Dry cleaner powder

Alice (Lilou) M-D

https://wiki.lowtechlab.org/wiki/Nettoyant_%C3%A0_sec/en

Dernière modification le 02/06/2026

Difficulty

Very easy Very easy

Duration

1 minute(s) minute(s)

Cost

3 EUR (€)

Description

Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) is a basic ingredient use for cleaning, hygiene and cooking. It's a must hate that can even be used for your health (stomac burns for example). Here we will present its uses in cleaning.

Summary

zerowaste, zéro déchet, DIY, nettoyant, dégraissant, biodégradable, désodorisant

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Introduction

It can be hard to clean some surfaces, espacially fabric, sofas, car seats... That can't be disassembled or that needs only dry cleaning. Rather than using industrial products that can be expansive, polluting and are filled with many problematic ingredients for your health, here is an simple and multy-purpose alternative : baking soda

Sodium bicarbonate : acts as a cleaner, scourer and deodoriser. It dissolves the fats and proteins responsible for stains and reinforces the action of homemade detergents. It prevents the proliferation of bacteria and softens hard water. Made from limestone and salt, bicarbonate is naturally present in the body and is harmless to health. It gives off no fumes or gaz and does not evaporate. Price ~3-4 euros/kg

Be careful to use the correct type of bicarbonate for each use: for cosmetic use, use only food/cosmetic bicarbonate and for food use, use ONLY food grade bicarbonate

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Materials

Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)

Tools

• toothbrush / brush
• vacuum cleaner

Step 1 - Dry cleaner powder

Sprinkle some baking soda on the object you wish to clean. Let a few minutes to activate and brush in circle to clean more deeply. Brush again and / or use a vacuum cleaner to eliminate the powder and dirt.

The previous method also works great to eliminate bad smells (especially animal's urine smells on fabric). If the smell is persistent, you can dilute a bit of baking soda in water and spray the object so that the baking soda can work more deeply in the fibers without soaking in. You can also use a spray made with 1/3 of white vinegar and 2/3 water. Please DO NOT mix both preparation, otherwise you could dammage the object (heat reaction).

To eliminate smell from a room on long term, you can put a small bowl of baking soda that you will stir from time to time to reactivate its deodorant power. You know it's time to change your baking soda batch when it doesn't bubble when you put a small drop of vinegar on it

Notes and references

Contrary to what is commonly found on the internet and even in some recipe books, there is no point in mixing vinegar and bicarbonate in the same product unless you want to use it as a powerfull scrubber at the time of the reaction. Once the gas-producing reaction is over, the cleaning power of the liquid is equivalent to water!

If you want to mix baking soda and vinegar or any other type of base and acid (ex : lye, soda, percarbonate with citric acide, lemon or other acid liquids), be carefull to do it in a well ventilated room and NEVER close the bottle / jug because otherwise it will explose at your face! And the explosion can be impressive, even if you put a small quantity of liquid into a large volume contaner.

To replace industrial desinfectant such as bleach you can use pure white vinegar (on surfaces that are not damaged by acid liquids).

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