This little magical powder can be used in sooo many ways beyond baking, let me share a few tips and tricks that will ve you run to the store to get some more! and it is eco-friendly to use this natural ingredient!
SODIUM BICARBONATE – baking soda, bicarbonate of soda, bicarb –
all these names are the same product. It is the chemical compound NaHCO3 . It is known as E500 as food additive, used primary in baked goods to expand the batter. Baking powder consist of 30% of bicarb and various acids, this will avoid the metal or soapy taste of the bicarb. Is great in absorbing musty smells, it is used in dry chemical fire extinguishers and is used in whitening toothpaste. It can clean almost everything as well. We thank this magical powder to a French dude called Nicholas LeBlanc ( very fitting name Mr White) back in 1790-ish he came up with it.
The natural mineral form is found in many mineral springs, it is an eco-friendly product but it can be manufactured as well ( so buy the natural one). The mining of the 2 ingredients needed to create the natural bicarb does take a large amount of energy and it can impact wildlife. However it still outweighs the fabrication and use of hazardous chemicals. So lets not waste it and embrace it in our homes.
KEEP it CLEAN
1.Mix baking soda with some water, make a little paste and clean tiles, the grout, the kitchen sink, kitchen counter tops, the stove, the oven, a blackened cookpot or pan and the exhaust-hood filters.
2.Clogged drain: our a cup of bicarb soda down the drain, followed by equal amount of white vinegar. watch out for the bubbly effect and open a window to aerate the room, let sit for an hour.
3.Add a cup of bicarb to your dishwasher ( and washing machine) and run it empty for a cycle, this will clean and degrease.
4.Wash white kitchen towels, table cloths and napkins with 1/2 bicarb and 1/2 laundry detergent. ( mind you, whites only)
5.Add to a glass bowl a sheet of aluminium foil, add your tarnished blackened silver cutlery ( make sure it is 100% silver or plated and no other material as handle) – add 1 spoon of bicarb and 1 spoon of salt and pour over boiling water, let sit and than wash with dishwasher soap. ( don’t try this with delicate jewelry).
6.Give a copper pot its shiny pinkness back, make a paste with bicarb and water and scrub it in with half a lemon, let sit for darker spots. Rinse and dry.
7.Remove nasty sticky label glue on jars with a little water and bicarb paste, let it sit for a while and rinse.
8.Remove persistent coffee or tea stains from your beautiful china, use a little water and bicarb paste, let it sit for a while and rinse.
KEEP it FRESH
9.Sprinkle a handful of soda down the smelly drain of the sink ( tub, shower, garage drain), pour boiling water over it .
10.Place some bicarb on a plate in the fridge and nasty odors will be absorbed.
11.Sprinkle some on carpets, rugs and mattresses, gently rub it in and let sit for a couple of hours than simply vacuum it up.
12.Does your wooden cutting board smell of onions or garlic, no panic. Sprinkle bicarb on the board, rub in with half a lemon. Rinse, let dry and rub with a little olive oil.
Hope these tips helps you on your way to a greener, eco-conscious home!
Written and photographed by Sandra Slawinski without commercial deals. I used my towel from Dille&Kamille and my bowl from Villory&Boch
