Affordable, inexpensive and effective laundry detergent: soda and how to use it

Baking soda or sodium bicarbonate is an inexpensive and effective product that is used for washing things.

Despite the abundance of modern powders with the most advanced formulas, it has not lost its popularity. Her “secret of success” is very simple - low price and high efficiency.

Read the article about why baking soda and soda ash are used to wash clothes in an automatic washing machine and by hand, how to use it correctly and when it should not be done.

Beneficial features

Soda is used as an alternative or partial replacement for washing powder. It can be found in some brands of detergents. It allows you to improve the quality of washing, remove stubborn stains and whiten things.

Pros of use washing soda:

1. Effectively removes stains from fabric.
2. Removing things from gray and yellowness, from old stains.
3. Water softening.
4. Cleaning the washing machine from scale.
5. Removing unpleasant odors from fabric.
6. Safety: sodium bicarbonate does not cause allergies and does not cause skin irritation. It can be safely used for washing children's things.
7. Strengthening the effect of washing powder.
8. Affordable price.

The only drawback of baking soda is that it cannot be used for washing items made from delicate fabrics. They do not tolerate contact with abrasives, so liquid detergents are used to care for them.

When can you use it and when can you not?

Baking soda can be used for hand and machine washing. It is added when boiling clothes to better whiten them. Almost any item can be washed using baking soda.

The exceptions are:

• membrane clothing;
• wool and silk;
• synthetic fabrics;
• leather and leatherette;
• rubberized things;
• velvet, suede, velor.

It helps remove the following types of stains:

1. Wine, coffee Tea
2. Biological fluids, e.g. blood or sweat.
3. Fat.
4. Ketchup.
5. Grass marks.
6. Paint, ink.
7. Iodine and brilliant green.

Workwear is often washed with it; it helps to cope with stains from:

• fuel oil,
• kerosene,
• gasoline.

How to wash things correctly?

For washing with soda to be effective, it must be used correctly. The method of its application differs, depending on whether things are processed manually or in a machine.

In the washing machine

Bed linen is often washed in a machine with soda, kitchen towels and not only.

Procedure:

1. Load items into the washing machine drum.
2. Pour baking powder into the main compartment. For a standard dose of washing powder take 2 tbsp. l. sodium bicarbonate. If the fabric is heavily soiled, its amount is increased to 5 tbsp. l.
3. Turn on the extra rinse function.
4. Wait for the cycle to complete.

When processing laundry manually

Hand washing with soda is most often done with soaking.This will allow you to achieve maximum effect from its use.

For 1 kg of things you will need:

• water – 10 l;
• soda – 10 tsp.

If the contamination is not too serious, the items are soaked in a warm solution for 60 minutes. If there are persistent stains, this time is increased to 3-10 hours.

The stains are rubbed off with a brush. After treatment, the item must be rinsed thoroughly.

You need to dilute baking powder in water carefully.. The better it dissolves, the more effective it will be.

What to combine the food product with?

You can combine baking soda with various substances when washing. They mutually enhance each other’s effects and allow you to wash things more efficiently.

Most popular recipes:

1. With hydrogen peroxide. This substance allows you to bleach things efficiently. To prepare the solution you will need 3 liters of water, 2 tbsp. l. sodium bicarbonate and 1 tbsp. l. peroxide. The fabric is soaked in the resulting solution for 30 minutes. The product can only be used for light-colored products. Dark things will become paler.
2. With ammonia. Recipe for preparing the solution: 5 liters of water, 5 tbsp. l. soda, 2 tbsp. l. ammonia. Things are soaked for 30 minutes, after which they are washed as usual. This composition helps remove stains from tea, coffee, wine, and cosmetics.
3. With vinegar. The item is spread out on a flat surface, sprinkled with soda and sprinkled with vinegar. To evenly distribute the composition, you can use a spray bottle.

   The foaming substance is evenly distributed with a brush. After 2 hours the product is washed. The combination of vinegar and soda helps remove the smell of sweat and traces of it from the fibers of the fabric. An effective solution for removing blood stains.

4. With laundry soap. To prepare 5 liters of cleaning solution you will need: 5 tsp. baking powder, 3 tbsp. l. soap, ground into shavings.The substances are mixed and dissolved in hot water. Things are soaked for 20-40 minutes, after which they are washed as usual.
5. With boric acid. To prepare the solution, you will need: 2 liters of water, 10 g of pharmaceutical boric acid, 2 tbsp. l. soda, 1 tbsp. l. any soap. All components are thoroughly mixed. The products are soaked for 30 minutes. This composition is effective against any contaminants, including the most persistent ones.
6. With turpentine. To prepare the stain remover you will need: 1 tbsp. l. turpentine, 1 tsp. sodium bicarbonate. The mixture is applied to the stain and left for an hour. Then the dirt is gently rubbed with a soft brush and washed as usual. This composition is used to remove stains from paint, cosmetics, ink, gouache, and watercolors.
7. With dishwashing detergent. At 2 tbsp. l. liquid gel will require 2 tsp. soda The composition is applied to the stain and left for 2 hours. This product allows you to remove any fatty stains from the fabric.
8. With starch or talc. The powders are mixed in equal proportions. They are used for dry cleaning of things, for example, made of suede. Sprinkle the mixture onto the stains on the product and gently rub them with your fingertips. After 1-2 hours, the powder is brushed off.

Precautionary measures

Precautions to be observed when using soda:

1. When washing by hand, you need to use gloves so as not to dry out the skin of your hands. This is especially true if they have small cracks or scratches.
2. Do not wash delicate fabrics, such as wool or silk, with baking soda.
3. Be careful not to get the powder into your eyes.If this happens, they need to be washed with plenty of water.
4. The pack is stored tightly closed in a dry place. If moisture gets in, the baking powder will clump.
5. The higher the water temperature, the more active sodium bicarbonate manifests itself. In hot water, its bleaching ability is enhanced. This must be taken into account when washing colored and dark fabrics.

Important Tips

Before you start washing, You need to familiarize yourself with the advice of professional laundresses:

1. Things should be rinsed thoroughly. Otherwise, white streaks will remain on the fabric. Soda does not harm the material upon short-term contact, but if it remains in the fibers after washing, they will slowly deteriorate.
2. When starting to wash, you need to take into account the information indicated on the product label.
3. Baking soda can be used as a water softener.
4. Do not rub a stain sprinkled with baking soda too hard, as the abrasive may damage the fabric.
5. Baking powder is used for washing diapers, romper, vest. This food supplement will not provoke an allergic reaction in the child. Therefore, it is often used by mothers of babies suffering from diathesis.

You will find maximum useful information about washing clothes and various fabric products Here.

Conclusion

Soda is used for hand and machine washing. It is added to achieve a variety of purposes: for whitening, to combat difficult stains and to disinfect fabrics.

Sodium bicarbonate is combined with:

• laundry soap,
• hydrogen peroxide,
• ammonia and more.

Baking soda can be considered an effective, safe and inexpensive laundry detergent.