Use Baking Soda to Avoid Harsh Chemicals in Cleaners

One of the suggestions offered at the lecture I attended last week dealing with the safety of personal care products was to "use fewer products whenever possible." It's great advice, whether it be for personal care products, household cleaning supplies or food ingredients.

Coincidentally, over the weekend, I bought a new box of baking soda and its manufacturer (Whole Foods) offered a handful of additional uses for baking soda that could spare us exposure to superfluous (and expensive) products and their untested chemical agents.

Here are two possibilities; the first (which I had known about) obviates the need for commercial scouring powders and the second (which I just tried for the first time) works pretty well.

"Sparkling Kitchen Surfaces: Clean counters, tile floors, appliances, even food prep surfaces—with no chemical residue left behind. Simply sprinkle baking soda directly onto surfaces for gentle but effective scouring. For tile floors dissolve a ½ cup of baking soda in warm water to cut through dirt and grime.

"Freshen Musty Duds: When the dryer shuts off before the clothes are completely dry and they're left with that sour smell, you don't have to re-wash the entire load. Simply sprinkle a little baking soda on them, turn the dryer back on, and run it for at least 20 minutes."

I am sure a quick Google search would reveal dozens of additional great ideas. Anyone have any?