Patio Furniture

Lawn furniture seems to be a magnet for all the grit and muck that nature can come up with. Outdoor chairs, tables, and loungers can be found caked with dirt, cobwebs, and grease, especially if they’ve been in storage for a while. Clean them off with a baking soda solution, using 1 cup baking soda added to some warm water. Wipe it on the furniture, then rinse thoroughly.

White wicker furniture is lovely to have for your yard and patio, but it can take a beating if out in the sun too much or left in the rain. You can help keep it from yellowing by scrubbing it periodically with a stiff brush that you have first moistened with salt water. Scrub every nook and cranny in the chairs and loungers and rinse thoroughly. Then let the pieces sit in the sun to dry, changing their position (upside-down, sideways, etc.) every so often.

Shower and Sink Drains

Just as with your kitchen sink, you should practice preventative maintenance with your bathroom sink and shower. Once a week, lift the drain cover in your tub and use a cotton swab to remove the hair that has accumulated there. Then pour 1/2 cup baking soda followed by 1 cup vinegar down the drain. Let this sit for 20 minutes, then flush the drain with very hot water. To help keep your tub drain unclogged, buy a plastic or rubber hair strainer; simply place it over your drain and let it do the icky work for you.

If your sink or shower has developed hard-water or mineral deposits, you can get rid of them by soaking paper towels in undiluted vinegar and placing the towels over the stained areas. Let them sit for one hour and then wipe the areas with a damp sponge.

The Green Outdoors

If you and your family are campers – whether rugged backpackers or vacationers in an environmentally friendly RV – baking soda is a great multipurpose tool to take along with you. You’ll be saving valuable space by packing something that can clean just about anything you’ll need to clean on your trip (pots, pans, hands, teeth). 

Start out by using it to deodorize your sleeping bags. Sprinkle them with baking soda and let the sit for a day, then shake out the begs and let them sit in the sun as long as possible. Baking soda is also quite handy for putting out campfires. You can even put an open box of it in an outhouse to deodorize the air.

Cleaning Grills

You’ll find all kinds of fancy sprays and specialized formulas in a store for cleaning the burned-on gunk off your outdoor grill racks, but good old elbow grease and a stiff brush are all you really need. It’ll help if you can tackle this project when the grill is still a little warm (though not hot!), but it will work regardless.

If you have stubborn charred remains on the racks, try treating those areas with a vinegar and baking soda mix. First apply baking soda and then dab with vinegar to get the foamy action started. Both vinegar and baking soda are safe to use around food, of course, but you’ll still want to rinse your grill racks thoroughly before using them again.

On the Deck

You know, your garage floor isn’t the only place in your home that can be stained by grease and oil — your deck or patio may also be prone to these stains. And as with most cleaning projects, it’s best to tackle any stains as soon after the accident as possible.

If your wooden deck has become stained with suntan lotion or grease from an outdoor grill, sprinkle baking soda on it immediately and let it sit an hour. After brushing away the baking soda with a broom, check to see if any of the stain remains. If so, repeat the procedure.

Screens

The screens on your home are where the elements — pollution, auto exhaust, tree leaves — stubbornly grab hold. Cleaning them will help you have a brighter outlook onto the outside world from inside your home. Clean your screens by dipping a damp wire brush into baking soda and scrubbing. Then rinse the screens thoroughly with a damp rag or sponge. If you have removed the screens from the windows, use a hose to rinse them.

Tubs and Shower Walls

If your tub or shower is made of fiberglass, clean it by wiping on a paste of baking soda and dishwashing liquid with a sponge. Also, the same paste will attack hard-water and rust stains on ceramic tile. Use a nylon scrubber to clean it, then rinse.

Spraying the corners of your tub or your shower doors and walls with vinegar can loosen built-up soap scum. After spraying, allow it to dry. Then simply spray it down again and wipe clean.

Porcelain tubs and sinks can be among the trickiest for stain removal. Have you ever accidentally spilled an entire bottle of shampoo into your white tub and unwittingly let the mess sit there all day? That can certainly clean things up, but it’s not really the recommended method. Instead, pour lemon juice over the stains, then sprinkle on alum powder (usually available in the spice aisle of the grocery store) and thoroughly work into the stain. If the stain doesn’t come out immediately, let the mixture sit on the stain as long as overnight. The next morning, add more lemon juice, scrub again, and rinse.

Non-skid strips or appliques on your shower or tub floor can easily get stained and are often hard to remove. To clean, dampen the applique­s and sprinkle baking soda directly onto them. Let this sit for 20 minutes and then scrub and rinse. You can remove the appliques completely by saturating each decal with vinegar to loosen the glue. (For even better results, warm the vinegar in a microwave or on the stove for about three minutes.) Let the vinegar sit for a few minutes, then peel off the decals. You should be able to remove any leftover glue with a damp sponge.

A bathtub ring requires a strong solvent. Try soaking paper towels or your reusable cleaning cloths with undiluted vinegar and placing them on the ring. Let the paper towels or cloths dry out. Afterward, spray the areas again with vinegar, then scrub with a sponge.

Ovens

To clean an oven manually, sprinkle about a 1/4-inch layer of baking soda over the entire bottom of the oven. Use a clean spray bottle to wet the baking soda with water. Over the next few hours, spray the baking soda every so often to keep it moist. Then let the baking soda mixture sit overnight. In the morning, scrape and scoop the dried baking soda and grime out of the oven with a damp sponge. Rinse the residue off.

After you’ve done a major cleaning, finish the job by using a sponge to wipe down the entire surface with a mixture of half vinegar and half water. This will help prevent grease buildup. Be sure to give the entire interior a wipe once each week with a sponge soaked in pure vinegar. 

If you have vents above your oven, check them about every six months for grease buildup. To clean, wipe the vents with a sponge soaked in pure vinegar. Use an old toothbrush dipped in vinegar to get at the grime that may have built up in small crevices or other hard-to-reach places. If the filter is metal and removable, soak it in a vinegar solution.

Wood and Wooden Things

Clean a wooden cutting board with soap and a little water. Follow this by wiping it with a damp cloth dipped in salt. The salt will give the wood a new look and a fresh feeling. Similarly, you should wipe your wooden cutting board, breadbox, or salad bowls now and then with a sponge dipped in vinegar; it removes any grime and odor buildup, since wood tends to harbor grease and odors. A baking soda solution can also be used for this purpose. Another great cutting board cleaner is lemon juice. Just rub some into the cutting board and leave it overnight. In the morning, rinse thoroughly.

When your wooden utensils or cutting boards start to fade, crack, or become brittle, don’t throw them out. Instead, apply a generous amount of olive oil onto them and rub it into the wood, following its grain. Depending upon how dry and cracked they are, it may take two or three applications to return them to a healthier state. If any oil seems to “pool,” or if the utensils or cutting boards are still very oily to the touch even after letting them sit for a while, gently dab up the excess with an absorbent, lint-free cloth.