The Home Bar Staple That's Best For Cleaning Your Countertops

It doesn't matter what type of countertops you have; no material is impervious to dirt, grease, and grime accumulation, especially in the kitchen and bathroom. But you may have a variety of surface materials in your home, which makes choosing the perfect cleaning agent a tricky decision. Thankfully, you can use soda water to clean any kitchen countertop (and then some!). Since soda water is nothing more than carbonated water, it's ideal for any surface in your home. 

If you have granite countertops, you should always avoid harsh cleaners. Otherwise, you run the risk of compromising your counters. These cleaning agents include vinegar (or other acidic liquids, such as lemon or lime juice), bleach, and ammonia. You should also avoid harsh cleaning products, such as Windex, for several reasons. Windex will not only damage your granite countertops, eroding away the applied sealant, but it's also bad for the environment and your indoor air quality. As you spray this chemical product around your home, it stays in the air, exposing you and your loved ones to tiny chemical droplets. Windex also leads to acute aquatic toxicity. Instead, soda water is an affordable, non-toxic, all-purpose cleaner ingredient to use in the house.

You don't need any fancy tools to carry out this incredible hack — all you need to do is grab a bottle of soda water and start cleaning different countertops across your home. Simply pour some of it on your counters and let it sit for a short while. You can even put the soda water in a spray bottle if you find this application method is easier to use. You don't need any other ingredients — just let the fizziness in your soda water work its magic and wipe it away after a few minutes. 

Soda water has a bit of baking soda in it. Since baking soda is alkaline, it's excellent at sloughing away stubborn grease and grime. It penetrates into encrusted oils so you can wipe them away without scrubbing at your counter's surface sealants. The same is true for any soap scum or water spots, especially if you have hard water. Just put a little bit of soda water on any areas you'd like to clean, and wipe it away once it's had a chance to penetrate surface stains. You can also use soda water to clean glass cooktops. As an added bonus, you may find that the baking soda in soda water can be anti-bacterial, so make sure to add it to your cleaning regimen. You can even use this product to clean pots and pans; just splash a little into them while they're still warm and watch the grease dissolve.