Meghan Herlihy
Baking soda isn’t only good for making your cakes and cookies rise in the oven. It has plenty of handy household uses outside of baking, from making your sweaty shoes or drains smell better to whitening teeth and more.
You can also add “cleans your windows” to that list. Not just the panes, either. You can use baking soda to clean the entire window– glass, track, and all, inside and out. And it’s a lot gentler than a lot of store bought window cleaners, without any of the chemicals.
To clean the panes, thoroughly mix 2 teaspoons of baking soda with 1 teaspoon of liquid Castile soap and (preferably distilled) water in a 16-ounce spray bottle. Spray it liberally onto the glass– first up and down, then side-to-side– then wipe clean with a cotton towel. You can also add a bit of vinegar (white vinegar is best) or rubbing alcohol to the mixture if you need some extra cleaning power.
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For wooden and vinyl window tracks and sills, sprinkle baking soda anywhere you see some grime buildup. Once the baking soda has been distributed, pour vinegar over it and leave it to soak for several minutes. Then use an old toothbrush or cotton swab to scrub any tight crevices or hard-to-reach spots, rinse with warm water, then drain and dry.
If this method isn’t quite strong enough for your needs, mix water and baking soda into a paste, apply to the dirty areas of your window frame or sill and leave it on for 10 minutes. Then give it a good scrub and dry with a towel.
Feel free to try out these methods on other parts of the house too, like bedroom mirrors or glass shower doors.
