Tips

Tips for Cleaning Items with Baking Soda

Despite being relatively mild and safe compared to other cleaning agents, baking soda still has its own drawbacks.

21 November, 2023

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From washing dishes, pots, to deep cleaning equipment, baking soda is always an excellent ingredient. Although it is quite gentle and safe compared to alternative cleaning agents, baking soda still has certain drawbacks.

Because of its abrasive nature, you have to be careful with lightly coated metal surfaces. And some metals have more reactions than others, so baking soda can cause discoloration. While it doesn’t completely ruin the metal, it will make you exclaim that they look hard to look at.

Another thing to be careful about with baking soda is combining it with something acidic, like vinegar or lemon juice. If combined in a sealed container like a soda bottle, they have the potential to explode right in your home. So if you want to use them in combination with other ingredients, use them immediately instead of storing them for a certain period of time.

Here are things you should never do if you intend to use baking soda:

1. Aluminum cooking utensils

While you can clean metal surfaces by scrubbing with baking soda, be cautious if you intend to use this powder to clean aluminum cookware. If you use it quickly and rinse it off, it’s okay. However, if you leave the baking soda mixture on the aluminum surface for too long, an oxidation process can occur, changing the color of the utensils.

2. Silverware

Although using baking soda and aluminum foil can quickly remove tarnish from silverware, some experts are also cautious because it can abrade and damage your silverware. Also, do not use baking soda to clean turquoise or pearl jewelry… For truly valuable items, take them to a professional cleaning service outside of a jewelry store.

3. Gold-plated dinnerware

Many gold-plated dinnerware – could be made of bronze or gold alloy – so if you are sure it is real gold, be careful with baking soda. Because gold is a soft metal, it can easily get scratched even with a mild abrasive like baking soda.

4. Marble surfaces

Although there have been many recommendations to use baking soda to clean marble, stone manufacturers do not advise you to use it. Although baking soda is only slightly abrasive, repeating this cleaning method can corrode the surface of the stone. It is best to use a designated stone cleaner for marble.