Baking soda has always been an ingredient that homeowners use not only in their cooking but also in their cleaning routines. It is true this magical white powder has incredible qualities and can be used to remove different stains and nasty odours. Nowadays the DIY trend and all of its followers have proclaimed sodium bicarbonate as the number one cleaning ingredient and it is used in almost every household in London. However, there are a couple of things that the so-called “cleaning gurus” of the internet conveniently forget to mention. Baking soda can actually damage some surfaces and ruin your pretty home. In an attempt to help people, we have sat down and had a friendly chat with the employees of one of London’s most reputable cleaning companies. Here is what we learned about the hidden dangers of using baking soda as a multipurpose cleaning solution.
Do Not Clean the Wooden Furniture in Your London Home with Soda
A lot of tutorials teach you that baking soda is completely safe and does miracles with the wooden hand rests on your sofa. Don’t be misguided by them. Sodium bicarbonate is a sand-like substance. Do you know what will happen if you rub sand onto the soft wood – you will get scratches, a lot of them. Afterwards, you need to watch a tutorial on how to cover up marks on wooden surfaces. Don’t be this person.
Avoid Cleaning Your Wooden Floors with Baking Soda
One of the most popular DIY recipes for a multi-purpose cleaner includes baking soda and vinegar. Supposedly this combination will do wonders with your wooden floors. Well, you will definitely experience the wonder of chemistry. This combination is highly acidic, combined with the abrasive structure of the soda, your floors coating will most definitely dissolve, leaving the wooden boards unprotected.
Never Scrub Silver Items with Soda
The relationship between baking soda and silver or tarnish items is pretty complex. You see, if you boil your jewellery with sodium bicarbonate, you will clean them to perfection. However, if you start polishing them with a mixture of water and soda you will definitely scratch them. All soft metals like silver and gold can be easily damaged if you apply to the wrong cleaning technic.
How to Protect the Glass Surfaces in Your London Home
For starters don’t try to clean them using baking soda. It is always raining in London, therefore, your windows are almost constantly covered in raindrop markings. It is natural to want to wash them without the need of constantly relying on professional cleaning services. Don’t use DIY “miracle recipes” including baking soda. Use a squeegee and a window cleaner. This way you will avoid scratching the glass surface.
Baking Soda Is Bad for Your Pots and Pans
To be fair, we are talking about the ones made from aluminium. According to our cleaning experts baking soda can oxidise if left too long on your shiny cookware thus rending the useless. So to be on the safe side, when you need to wash your pans, use the good old dishwashing liquid.
Marble Doesn’t Like Sodium Bicarbonate
In almost every stylish London kitchen, there is at least one marble worktop. They are beautiful and solid, and very expensive. Do NOT use Sodium bicarbonate to clean this type of stone. As calcium carbonate based material, marble doesn’t react well to any kind of acids (vinegar) and alkalies (baking soda). If you are unsure how to deal with your worktops, call a professional cleaning company and minimise all risks.
The Dangers of Cleaning Your Bathroom with Baking Soda
We are specifically talking about diligently scrubbing your bathroom walls with sodium bicarbonate. When it is made, each tile is carefully coated in a glossy topcoat that protects it from getting damaged and prolongs its life. Once in contact with the soda’s sandy nature, your tiles get stripped out of their insulating layer and can easily break and lose all shines. Always use proper cleaning detergents to wash your bathroom.
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