Why You Should Be Combining Baking Soda And Dish Soap To Clean

Real talk: Cleaning the sink is probably not up there on your "favorite items to scrub" list. This could be because you must first clean the endless pile of dirty dishes in order to get to the sink. Nevertheless, some of us may even forget to clean the actual sink, which can disturbingly harbor more bacteria than your toilet, according to CNN. The National Sanitation Foundation International (NSF) made a jaw-dropping discovery after testing home sinks. They found that 45% tested for coliform bacteria. "There's more E. coli in a kitchen sink than in a toilet after you flush it. The sink is a great place for E. coli to live and grow since it's wet and moist. Bacteria feed on the food that people put down the drain and what's left on dishes in the sink," microbiologist Dr. Charles Gerba told Food & Wine.

Are you planning on cleaning your sink right now? While it's a task that should be performed daily, let's be honest: When was the last time your sink sparkled? We here at House Digest have been scouring TikTok to find some of the best cleaning hacks, and there's a cleaning mixture that can make your sink shine like it's brand new. Read on to see why this particular mixture (and a few other items that you may already have stocked in your pantry) can be a sink-cleaning game-changer, but be sure to follow the step-by-step process.

TikTok user @Jadesaine shared this epic cleaning hack that demonstrates exactly how to get a sink as clean as a whistle. To make the sink really shine, Jade added baking soda to a bowl, then poured in dish soap to create a paste. Next, using a paintbrush, this TikToker brushed the mixture covering the entire sink and then let it rest for 10 minutes. After that, Jade scrubbed the sink with a sponge (Pro tip: Use a new or disinfected one, as sponges can harbor loads of bacteria), and voila, Jade's sink shined like a mirror. One TikTok user proclaimed, "I was shocked when you showed the results my jaw literally dropped I gotta try this out."

Another user said that it also works wonders to add vinegar to the concoction after adding the dish soap to the paste. Furthermore, Treehugger likes to add salt to the cleaning mix of baking soda and dish soap for a shiny sink. The mixture is also ideal for cleaning pans, the stove, and inside the grimy oven. However, the outlet noted that the salt gives it grit and suggested doing a small test. This way, you won't scratch up your precious surfaces. Besides the sink, Hunker also recommended using the mixture for cleaning hard-to-scrub dishes, considering baking soda is an excellent substance for getting rid of grease.