone can be used to remove odors from almost anything, from refrigerators to carpet. Just sprinkle some in the offending area (on the carpet, in your shoes) and let it sit or put some on a plate and let it sit. It just sucks the odor right out of there.
Vinegar is acidic and basic soda is basic, so the by-products are sodium acetate, carbon dioxide, and water that are not toxic. The mixing reaction causes the baking soda to foam up and produce carbon dioxide gas.