Friday Cleaning: More on Washing Soda

Since last week's first experiment with washing soda, I've done a lot more research. I discovered our instincts were right about the stove pans, that's one of its primary natural cleaning uses.

Washing soda is not only ideally suited for baked-on grime like stove pans, it can STRIP OLD FLOOR WAX AND PAINT! Yikes! Don't use it on anything you want to retain a shine, like waxed floors, painted walls, fiberglass and the like--anything with a finish, essentially.

Washing soda is caustic, and if you're going to have your hands in it for any length of time, wear gloves. I should have said that last week--I knew this from dyeing.

It's also quite alkaline, which makes it a very effective water softener for laundering. Using it in hard water areas will cut down on the amount of laundry detergent you have to use.

And it's also a great descaler. We've successfully used it to remove gunk from the coffee maker. Use one tablespoonful for every 8 oz cup of water your maker holds. Be sure to rinse well! We usually run one "potsworth" of washing soda solution through the coffee maker and then one "potsworth" of vinegar water (half and half), and then a couple of pots of just plain water.