Baking soda and vinegar are great cleaning tools separately, and are downright fantastic when combined. Whether you need to clean your kitchen, your bathroom, or another part of your house, this combo is a cheap and eco-friendly way to get a lot done.
So what can you clean with vinegar and baking soda? Here are eight things to get you started.
Microwave
There are actually a couple of vinegar uses that can help you clean your microwave! Whether you need to clean up gunk or just want to eliminate smells, vinegar is your friend.
You can make a mixture of vinegar and water for when you’re ready to scrub the microwave clean. Grab a sponge and use your elbow grease to clean gunk and food off the inside of the microwave. The vinegar’s acidity will make it easier to clean, and help kill some of the bacteria that might be growing.
Also, you can mix vinegar and water in a bowl and microwave it for a couple of minutes. This will help eliminate a lot of the odors, making your microwave smell nice and clean for the next time you want to heat food.
Sinks
Both baking soda and vinegar are useful for cleaning different parts of your sink, especially a kitchen sink where odors can be a big problem.
You can start by pouring baking soda or a baking soda/water paste all over the surface of the sink and scrubbing the dirt or grime off with a sponge. Afterward, pour vinegar on the sink to cause a reaction that will help clean the rest of the gunk off. This reaction will help eat away at a lot of the grime and make things look a lot shinier and cleaner!
You can also scrub vinegar on your fixtures to help shine them up! This will remove a lot of hard water and mineral buildup on and around the sink. Be sure to wipe the excess vinegar away when you’re done!
Fridge
An open box of baking soda in the fridge has been a longtime staple in many family refrigerators. The baking soda helps eliminate odors and leaves things smelling nice, especially if the fridge is one you don’t use very often (such as in a garage, a basement, or a guest/vacation home.)
Other benefits of baking soda for the fridge are that you can use it to scrub away grime and nasty smells or absorb gross moisture at the bottom. It’s probably a good idea to empty your fridge out first, but you’ll be pleased with how clean it turns out!
Laundry
Vinegar and baking soda both serve useful purposes for cleaning your laundry. Whether you need to clean stains or just want a brighter, fresher smell when you wash your clothes, these two ingredients are a great help.
Toss a bit of baking soda in with the detergent to help freshen the load of laundry. You can also add baking soda to the washing machine (especially if you have trouble with mold) and toss some in the bottom of the hamper to help with smells.
If you have stains or scuffs on clothes or shoes, you can get a white cloth wet with vinegar and scrub the spots. You can also boil certain clothes like socks in a water/vinegar mixture to help remove odors and kill bacteria.
Countertops
Baking soda is a great way to remove grunge and stains from countertops. You can make a paste with three parts baking soda to one part water, and smear the paste on your counter.
After it sits for a couple of minutes, get a wet rag and scrub away! You’ll be quite pleased with the clean-looking results and the lack of gunk stuck to your counter.
Baking Soda and Vinegar For Dishes
Both of these common ingredients are useful for cleaning dishes and dishwashers. There are several vinegar and baking soda uses you can try to keep your dishes clean and fresh.
To start, you can use baking soda as a grease and residue remover when washing dishes. Throw some in the bottom of a pan or pot with lots of residue, mix in a little water, and let it soak. When you come back to scrub, the baking soda will make cleaning your dish a lot easier!
Also, you can add baking soda or vinegar to your dishwasher (usually just one or the other, though.) Baking soda can be run in a cycle to help clean away gunk and refresh the dishwasher.
Cleaning with vinegar is very useful for removing odors and hard water deposits in a dishwasher. You can pour some vinegar in the dishwasher and run a cycle, or even scrub the inside with a vinegar-soaked rag. This is especially useful if you have a new dishwasher that still has that chemical smell!
Tile
You can clean both tile and grout with a baking soda and vinegar mixture. Different people recommend different mixtures for cleaning, but the general idea is the same.
You’ll want to mix vinegar and baking soda carefully, of course, to get your cleaning mixture. Some people recommend mixing these ingredients in with water and dish soap, while others say to use baking soda and vinegar alone. Either way, rub some of the mixture on your tile after the reaction has died down.
After that, let it sit for a few minutes, then get a clean rag wet with water and scrub the tile. It should be nice and bright after you’re done with it!
If you’re unsure how your grout or tile will react, it’s a good idea to test this on a hidden area of tile and grout first. See if your mixture damages or stains the tile, and if so, dilute the vinegar content.
Carpet
And finally, baking soda is great for carpets! Sprinkling baking soda on a stain, bad-smelling patch of carpet, or just the general floor can make things smell fresh and clean.
Just put baking soda on the part of the carpet you want cleaned (or the entire floor if you want) and let it sit for a while. The longer it sits, the better. You can then vacuum it up, and you’ll find that your carpet looks and smells quite a bit fresher!
Learn More!
These tips for using baking soda and vinegar should take you a long way towards making your house fresh and clean. But you shouldn’t stop there!
We have lots of other great tips and advice to help you clean your house and make it sparkle. So if you want to learn more about cleaning a house, or have questions or concerns, contact us! We’d love to help you any way we can.
