The Most Surprising Thing You Can Clean with Baking Soda
Baking soda is a kitchen workhorse, doing double duty as a baking aid and super-cleaner that can scrub away greasy spots and burnt-on food. Plus, you know it’s an all-star odor absorber.
Baking soda’s kitchen applications are so vast that you may never take it out of the room — but that, my friend, would be a mistake! Baking soda’s uses as a dry deodorizer make it a great option to freshen sofas, carpet, drapes, and any other upholstery around your home (just sprinkle it on the surface, give it time to absorb what’s in there, and then vacuum it up). But don’t stop in the living room! Continue on to the bedroom because the most surprising thing you can do with a box of baking soda is …
Clean your mattress.
Why You Should Clean Your Mattress
Let’s start with why your mattress needs to be cleaned, because you probably never do it. Many of us probably figure that, because we have sheets covering the mattress, it’s clean. That’s not correct. Daily use, even with a mattress protector (although that helps!) will deposit sweat, dead skin, and dust into the surface of the mattress. Over time, that buildup can attract critters like dust mites and fleas to munch on the debris. So it’s smart to give it a clean, ideally about twice a year.
How to Clean It with Baking Soda
When it’s time to give it a clean, head to the kitchen first to grab your baking soda. Then vacuum the surface of the mattress to pick up any loose debris before you sprinkle an entire box of baking soda over the top of the mattress. Yes, the whole box. Sprinkle it right from the box or use a fine-mesh sieve to help you apply the powdery stuff evenly. Gently rub it in, then let the baking soda sit there at least overnight, ideally a full day. If you can expose your mattress to sunlight while the baking soda sits, that’s even better. Once you’ve given the baking soda time to work its magic, vacuum it back up. Odors and debris, gone!
And if you didn’t have a mattress cover before, use that time the baking soda is working to head to the store and buy one. Wrap it around your freshly cleaned mattress before you put on your sheets to keep the bad stuff out for longer. Then, sleep easy!