8 Brilliant Baking Soda Vinegar Hacks

Both baking soda and vinegar are fantastic natural products for household cleaning. There are many baking soda vinegar recipes and hacks that you can make use of for cleaning around the house.

It is important to take note that baking soda is alkaline and vinegar is acidic and when they are mixed together the baking soda fizzes and foams. Make sure not to mix them together and store them in a closed container otherwise you may have an explosion on your hands.

When you use a baking soda vinegar combination the fizzing reaction can help to dissolve gunky mess that is otherwise hard to clean, making is easy to just wipe away.

Both baking soda and vinegar are incredibly useful for cleaning around the home on their own and when you combine them in the right way they can make an incredibly powerful and useful cleaning agent. The trick is knowing how to use them together, which is what will be covered in this article.

Baking Soda Vinegar Toilet Cleaner

Toilets can quickly start looking terrible with hard water stains building up that can become terribly hard to remove. Toilets are used all day every day by all members of the household, as well as by guests visiting your home. With constant use and water standing in the toilet it can become incredibly tough to keep your toilet sparkly clean all the time.

Toilet cleaning products can be very harsh, as well as expensive, while using natural products can be just as effective, not as harsh and easier on your pocket.

Baking soda and vinegar are excellent choices for cleaning your toilet on a regular basis, here’s how do it:

1. Pour one cup of vinegar into the toilet bowl and swish it around with the toilet brush, then let it sit for a few minutes.
2. Add one cup of baking soda to the toilet bowl before adding another cup of vinegar. This solution will start fizzing. Let it sit for a further 10 minutes.
3. Swish the solution around with a toilet brush making sure to bring the solution up the sides of the toilet bowl above the water line. Let it sit for another 30 minutes.
4. If there are any stains left give the toilet a scrub with the toilet brush before flushing.

If the toilet is very badly stained it may take a number of tries to get it looking good again.

This is a great way to prevent your toilet from building up stains and smelling fresh, make sure to do this once a week to keep your toilet looking sparkly white and fresh all the time.

Clearing A Clogged Drain With Baking Soda And Vinegar

Having a clogged and stinky drain is no fun and so many drain cleaners are incredibly harsh and may cause damage to your drain with long term prolonged use.

The best thing to do is to regularly clean your drains with baking soda and vinegar to keep them well maintained so they stay clear and smelling fresh.

Here’s how to clear your drain using baking soda and vinegar:

1. Fill your kettle, boil it and pour the entire contents down your drain.
2. Next pour one cup of baking soda followed by one cup of vinegar then one cup of water down your drain.
3. Cover your drain with the plug and leave it for 10 minutes.
4. Repeat step number one again.

The baking soda and vinegar will fizz and help to loosen all the dirt and gunk from your drain and the hot water will flush it away. This method not only unclogs your drain, but keeps it smelling fresh too.

Make sure to do this regularly and not leave it until you have a problem when it may be too late to get it unclogged easily. As with most things in your household it is about maintaining your home in a good condition and not waiting until you have a problem which may require more drastic and harsh measures.

Baking Soda Vinegar Carpet Cleaner and Stain Remover

Carpets can be quite tricky to keep clean and fresh, especially if you have children and pets. It is important to try and clean any messes as they happen so that your carpets don’t get stained and permanently damaged. It is also important to tackle cleaning your carpets regularly so that all those little spots that happen regularly but are not noticed immediately can be cleaned.

1. For spring cleaning your carpet take a walk through your carpeted areas first and take note of all the spots and dirty areas before getting started with tackling individual stains.
2. Pour a little bit of vinegar on the stain, alternatively you can use a spray bottle which is always handy for use around the home, especially if you regularly clean with vinegar.
3. Sprinkle some baking soda on top of the vinegar.
4. If the mark is very small and you only use a little bit of vinegar and baking soda you can leave it as is until it dries then vacuum it up.
5. If the mark is a bigger and you use a substantial amount of vinegar and baking soda let the mixture sit for 30 minutes. After 3 minutes use a damp cloth to rub and blot the stain. Let it dry before vacuuming it up.

This is a fantastic way to clean your carpets from pet wee and perhaps even your toddler’s messes from potty training to spilt food more.

It will also be important to have your entire carpets cleaned regularly. You can use a professional carpet cleaning company, or you can use your own carpet steam cleaner to give them a good clean. Make sure to fill your carpet steam cleaner with 50% water and 50% white vinegar to help remove stubborn stains and keep your carpets fresh and clean. The vinegar may leave a temporary smell but it will quickly disappear when your carpets dry leaving them fresh and odour free.

Baking Soda and Vinegar for Laundry

Baking soda and vinegar are both fantastic for your laundry routine and it is so simple to do.

1. Sprinkle half a cup of baking soda over your laundry when you put it in the machine. This will brighten the colours and it will soften hard water.
2. Add one cup of vinegar to your rinse cycle to remove all odours and soften your fabric.

Cleaning Your Mattress With Baking Soda And Vinegar

If you are a mother with kids in diapers or potty training then at some stage you will be dealing with urine soaked mattresses, it is inevitable. Even with mattress protectors and night time diapers there are going to be some accidents.

You may even be dealing with pets messing on your mattresses, yes even if you don’t have your own pets. We have had  a neighbour’s dog poop on my daughter’s bed and we have had other people’s cats come into our home and spray urine.

It is so incredibly important to have your mattress odour free and clean, and the best way to do this is using this baking soda vinegar hack:

1. If the area is newly messed on blot the moisture out as best you can with paper towels or a dry cloth. Don’t press down or the liquid may travel even further into the mattress.
2. Once you have cleaned up the mess as best you can spray the area with white vinegar. It is best not to pour the vinegar on as it can really soak down into the mattress which is not what you want to achieve. Let it soak for about 10 minutes.
3. Soak up the vinegar using paper towels or a dry cloth.
4. Sprinkle the area with a good amount of baking soda and let it sit for a couple of hours.
5. Once the baking soda has soaked up the vinegar and caked on top of the mattress vacuum up all the baking soda.

Clean Your Shower Head

It is very common for shower heads to get clogged up every now and then. Dirt will build up over time and the mineral build up will also look unsightly.

Giving your shower head a regular clean with baking soda and vinegar will keep your shower head in good condition. Here’s how to clean your shower head with a baking soda vinegar mix:

1. Remove your shower head from the shower and rinse it to remove any loose debris.
2. Put your shower head into a bowl and cover it with white vinegar. Leave it to soak overnight. Please take note that if your shower head is brass, nickel plated or gold only soak it for 30 minutes otherwise it could damage the finish of your shower head.
3. In the morning pour half a cup of baking soda over your shower head while it is still in the vinegar and give it a scrub with an old tooth brush.
4. Rinse off your shower head and return it to your shower.

Remove Gunk From Pots and Pans

Cleaning pots and pans that are grimy is a job nobody enjoys. Making use of baking soda and vinegar can make the job a lot easier.

1. Sprinkle damp pots and pans with baking soda.
2. Spray with white vinegar and leave to soak for 10 minutes.
3. Scrub it clean.

You will find scrubbing your pots and pans is so much easier this way.

Baking Soda Vinegar Combo To Clean Your Oven

While there are plenty of harsh chemicals to clean your oven baking soda and vinegar will do just as good a job. Here is the best way to clean your oven with baking soda and vinegar.

1. After you have finished cooking a meal place a bowl of vinegar inside while the oven is still hot. Leave the vinegar in the oven until it has completely cooled. This will help to loosen some of the dirt.
2. Give your oven a wipe down with an old cloth to take off the dirt that has loosened.
3. Make a spreadable paste of baking soda and water using half a cup of baking soda and a few tablespoons of water.
4. Remove the racks from your oven and cover the entire inside of the oven (except the heating elements) with the baking soda paste. Rub the paste into the walls which will turn the paste brown. Leave this to sit overnight.
5. In the morning wipe the baking soda out of the oven as best you can.
6. Spray white vinegar onto all the places in the oven where there is still baking soda.
7. Wipe down your oven and spray  more vinegar as needed until the oven is clean and sparkling.

Cleaning inside your oven is a dirty job that takes a lot of time and effort. While some people recommend to clean inside your oven every three to six months remember that the more often you clean inside your oven the easier it will be to clean each time. Giving your oven a good clean every month and wiping it down after each use is a much better idea.

To clean your oven racks put them in the bath and sprinkle them with baking soda before spraying them with vinegar, then cover the racks with hot water and let them soak overnight. In the morning you should be able to just wipe them down and put them back in the oven after you have finished cleaning the inside. This baking soda vinegar combo is the bomb for cleaning your oven racks and inside your oven.

What household hacks do you have for cleaning using baking soda vinegar recipes or any other household product that you have in your home on hand that is not a harsh chemical?