Sprinkle dry baking soda on the stain immediately, and let it sit for 15 minutes or until you can deal with the stain (early treatment is best). The baking soda will soak up liquid and pigment as it dries1.
If you've got a hard to shift stain, whether it be on your clothes or on surfaces bicarbonate of soda is an ideal treatment. You can create a paste using a mix of bicarbonate of soda and water, which can help get rid of even the toughest stains.
The baking soda will lift the stain out of the fibers. Discard the baking soda before you put the item in the washer. For oily stains, Reichert recommends sprinkling baking soda directly on the stain and letting it sit overnight before washing.
The acetic acid in vinegar acts as a disinfectant and reacts with the baking soda to lift stains. This combination is also great for brightening whites. With a little bit of scrubbing and leaving the paste to set for 30 minutes, I was able to almost remove the stains completely from my white jeans.
Wait about 30 minutes and pour hot water into the bowl to see if it drains. It's OK to repeat these steps if you see some loosening, but need a little more clog removed. It also is OK to leave the vinegar and baking soda mixture in the toilet overnight; neither baking soda nor white vinegar will damage clogged pipes.
Let it sit overnight: Allow the baking soda mixture to rest for at least 12 hours, or overnight.
If you use it quickly and rinse it off, you might be fine, but allowing a baking soda mixture to sit on the surface for too long can cause it to oxidize, which means that the surface changes color.
For either the dry or wet solution, let the baking soda sit for 15 to 20 minutes. Once the baking soda has fully absorbed the stain, vacuum it up with a brush attachment.
Sprinkle the entire couch with baking soda, and let it sit for at least 20 minutes. (You can leave it there for up to an hour.) Using a brush attachment, vacuum the couch to remove the baking soda.
Baking soda is pure sodium bicarbonate, a fine white powder that has many uses. You may wonder about bicarbonate of soda vs. baking soda, but they are simply alternate terms for the same ingredient. If your recipe calls for bicarbonate of soda, it is simply referring to baking soda.
Wait a few hours, preferably overnight. The baking soda will kill odor-causing bacteria and absorb odors. Extra-stinky shoes may require 24 hours. Over a trashcan or the sink, tap the shoe to remove the remaining baking soda from the inside.
The white residue from baking soda can fade the vibrant hues of your favourite cashmere wool and silk fabrics. Baking soda has a very high pH level which can fade the keratin protein in organic fibres. Some dyes will also react negatively with baking soda leaving your fabrics looking dull and discoloured.
Delicate fabrics such as wool, cashmere and silk are sensitive to the pH level so using too much baking soda can cause colours to fade and in turn, makes removing stubborn stains like coffee more difficult. In addition, over-using baking soda can cause fabrics like wool and fabrics to go coarse.
Once you open a new box of baking soda, transfer it to an airtight container to help it stay fresh. We don't recommend keeping it in its cardboard box because it isn't resealable. Since one of the best uses for baking soda is absorbing odors, leaving it open in your pantry isn't ideal, either!
Baking soda also helps brighten faded clothing, while the acetic acid in vinegar Is strong enough to dissolve soap and detergent residues which can leave clothes feeling softer—but don't worry, it's still mild enough that it won't harm your fabrics.
Leave it in the drain for an hour or two or overnight, and then flush the drain with hot tap water. For larger drains, such as tubs and kitchen sinks, use about a quarter-cup of baking soda, a half-cup of water to move the powder down, and 2 cups of vinegar.
Although baking soda is helpful in many ways, too much can be a problem. If a large amount of baking soda is ingested, expect vomiting and diarrhea quickly after the ingestion because it raises the sodium levels in the body. Too much sodium in the body can lead to serious symptoms.
Early after an ingestion of too much baking soda, vomiting and diarrhea are common as the body tries to correct the high sodium concentration by pulling more water into the digestive tract. After absorption, high sodium concentrations can cause seizures, dehydration, and kidney failure.
Baking soda + vinegar
If you mix acidic vinegar with basic baking soda and stow them away in a closed container, the mixture can be quite explosive—literally. That's because vinegar causes baking soda to foam up and explode.
Oven cleaners are a concoction of chemicals, including things like caustic soda, dichloromethane and even ethylene glycol. That's right, ethylene glycol, the chemical used in antifreeze also makes a cameo in your oven cleaner, and this is one of the reasons why these formulations can be very toxic if ingested.
When baking soda is mixed with vinegar, the acid breaks down baking soda, releasing carbon dioxide gas that can help lift dirt from the surfaces being cleaned.
While baking soda is more often known for its odor control qualities, it does have natural whitening capabilities that are appreciated by people who would rather not turn to bleach. Adding baking soda to the laundry gently cleans your clothes and removes tough smells and stains.
To Remove Odors
If your clothes smell like sweat or smoke, it's best to let them soak in a baking soda solution overnight. Soaking gives the baking soda time to go to work as a deodorizer. Mix 1 cup of baking soda with 1 gallon of water in a bucket.