Baking soda (also known as bicarbonate of soda) has many uses. From reducing odors in your fridge to helping your cakes to rise, you’ve likely found that baking soda is cropping up all over the household.

But did you know it’s also a great addition to your laundry room?

What is baking soda?

Baking soda - or sodium bicarbonate - is a naturally-occurring chemical compound found in solid crystalline. Typically, it is ground into a fine powder.

Not only is it a greener choice, but an inexpensive one too.

With numerous benefits, we’re convinced that once you’ve read this article, baking soda will be an essential on your next shopping list.

Here are some benefits of baking soda in the laundry:

1. Helps to reduce and remove odors

Some detergents do not have the enzyme capacity to break down the bacteria that cause odors in our clothes. Some simply need a boost, from (you guessed it) baking soda.

Baking soda helps regulate the pH level inside the washer meaning that your detergent can do a better job of breaking down bacteria. Add half a cup to each load directly into the drum, prior to the laundry being added.

If you have seriously smelly clothes, you can leave them soaking overnight in a mixture of 1-2 cups of baking soda and warm water. In the morning, put them through a normal cycle of washing.

If you have clothes that cannot be washed, simply add them to an airtight container along with an open box of baking soda, and leave it for 24 hours. The longer the better!

2. Helps to boost bleach performance

Using chlorine bleach to tackle dirt and grime is commonplace. Again, baking soda helps to create the optimum environment for the bleach to work at its best. This means you can potentially use less bleach to achieve the same - if not better - result.

½ cup of baking soda coupled with ½ cup of bleach works best.

3. Helps to soften fabrics (naturally)

Again, adding just ½ cup of baking soda to your laundry can make such a difference. The baking soda suspends mineral or detergent deposits in the water - stopping them from redepositing on your clothes and making them feel less stiff.

As well as being much more environmentally friendly than shop-bought fabric softeners, baking soda also does not interfere with the fire-retardant fabric found on some children’s pajamas.

4. Helps to clean your iron

Baking soda, a natural abrasive, can break down the starch and scorch deposits that build up on an iron over time. Use a paste of baking soda and water and scrub gently on the iron surface using a white cloth. Repeat until all the build-up has been removed. To finish, wipe the iron surface with a cloth dampened with white distilled vinegar.

Surprised at the different uses of baking soda and its benefits? With a small box costing you as little as a dollar… It's a must-have for every laundry room.

If you’re done with laundry altogether, schedule your pick-up with We Do Laundry today!