What can I actually clean with bicarbonate of soda?

Sodium bicarbonate does three useful things at once: it is mildly alkaline so it helps break down fats, it is a soft crystalline powder so it acts as a very fine abrasive, and it neutralises acidic odour molecules. Almost everything it is genuinely good for uses one of those three properties.

What you'll need

• Bicarbonate of soda
• Water
• A cloth or sponge
• An old toothbrush (optional)

Step by step

1. Use it as a paste for stuck-on residue.Three parts bicarbonate to one part water, spread on and left twenty minutes. Burnt pans, oven interiors, grill pans and baked-on grease.
2. Use it dry to absorb odour.An open pot in the fridge, sprinkled on carpet before vacuuming, in a bin, in shoes overnight. It neutralises acidic odour compounds rather than masking them.
3. Use it as a gentle scouring powder.On stainless steel sinks, hobs, ceramic and enamel. It is softer than most cream cleaners, so it cuts through residue without scratching most surfaces.
4. Use it on stained mugs and plastic containers.A paste rubbed round the inside removes tea and coffee tannin, which ordinary washing-up leaves behind.
5. Use it in the wash as a booster.A couple of tablespoons in the drum softens water slightly and helps the detergent work, particularly in a hard water area.
6. Do not expect it to touch limescale.Limescale is alkaline and needs an acid. Bicarbonate is also alkaline, so it has no effect at all on a furred kettle or a scaled shower head.
7. Do not treat it as a disinfectant.It has essentially no antimicrobial action. For anything hygienic, use a product designed for it.
8. Do not use it with vinegar.They neutralise each other into sodium acetate, water and carbon dioxide. The fizz looks impressive and the result is salty water with no cleaning power.
9. Keep it off aluminium and soft finishes.It discolours aluminium and, being an abrasive, it dulls polished, coated and high-gloss surfaces if you press hard.
10. Rinse it off properly.Dried bicarbonate leaves a white powdery film, especially on dark surfaces. Wipe with a damp cloth and then a dry one.

Tips

• Soda crystals are a different, much stronger product — washing soda, sodium carbonate — for heavy grease and drains. Do not confuse the two.
• For a burnt pan, bicarbonate with a little water simmered in the pan for ten minutes lifts residue that no amount of scrubbing will.
• Bicarbonate on a damp cloth is the safest thing to reach for on a surface you are unsure about, because it is milder than almost any commercial product.

Common mistakes

• Mixing it with vinegar to make a cleaner — They neutralise each other completely. What is left is salty water and carbon dioxide, which is weaker than either product used on its own.
• Using it on limescale — Limescale is a mineral deposit that needs an acid to dissolve. An alkaline powder has no chemical effect on it whatsoever, so people scrub for a long time and get nowhere.

If it doesn't work

Questions people ask