Baking Soda Scrub Paste
For sinks, tubs, and that ring around the bathroom drain you have been pretending not to see. Two ingredients, three minutes, no scratched porcelain.
Why this recipe
Baking soda is a mild abrasive. It scrubs through soap scum, hard water rings, and grime without scratching the porcelain, enamel, or stainless underneath. Mixed with castile soap, it cuts grease too. Mixed with just water, it stays gentle enough for fragile surfaces. The best part: it costs about a dollar to make.
What you will need
- Baking soda (the kind in the orange box, plain)
- Liquid castile soap (Dr. Bronner's is the easy find) or plain water
- A small bowl
- A spoon or fork
- A soft sponge or microfiber cloth
How to make it
- Spoon half a cup of baking soda into a small bowl.
- Slowly add castile soap or water, stirring as you go. You want a thick paste, the consistency of cake frosting. Too runny and it slides off vertical surfaces. Too dry and it does not spread well.
- Apply the paste to the surface you are cleaning. Use your fingers or the back of a spoon to spread it evenly.
- Let it sit for two minutes. The paste loosens grime as it sits.
- Scrub gently with a soft sponge in small circles. Do not press hard. Let the paste do the work.
- Rinse thoroughly with warm water and dry with a clean cloth.
Safety first
- Never combine baking soda and vinegar in a sealed container. They neutralize each other and the bubbling can pop the lid. In an open bowl, the reaction is dramatic but not dangerous.
- Test on aluminum first. Baking soda paste can dull aluminum finishes over time.
- Test on glossy painted surfaces. The mild abrasive can dull a high-gloss finish if you scrub hard.
- Avoid on natural marble or other soft stones. Even mild abrasives can scratch.
Where it works
Porcelain sinks and tubs, stainless steel sinks, glass shower doors, ceramic tile and grout, the inside of pots and pans (avoid nonstick), and crayon marks on painted walls (gentle hand only).
Where it does not work
Aluminum cookware, nonstick coatings, glossy paint that is already showing wear, marble or other soft stone, and any surface where you cannot rinse fully after.
The grout trick
For tile grout that has yellowed, mix the paste with castile soap and a few drops of hydrogen peroxide instead of water. Apply with an old toothbrush, let sit for ten minutes, scrub, rinse. Works almost as well as the bleach products that you do not want in your bathroom.
Or let us scrub it for you.
The bathroom deep clean includes the scrub work, the soap scum, and the grout. We bring our own baking soda.
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