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Baking soda and vinegar is an essential cleaner for any home. A clean home is the most refreshing feeling. For me it’s a sign my life is in order, and I can tackle anything coming up whether that’s guests or just a day around the house. I like to start and end my day with a clean home for that reason. I am a firm believer you don’t need harsh chemicals in order to achieve a clean home and above all else you can make or do anything you set your mind to yourself! That’s a part of being a self-sufficient citizen. I make my own cleaners and use reusable cleaning towels, so I waste less money and time on cleaners and paper towels. Especially if the supply chain has issues. And I’m positive this lifestyle can benefit you as well! I already have a blog post about my DIY cleaner and the 45 places I use it in my home HERE. But the real reason you clicked on this post was for the cleaning power of vinegar and baking soda in your home!
Sometimes a mess is more than just that. It’s caked in grimy greasy oil on your stove or hard water stains in your toilet. As always, test a small inconspicuous spot where you plan to clean just in case it might discolor or break down the surface. While I have not personally had any of my natural cleaners do this, sometimes it’s better safe than sorry.
Baking powder and vinegar can be bought for cheap in bulk and have an extremely long shelf life. So, it’s easy to have a gallon of vinegar and a pound of baking soda last for months as well as a stash of these two cleaners that will last years. My main areas I use these cleaners combined or not are:
The Bathroom plus Baking Soda and Vinegar
The bathroom is the place in the house where most people are concerned about sanitation. For absolutely good reason of course. We don’t want bacteria and viruses sticking around but we don’t have to use bleach or other harsh chemicals to rid ourselves of them. White vinegar has antimicrobial properties and is an amazing cleaner just on its own. It is 5% acetic acid so white vinegar breaks down the structures of bacteria and viruses killing them. For my bathroom I use it paired with baking soda or in my DIY all-purpose cleaner. Simply fill 1/4th of the bottle you use with vinegar before the other ingredients for an antimicrobial cleaner.
Use that cleaner on your sink, counter, door, drawers or anywhere else you want. For your toilet and tub I use a half cup of vinegar and ¼ cup of baking soda. For the toilet, dump in your vinegar and baking soda and let it sit for 5minutes. In the meanwhile, plug your tub and sprinkle the baking soda all over. Springle the vinegar on top then wait for 5 minutes. While you wait for the tub, take your toilet brush and scrub your toilet thoroughly. If stains remain you can double the cleaner and let it sit for longer. I usually clean my toilet once a week and have hard water, but this works for me. Now return to the tub. You can use a cleaning towel, scrub brush or old sponge to clean your tub. For me I use a scrub brush and just scrub the tub all over. Rinse with your shower head or a glass of water and it should be good to go. (Quick TIP: make sure to wipe the sides of your tub and under any soaps sitting on the edges as well as the handle/ spout area for an extra clean looking tub).
One last area that I will list is your shower head. Water leaves build up and can make the shower head does not work very well. To remedy this, soak a cleaning towel in vinegar and wrap it around the shower head. Cover that in a bag or Ziplock bag and I recommend securing it all with a rubber band before letting it sit for a few hours or overnight. Just wipe your showerhead off and let some water run through it afterwards and there you go.
The Kitchen plus Baking Soda and Vinegar
The kitchen can be easily the messiest part of a home. Food coming in, out, really all over the poor room. Grease, dirt and food builds up on our appliances and surfaces. It is also another place where we don’t particularly like having germs and viruses. Luckily vinegar is here to save us.
Vinegar has antimicrobial properties because of it being an acid. That also means that vinegar can cut through grease and dirt. Add some baking soda with that and you have a powerful degreaser that isn’t harsh chemicals. I use this mixture on my sink, in my oven, my air fryer and stove top when I have a buildup of grease. Anywhere else I use my DIY all-purpose cleaner that usually can clean up the simple messes. For an extra messy microwave put ¼ cup of vinegar in a microwavable cup and microwave for a few minutes. Wipe your microwave out and repeat until it’s clean.
Laundry plus Baking Soda and Vinegar
Smelly dirty laundry not getting clean? Don’t blame your detergent! Most detergents just cover up the smells anyways… Unless you’re using an eco-friendly powerful detergent. But even those detergents need help sometimes. A trend that came up not so long ago was “stripping” towels, blankets and pillows. While a full treatment once in a while is great and almost necessary you can strip your clothing in the wash for a simpler version. I use a half cup of baking soda and vinegar. Put the baking soda in the drum of your washer and what you’re washing. Then add vinegar in the fabric softener part of your washer and run a cycle on hot before adding your detergent for a second cycle. Usually, I do wash on cold, but I have found that once a month if I clean my cleaning rags, towels, and dogs bed/clothing this way it keeps everything absorbent and smelling great!
These were just a few places I use vinegar and baking soda in my home, but I do encourage you to look up more places. They’re wonderful cleaners and with my DIY all-purpose cleaner you can get away with not having any other cleaner in your home. As a disclaimer I do use 5% white vinegar. Not distilled or anything. As for my baking soda right now, I am using Arm and Hammer (Not affiliated sadly) and the large box lasts me for three months. I strongly urge you to try out these natural cleaners and switch to cleaning with vinegar and baking soda in your home!
