My 5 favourite bicarb uses

There are so many things bicarb is good for when it comes to cleaning. You can learn all about what bicarb actually is, HERE. Here are my current 5 favourites ways to use this magical stuff.

1. Makes a paste for a ‘pre wash whitening’, for arm pits and collars of white clothes.  Mix 2 tbsp bicarb and 4 -6 tbsp water and scrub collars and arm pits with a tooth brush and the paste. Then leave for an hour and wash as normal. I have a white dress that I have done this with twice now and it works beautifully with the hand washing after its bicarb treatment. Good as new!

2. Clean white leather items to look brand new (couches, bags and sneakers). Sprinkle a little bicarb on a damp sponge and gently rub white leather item in circular motion and watch it whiten. Check my office chair out! I did a little ‘spot’ first so you could super clearly see the difference. No elbow grease required – it is a really gentle action as you don’t want to actually cut into the paint, but rather get back to it!

3. Cut flowers life extender. A few alumni from my e courses got together and got me a bunch of flowers delivered last week. So beautiful! All you have to do to give your flowers a little more life, is add a tbsp bicarb to the vase water. They are on day 5 and doing brilliantly, as new!

This is me stopping to smell the flowers, so to speak!

4. Jewellery Soaking Cleaner – silver, platinum and gold. 

There are so many strange chemicals lurking in jewellery cleaner. This is an awesome jewellery cleaner. It takes just a few minutes for the tarnish to disappear.

Place some aluminium foil in a bowl. Place a tbsp or two of bicarb soda and a teaspoon of salt in the bowl, then your jewellery or cutlery in there, with  enough boiling water to cover the item in question. Leave to clean for 5 minutes. Take out and rinse.

Super sparkly silverware and silver jewellery thereafter!

5. Drain freshener bombs. Sometimes drains get mouldy, clogged, stinky… who knows. The easiest thing in the world is this: For two days straight, put 1/2 cup of bicarb on and around the offending drain along with a couple of drops of clove oil if it’s mouldy or eucalyptus for some general germ killing. “Chase it” with a cup of white vinegar (I use naturally produced Cornwell’s vinegar). It will bubble and fizz and the kids will love watching it, if you have some!

I also love bicarb as a deodoriser for carpets – a thorough sprinkle around your carpets or pet beds before a vaccuum or steam clean, for a full home freshen up. I love it for male teenage bedroom rescue in a bowl under the bed with a few drops of essential oil in there for good measure too. I love it for cleaning texta and crayons and nail polish off walls (don’t ask!). I love it for a once a week tooth whitening spruce up. I love it for a kitty litter freshener sprinkled through the tray. I love it for keeping the fridge smelling fresh… a little bowl in there is all it takes.

So, so many more reasons to love bicarb – what are your favourite uses?

Our lives got full of chemicals because all those squeaky clean products sounded so good – turns out they were too good to be true and bicarb is one of my favourite ways to go back to the simple fixed without losing the convenience and ease of using a product that works. Bye bye nasty chemicals. We don’t need you, not one little bit!

Oh, and you’re clearly going to need the bulk details for Bicarb – Those tiny boxes don’t cut it! Head to BLANTS – That’s a hot tip from the vaults of my Low Tox Life e course (be sure to be subscribed to my email list to get news on the next round). Get yourself a big bucket of epsom salts while you’re there! You need a bath! I made time for one in March and it was superb 😉

Low Tox. Happy Us. Happy Planet.