Bathroom upkeep with Baking Soda

The next obvious place where baking soda is incredibly helpful is the bathroom. Like the kitchen, the bathroom is home to many situations where there is dirt, odor, and the need for cleaning.

Remember, baking soda will eliminate the need for harsh cleaners that can potentially be harmful to your health.

Shower Curtains

You probably need to replace your shower curtains right now. Shower curtains build up bacteria and a gross residue relatively quickly, but we rarely clean them because they are just a pain in the butt. Even if you remove them from their hangers, they aren’t easy to scrub because they are so flimsy.

It’s often easier to just replace them.

There is an easy solution to this.

Just unhook the shower curtain from the shower curtain rod, and let it fall into the bathtub. Then fill the bathtub up with warm water and mix in 2 cups of baking soda. Stir a bit, and soak for a few hours. Rinse it off with the showerhead and your shower curtain will be shiny and good as new. No awkward scrubbing needed.

Unclogging Drains

You can get around the need for harsh chemicals like Drano with baking soda.

Have you ever looked at the ingredients on a container of Drano? They are very toxic and harmful, and Drano works by literally burning away the contents of a drain clog. This is why Drano is also bad for the drains themselves.

So when you want to get rid of a blog in your drain from shaving gel or hair, all you need to do is the following.

First, pour boiling water down the drain, followed immediately by ½ cup of baking soda.

Second, combine 1 cup of vinegar with 1 cup of hot water, and pour that drain the drain. Make sure that you put the plug/stopper in to keep the chemical reaction at the clog.

Third, after letting it sit for 10 minutes, pour another pot of boiling water down the drain.

The reaction between the vinegar and baking soda is what clears the clog in your drain.

Stained Toilet

If you have neglected to clean your toilet and find it stained and unpleasant to look at, baking soda can help with that. This is especially effective on hard water stains.

First, pour about 1 cup of vinegar into the toilet. Make sure it touches all the surfaces that you want to clean, above and below the water line.

Second, sprinkle about 1 cup of baking soda into the toilet. Again, make sure it touches all areas that the vinegar touch

Watch the bubbles, then scrub lightly to achieve a clean toilet bowl.

Glass Cleaner

Many of the uses I have taught you for baking soda have involved using it to scrub and get rid of buildup. It is mildly abrasive, but gentle enough so it won’t harm surfaces or your skin.

This makes it ideal for glass and mirrors because baking soda isn’t abrasive enough to scratch those surfaces.

To use baking soda as a cleaner for glass, mirrors, and other smooth surfaces, sprinkle a tiny bit onto a wet paper towel and just wipe the mirror with it.

Take note, you may need to wipe the glass one more time with a dry paper towel to get rid of excess baking soda, but baking soda will eliminate all oils and marks gently and effectively.

Bathroom de-odorizing

Bathrooms are notorious for unpleasant smells that are associated with bodily functions. You know what I’m talking about.

But beyond the smells that come from us, there are smells that exist because a bathroom is a damp environment. This makes it very easy for mildew, mold, fungi, and general uncleanliness to occur.

Use a box of baking soda in the bathroom as you would use it in the refrigerator.

Pop it on top of the toilet, under the toilet, behind the sink, or next to the shower.

Just make sure to cover it during a shower and for about 30 minutes after so the baking soda doesn’t just suck up the shower moisture.

Each box will last somewhere from 1-3 months, and will serve you well in destroying moisture and odors in your bathroom.

Floor, Bathtub Cleaner

This can easily go under kitchen usage of baking soda as well, but it’s more common for there to be tile in the bathroom floor. And of course, porcelain tubs will benefit from this as well.

Here is all you have to do: sprinkle baking soda onto the surface that you want to clean, and then spray vinegar onto it. Let it foam and bubble for a bit, and then wipe the surface clean without having to scrub at all.

The best part is that since baking soda is so low-impact and non-toxic, your feet can touch it for hours and you will be absolutely fine. You can’t say the same about any of the other cleaners that you would buy at the store! You wouldn’t want to be touching those.

Toothbrush and Comb Freshener

Toothbrushes are actually not that clean, usually. This is half because they are used for months on end, and half because human mouths are notoriously dirty and bacteria-filled.

So if you soak your toothbrush in a solution of 4 ounces of water and ½ tablespoon of baking soda, it will de-odorize it and kill any of the remaining bacteria from your mouth. Soak it for ½ hour and enjoy the fresh feeling of a new toothbrush without having to buy one.

Of course, you can also soak your combs and brushes in baking soda without damaging them to remove excess residue and leftover product effortlessly.

Unclog Showerhead

Showerheads often clog up because of a buildup of calcium in the showerhead itself. This means that half of your showerhead won’t be spraying water, and it might mean that the pipes leading to the showerhead are clogged.

You may not be able to do much with the pipes unless you hire a professional, but you can fix calcium buildups in the showerhead.

All you need to do is take it off the wall and let it soak in a solution of 1 cup of vinegar and 1/3 cup of baking soda for a few hours. Add the shower head to the vinegar first, then add the baking soda after. Make sure you cover the container as this will cause a foaming chemical reaction.

You will see the calcium slide off and rest at the bottom of the bucket, and the next time you shower you should have a full spray again.

Natural Grout Cleaner

As in the prior use, combining baking soda with vinegar is a great cleaner that eliminates calcium buildups. Such buildups are also extremely common in grout. So create a paste with ½ cup of baking soda and 3-4 tablespoons of water and apply it to the grout between the tile in the shower. Then spray vinegar on top of the paste.

Let it sit for at least 30 minutes. Then scrub it lightly, and rinse off with water. The calcium should have been eliminated and your grout will be sparkly clean and white.