Using Baking Soda In Your Laundry Room
That orange box of baking soda tucked away in your fridge or kitchen cabinet can also be an inexpensive and earth-friendly solution for your laundry needs. It’s safe to use in both standard and high-efficiency washers and is one of the best products available to reduce your dependence on chemicals. Let’s take a look into the top 5 ways baking soda can be used in your laundry room:
Reduce and Remove Laundry Odor
The body odors found on our clothing and linens are caused by different types of bacteria. These bacteria are removed when the detergent’s molecules break them up and flush them away from the clothing. Less expensive detergents generally don’t have strong enough enzymes to remove all of the bacteria, so baking soda will be a great boost to your detergent’s bacteria fighting power. Add 1/2 cup of baking soda to each laundry load to make your detergent work more effectively.
Boost Bleach Performance
Bleach is often used to remove odors and stains from our laundry; however, if the water is too acidic, bleach doesn’t do its job as effectively. Just as it boosts detergent performance, baking powder can also help how effectively your bleach works. This leads to less use of bleach and its negative impact on our environment.
Use As A Natural Fabric Softener
Baking soda is great for regulating your water’s pH level in your washer. It does this by making sure the rinse water is not too acidic or full of alkaline. Adding 1/2 cup of baking soda to each rinse cycle will balance the mineral deposits in the water and keep them off of your clothes. It’s the minerals that makes your clothing feel stiff, and baking soda is a shield for your clothes from these minerals.
Great For Cleaning Irons
Baking soda is a gentle and earth-friendly abrasive. The face plate of an iron is notorious for building up starch and scorch deposits. To remove this build-up, mix a paste of water and baking soda and rub the paste over the face of the cool iron with a white cloth. Gently wipe the build-up away. You can finish with a wipe of white vinegar with a fresh towel.
Controls Water Suds
If you accidentally use regular laundry detergent in a washing machine that requires HE detergent, you’ll get a mess of suds. They might be fun to look at, but they are a pain to clean up. If you make this mistake, just grab a box of baking soda and sprinkle it directly on the suds to break them down. The baking soda is good at absorbing the moisture and will make clean-up much easier.
