Short-Let Damage Reports: What a Photo Inspection Should Cover After Every Guest
Written by Iva, founder of Iva Cleaning Services London. Damage in a short let is rarely dramatic. It is a…
Baking soda is a type of salt, made by combining two naturally occurring and entirely safe compounds. It costs very little, it’s already in most kitchens, and it does a surprising number of jobs that people normally buy a separate product for.
Here are ten of the ones we actually use.
It brightens and deodorises clothing. Add a cup to your next load and see whether you notice the difference – it’s most obvious on towels and sportswear.
If there’s a smell when you walk into your home, it’s usually the carpets. They behave like sponges, absorbing dirt, dust, dead skin cells and odours. Sprinkle baking soda over the carpet, leave it for 30 minutes and vacuum it up. The room is deodorised, and your vacuum gets a clean out as a bonus.
Spray the inside with vinegar, scatter baking soda over the top and leave it for 30 minutes. Then start scrubbing. No caustic oven products required – the baking soda handles it.
Litter trays get unpleasant fast. Sprinkle baking soda into the tray every time you change it and it stays noticeably fresher between changes.
Baking soda added to another cleaning solution gives it grit, and replaces scouring products entirely. A 50/50 mix of vinegar and washing-up liquid with baking soda over the top will take on almost anything a shop-bought cream cleaner will.
Sprinkle baking soda along the grout line, spray with water and leave it for ten minutes or so. Scrub with an old toothbrush, wipe away the residue, and the grout comes up clean.
Mixed with vinegar, baking soda cuts through most blockages. Pour a cup of baking soda down the drain and leave it for an hour. Boil two cups of vinegar, pour that down after it, then run the hot tap. The smell goes with the blockage.
Make a 50/50 paste of baking soda and water, rub it gently into scuff marks or crayon, and wipe away. It lifts marks that a cloth alone won’t, without stripping the paint – though it’s worth testing an inconspicuous patch first on anything delicate.
An open container of baking soda at the back of the fridge absorbs odours rather than masking them, which is why it works when air fresheners don’t. Replace it every couple of months. A paste of baking soda and water also cleans fridge shelves and seals without leaving a chemical smell near food.
Most bin smells come from residue in the bottom of the bin rather than the rubbish itself. Wash the bin out, dry it, and sprinkle a layer of baking soda in the base before you put a fresh liner in. Repeat when you change the bag.
More tips to follow – Iva Cleaning Services is here to make your life easier.
Baking soda handles the day-to-day, but built-up grease on hoods, ovens and extractor filters needs professional equipment and degreasers – that is what our kitchen deep cleaning in London is for.
