Cleaning with Baking Soda - coffee stained pots

Baking Soda

I was always a typical woman, going to the cleaning isle at the grocery store, trying to get as many cleaning products I could that would clean my home in dramatic ways on the cheap. I never knew about a world that dates back to our grandparents where you can use just a few simple household pantry items to clean my entire house! This is pioneer stuff people - just like making your own soap or bread (another post I'm hoping to get up soon!).

One of the women I mentioned in my "beginning" post that is a part of my community of friends (Jen C), started this exploration in me to clean my home where my pets and children would be safe. No more having to lock up 20 dangerous chemical cleaning products under my sink or worry about my baby crawling on my floor.

Baking Soda is one of those simple household pantry items. Not only does it get things clean but I feel safe using that surface minutes later.

I was sharing this exciting realization with my mom when she told me about some ways of using this product. Baking Soda, by itself or mixed with just a tiny bit of water, makes a paste that will literally eat away at stains. So we tried it out in my coffee pot. My thermos like coffee carafe stays slightly heated by the heating element pad for about 2 hours every morning. Over the years it created a charred film on the bottom of the carafe (picture below).

Inside my coffee carafe - YUCK!

 I poured 1 cup of Baking Soda into the carafe, stirred in about 3 Tbs of water and let it sit all day. I went back to see its progress 4 hours later and I found black pieces floating on the now milky liquid. I poured in another cup of Baking Soda, a touch more water, and let it sit another 4 hours or so. I couldn't get my hand in to reach the bottom with a sponge, so I used a thin baby bottle cleaner sponge on a stick to scrape the bottom. I rinsed the carafe with water hoping to see a shine and boy did I! See the pics below of my "like new" coffee carafe!

Sparkling Shine inside my coffee carafe!

Even the inside walls were shining!

I was amazed at how well this worked, having never tried it before and I am now a believer! I will soon be trying this product on many other tough cleaning missions in my home and report back to you:)

Hope this helps!