Baking Soda for cleaning: How to clean seven common stains with baking soda

BAKING SODA is an item kept in most household cupboards, and while its uses in cooking are known, baking soda is a great tool in your cleaning arsenal. Here's how to clean six tricky stains with baking soda.

Mrs Hinch uses washing machine cleaning hack to remove dirt

Baking soda is also known as bicarbonate of soda and is a leavening agent used to create a rise in cakes, muffins and cookies. Baking soda is a chemical compound with the formula NaHCO3 and is made of a salt composed of a sodium cation and a bicarbonate anion. While this is handy for rising cakes, you may want to take another look at baking soda - as you can clean a number of surfaces around your home with it.

While baking cakes are a treat, baking soda also has everyday uses around the home when it comes to cleaning.

Baking soda is ideal for getting rid of stains like dirt and grease and is very effective in cleaning.

You can use baking soda on surfaces like countertops, refrigerators, and stovetops.

Now Express.co.uk has compiled a guide to tacking eight of the trickiest stains with baking soda.

Read More: How to clean a Pandora bracelet

Baking Soda hacks

Baking Soda hacks: How to clean SIX tricky stains with baking soda (Image: GETTY)

1. Crayons on the wall

Lockdown has children home from school and a distracted eye can mean they get into mischief on occasion.

Should crayon find its way onto your walls, you can create a solution of baking soda and water to easily clean it.

Get a damp, clean cloth and dip it in a small amount of baking soda.

Then use the cloth to scrub the crayon marks on the wall, gently.

Baking Soda hacks: Scrubbing countertop

Baking Soda hacks: While baking cakes are a treat, baking soda also has everyday uses around the home when it comes to cleaning (Image: GETTY)

2. Oil and grease stains

Oil and grease can be unsightly stains, whether on tea towels or on clothes.

However baking soda easily dissolves oil and grease - so can be a saving grace for messy cooks.

First, remove any excess oil with a paper towel or cloth.

Then sprinkle baking powder over the stain, and leave it to sit for 24 hours.

The next day you can vacuum or brush away the baking soda - and spray the area with a solution of vinegar and water.

Rub the area with soap using a brush and finally, rinse.

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3. Baby clothes

Baking soda can not only clean clothes but deodorise and soften fabrics.

Babies clothes can see all manner of stains, from milk to vomit, to those poo explosions every mother and father know about.

To clean clothes and eliminate odours with baking powder, mix baking soda with water to form a paste and rub this on the stains.

You can leave this to sit for up to 24 hours, and then brush off any excess baking powder before putting the clothes in the wash as normal.

Cleaning hack: Simple method to clean pans with baking soda

4. Baking residue

Food baked on pans can be a nightmare, and leaving it to soak overnight does not always get the worst residue off.

Carolyn Forte, director of the Cleaning Lab at the Good Housekeeping Institute said: “Hot water soak, mildly abrasive baking soda, a scrub sponge and some elbow grease is all you need to dissolve stuck-on grease.”

Boil the kettle and pour it into the stubborn pan alongside four tablespoons of baking soda.

Allow the pan to cool, and then rinse it. For residue refusing to budge you can also scrub it with baking soda directly.

Baking Soda hacks: Baked on hob

Baking Soda hacks: Baking soda is ideal for getting rid of stains like dirt and grease, and is very effective in cleaning (Image: GETTY)

5. Stains on clothes

Sometimes your regular washing cycle can see clothes left with particularly stubborn stains.

So, one tip is to add 1/2 cup (118ml) of baking soda into your washing machine alongside your regular washing powder or detergent.

This will not only help to freshen clothes but will improve stain cleaning.

Baking Soda hacks: Red wine stain

Baking Soda hacks: Wine stains are among the trickiest to get out, particularly red wine on light surfaces (Image: GETTY)

6. Wine stains

Wine stains are among the trickiest to get out, particularly red wine on light surfaces.

Baking soda can be a lifesaver when it comes to wine stains, and here’s how.

To clean wine stains, put a small amount of cold water on the stain and using a clean cloth or paper towel, dab the stain until no more comes out.

Next, mix a paste of baking soda and water and apply to the stained area.

Allow this to dry, and once dry, hoover up the paste. If stains still remain, you may need to contact a professional.

7. Baked on oven grease

Common oven cleaners can contain a lot of chemicals and smell downright nasty - however, there is a more natural way to clean those baked-on stains. 

Simply mix half a cup of baking soda with three tablespoons of water to make a paste.

Using a gloved hand, spread the paste over the problem areas in your oven, remove the racks and rub the mix over those too.

Let it sit for 15 to 20 minutes, then wipe the paste and the loosened grime off with a paper towel. 

Then wipe the inside of the oven with a wet paper towel, using water or a three to one mixture of water and distilled vinegar.

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