You don't know exactly why it's there ... but it's there—that lonely, prehistoric box of baking soda in the back of your fridge. Your mom told you to put it there, and dutifully you did just that. Other than occasionally sprinkling a teaspoon into a homemade muffin mix, you don't really do much with the stuff. It just sort of sits there (absorbing odors, you suspect).
Well, you might be surprised to know that you've been completely under-employing that box of Arm & Hammer. Baking soda, according to a super-entertaining and incredibly useful post written by Chrisjob over at Curbly, can be used for a whole slew of unlikely purposes: from ad hoc toothpaste to cheapo contact lens cleaner. Don't believe us? Check it out!
Oh, and the best part? Baking soda is non-toxic ... and kosher.
image flickr.com, Usonian
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Recipies for green cleaning products
One of these rainy days I'm going to experiment with some of the home made recipies I've heard about. Will be much healthier and probably much cheaper than buying commercial products. Here are a bunch of them.
http://tinyurl.com/2mnau5
http://www.reneeloux.com/taking_action/green_clean_solutions.html
I've been using the Seventh Generation laundry detergent which is really nice, smells good.
Two More Great Household Agents to Try
JohnCommoner
www.futurehousenow.com
My wife and I have been working to green up our lifestyle, and one of the first things we tackled was our household cleaning products. We found two more common, economical, safe and extremely useful agents: white vinegar and borax.
White vinegar is a terrific general purpose surface and glass cleaner (but NOT for granite) as well as a good carpet stain remover. Borax is a super toilet bowl cleaner (my wife guarantees sparkle) as well as a powerful laundry booster. Throw in a couple small scoops with your regular phosphate free, plant derived soap and your clothes will look brighter and smell fresher, without any annoying hint of artificial perfume.
Give 'em a try!
Oh yes, and don't forget, when you go to dispose of your old toxic cleaners please do so safely at an appropriate hazardous waste pickup center.
BoraX or not to Borax
I know Borax has alot of overrall uses, but I was wondering if anyone knows how it is produced? Have a look at the epa's link to this production process http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/hazwaste/id/inorchem/docs/boricacd.pdf
We may all want to find a more natural alternative to Borox...if it exists, tbd.
ARon B.
Good Question!
JohnCommoner
www.futurehousenow.com
Interesting comment, Aron. I'm definitely trying to find out more now, though the info is a bit fuzzy. Borax is recommended in pretty much every guide to green cleaning I can find, probably because it contains no phosphates or chlorine, and also probably because it is derived from a naturally occurring mineral, Boron
But I did find one reference to it as dangerous due to its toxicity and high solubility, which makes it a pollution risk when it becomes concentrated in runoff or sewage waters. I think you're definitely right to point out that the possible pollution of processing Borax, like any industrialized product, is very worth considering. If it is safe to use but dangerous to make, then is it really safe? Of course not. I'm not sure, though, is Boric Acid the same thing as Borax? The link you posted doesn't really make that clear to me, and I'm no chemist. Regardless, I am going to be doing some more digging to find out. I'd really like to know.
Thanks again for raising the question!