6 Genius Ways To Clean Around The House With Soda Crystals

The cleaning power of sodium bicarbonate, better known as baking soda, has been well documented. There are dozens of baking soda cleaning hacks that cover every room of your home and extend well beyond its walls, but sodium bicarbonate has a sibling that should not be overlooked: Sodium carbonate.

Sodium carbonate, also called washing soda or soda crystals, is a sodium compound that combines a strong base with a weak acid. Out of their packaging, soda crystals and baking soda could be mistaken for one another if the granules of soda crystals were slightly smaller. The less edible of the two, soda crystals are often sold as a laundry booster or heavy-duty cleaning agent, but their usefulness is not limited to stain removal or as a method for cleaning and unclogging drains. Here are six different ways that soda crystals can be used to clean up messes in and around your home and why you should always keep a box nearby.

When using soda crystals in your laundry room as a detergent booster, you may want to save a bit for when you're in between cycles. Over time, dirt, mold, and other kinds of gnarly substances build up inside washing machines and can transfer to your clothing and eventually to your skin. Adding a cup of crystals to the detergent tray and drum of an empty machine once a month and letting it run through a hot cycle will clean that gunk away and help prevent it from building up in the first place.

Toilet bowl stains are probably the most embarrassing stains to have, especially if you have company. Using washing soda to clean your toilets is fast, easy, and very effective. Simply sprinkle the crystals into the bowl and use a toilet wand to scrub the sides like you would with any other cleaner. Flush to rinse, and you're done. Keep in mind, this method is not recommended for use on fiberglass toilets or other fixtures, as the sodium carbonate may damage them.

If your home's vinyl blinds do not yet need to be replaced or repurposed, only requiring a little TLC, a scrub down with soda crystals and water can help. After dissolving a half cup of sodium carbonate in a gallon of water, use a rag to wipe away the dirt and dust. For a deeper clean, double the amount of crystals and fill the tub with water so that the blinds can be submerged for half an hour. Hang the blinds so they can air dry.

Who said the cleaning hacks were limited to inside the house? After a family barbecue or a holiday cookout, brush off excess food using a grill brush and let everything cool down before soaking the removable parts in a bath of hot water and a cup of soda crystals for two hours. While those pieces are soaking, the rest of the grill can be sprayed with the same mixture and scrubbed with a scouring pad. Make sure everything is rinsed well and allowed to dry before your next grill session.

Soda crystals are known for getting grease stains out of clothing, but did you know that they also work on dishes? To remove fat and burnt food residue, liberally sprinkle the crystals directly onto the cookware. Allow it to sit for 15 minutes, wipe it away, and wash the dish as you normally would with dish soap or in the dishwasher.

Jewelry makers swear by soda crystals as the best way to restore dull and tarnished sterling silver and gold pieces, as long as there aren't precious stones in them. Sodium carbonate is corrosive to aluminum, so avoid using it to clean aluminum pots; however, you'll need aluminum foil to line a tray for this cleaning hack. Add the jewelry to the tray, pour on the crystals and some boiling water. Carefully remove the jewelry with tongs, rinse it, and wipe it with a polishing cloth until it shines like new.