Since I am in my first trimester of pregnancy, my sense of smell is enormous! Also, being the one who is in charge of cleaning the house, I know that many cleaning supplies that are sold in stores are actually harmful for me to inhale. So, a friend of mine showed me a list of natural uses for things like Baking Soda and Hydrogen Peroxide. Below are two lists of things which those two items can be used! Taken from 1 Green Generation, I hope it is helpful to you!
BAKING SODA
1. Shampoo Replacement. A Non-Toxic, Frugal Way To Wash Your Hair Without Buying Shampoo explains it all in detail. Try it!
2. Deodorant. How To Make Your Own Deodorant (A Very Simple Recipe). I encourage you to try that as well – so simple!
3. Air Freshener & Deodorizer. Brilliantly easy, all you need to do is open up a box of baking soda, or dump a pile of it into a bowl, and leave it in an offensively smelling area – your fridge, your closet, your pet area, you car, wherever! (Change it out every 3-6 months.)
4. Carpet and Garment Deodorizer. Just sprinkle a bit over the offensive area and let it sit. A little while later, you can vacuum or shake it out.
5. Counter, sink, and tub Cleaner. Just like using Bon Ami or some other powdered cleaner, sprinkle it onto the surface and rub with a wet cloth. Be careful on delicate surfaces – test it out first to make sure it won’t scratch, though it’s more delicate than most powdered cleaners. To shine the surface afterward, you can spray a bit of vinegar and wipe clean.
6. Jewelry and Silverware Cleaner. You can use a paste of a baking soda mixed with a bit of water (3:1 or so), or if that doesn’t work well enough you can try replacing the water with hydrogen peroxide.
7. Coffee, Tea, Rust, and Hard Water Stain Remover. Scrub with the same 3:1 (baking soda: water) paste, and it should do the trick!
8. Pot and Pan Cleaner. Sprinkle some baking soda onto your rag or sponge, and clean your pots – it will take off many stains.
9. Drain Unclogger. If water hasn’t yet backed up, pour 1 cup of baking soda down, followed by 3 cups boiling water. Repeat if the drain doesn’t clear. If the drain still doesn’t clear, follow with 1 cup of vinegar. This makes it bubble, fizz and usually that does the trick! If this does not work, we usually buy enzymes from the local health food store.
10. Cat Litter Extender. If your cat is persnickety about clean litter, in addition to cleaning the litter daily, you can shake a light layer of baking soda onto the litter and mix it up.
11. Garlic Smell Eliminator. Cutting boards and other surfaces can be cleaned with a thick paste of vinegar and baking soda. Apply this paste and let it sit for 10-15 minutes – it will both clean and deodorize.
12. Bath Softener. If you want to feel extra soft and silky, dissolve 2 cups of baking soda in your bath water. This works well if you have itchy skin from bites or hives also.
13. Exfoliator. I use the same mixture for my hair (above) as a light exfoliator on my face every couple of weeks. It’s quite rejuvenating.
14. Homemade Toothpaste. You can make your own toothpaste by using two tablespoons of baking soda and one tablespoon of peroxide. I don’t do this regularly, but I have done it in a pinch.
15. Denture or Retainer Soak. You can soak these overnight in a glass with water and baking soda. It will leave them clean and deodorized.
16. Fill small holes in Drywall. Sometimes you find yourself without spackle. Ah, just mix a bit of white toothpaste with some baking soda and fill the holes! Let it dry completely before you paint or anything – but you might find you don’t need to paint!
17. Fire Extinguisher. Great for a grease fire in the kitchen, a car fire, or another small fire. Just sprinkle it over the fire until the fire goes out. Keep it in your kitchen for sure!
18. Shoe Deodorizer. Sprinkle a small amount in your shoe, or put some in an old sock and tie the sock – then stuff it in your shoe overnight.
19. Ant, Roach, and Flea Deterrent. If you have ants or roaches, sprinkle baking soda in the areas where they are coming in the house. If you have fleas on the lawn, sprinkle baking soda around the areas where you and your pets walk by. This helps. I’ve written other tips for organic ant control here. You can try it with snails and rabbits, too!
20. Cook with it. Lots of yummy things. Like pancakes!
HYDROGEN PEROXIDE
1. Whiten Your Whites and Brighten Your Brights. Works fabulously as a bleach alternative that you can also use on colors. Just put the hydrogen peroxide in the bleach receptacle in washer.
2. Stain Remover. Works very well on blood, if you get to it fairly quickly – I learned this from Matt’s mom who is a nurse! Just pour a bit on a cloth and dab at your clothing; if it has sat for a while, pour some on and let it sit for a couple of hours. Also, some people just have a chemical difference in their sweat that leaves yellow underarm stains on white clothing. Or wine stains on a white blouse? Again, pour some hydrogen peroxide on the stain and let it sit a couple hours. Then wash as you would normally – this works for me every time!
3. Antiseptic. Works great to help kill germs and prevent infection on cuts and scrapes. Make sure it bubbles up first before dabbing it off.
4. Mouthwash. You can use it straight or mix 1 to 1, water to hydrogen peroxide. Gargle, Swoosh, Spit, and Rinse. This works well if you have canker sores or other mouth sores.
5. Toothpaste. You can make your own toothpaste by using two tablespoons of baking soda and one tablespoon of peroxide. I don’t do this regularly, but I have done it in a pinch.
6. Cutting Board and Countertop Sanitizer. Vinegar kills most germs, and hydrogen peroxide kills most of the rest. The two kill more germs and bacteria than bleach alone, if you do this: have the vinegar and hydrogen peroxide in two different spray bottles, spray on one first, then the other. Then rinse clean.
7. Watering Your Plants. If you tend to over-water your plants, this is for you. Mix 1 oz of hydrogen peroxide with 1 quart of water, and water your plants normally. This adds oxygen to your soil, helping stave off root rot and enhances root development. I do this particularly with plants whose soil is overly dense and more prone to water-logging.
8. Kill Shower Mold and Mildew. Spray on the surface and let sit, then wipe clean. Or spray after your shower to prevent mold from forming.
9. Toilet Bowl Cleaner. Pour 1/2 cup hydrogen peroxide into the bowl, let stand for 20 minutes, and scrub clean.You can do the same thing with vinegar.
10. For Faster Germination When Soaking Seeds. This is a new one to me – I just read about it and haven’t tried it yet. Apparently if you soak your seeds in 1 cup of water mixed with 1.5 t hydrogen peroxide, the seeds will germinate faster. Has anyone tried this yet?
So there you go!
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