Washing soda: composition, instructions for use and washing tips

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Washing soda is an all-purpose cleaner. In those days, when there were not so many such funds as now, it was she who came to the aid of housewives.

What is soda ash

Soda ash is a powder that consists of small and large white crystals. It is called laundry or washing soda. It has other names: sodium carbonate and sodium carbonate. It is a fairly strong alkali, suitable exclusively for industrial and domestic needs, widely used for the manufacture of detergents.

Benefits of Soda Ash

Washing soda is an excellent disinfectant and cleaner. It brings significant benefits in everyday life. This product is capable of:

• eliminate bad odors;
• reduce water hardness;
• remove dirty, stubborn and greasy stains from clothes;
• when washing, bleach clothes;
• disinfect things.

Sodium carbonate excellentcleans dirt from tiles, toilets, bathtubs, sinks, and can also be used to clean dishes.

Which fabrics can be used with

Before using washing soda ash, you should find out what fabrics it can be applied to. Allowed materials include linen and cotton, which can withstand alkaline conditions well, so any contamination is easily removed from such fabrics. As for synthetics, you need to be careful here, since a very large amount of this powder can damage the fibers. Baking soda can be used to clean and wash fabrics, except for delicate ones such as natural silk or fine lace.

You can not wash silk and woolen clothes with soda ash. They will lose their original appearance, become hard and rough. It is also not recommended to wash items with a special moisture-repellent coating and sewn from a membrane with this detergent.

Precautions

Since this alternative to washing powder (soda ash) is caustic, precautions must be taken when working with it. It must be borne in mind that if it gets on the skin or mucous tissues, a burn may appear at this place. When soda ash is mixed with water, the reaction becomes even more aggressive, so rubber gloves must be worn when using this product. No contact allowed:

• with mucous membranes;
• respiratory tract;
• dermis.

Store intightly closed container and in a hard-to-reach, dry and cool place. From cardboard boxes you need to pour into jars so that the soda does not crumble and does not get wet. After finishing work with it, it is advisable to ventilate the room.

Instructions for use

Information about the basic rules of use and warnings manufacturers place on the packaging. There are instructions for using soda ash in certain cases.

Soaking laundry with baking soda

This method is very effective for things that have been lying unwashed in an unventilated place for a long time. In such conditions, they begin to smell of dampness, and sometimes become covered with mold. Also, this method is great for whitening white linen at home. To do this, pour warm water into the basin and add washing soda there in the ratio of 3 tablespoons per bucket. Linen prepared for soaking is rubbed with laundry soap, or you can put it together with chopped soap chips. A basin of soaked laundry should be left overnight. Although the appearance of the laundry is not noticeable in the morning, however, after it has been rinsed and washed in the washing machine, it will become snow-white.

After soaking, greasy stains on towels are perfectly washed off. To do this, take 3 tablespoons:

• soda;
• vegetable oil;
• powder;
• bleach.

Pour all these components into a bucket of boiled water and put towels in it for a while untilthe water cools down, you can leave it all night. Then rinse in clean water and machine wash.

Soaking colored laundry is also possible, only washing soda should be taken no more than 3-4 tablespoons per 10 liters of water with a temperature not exceeding 40 degrees.

When soaking clothes in soda ash before washing in a washing machine, follow the instructions on the package. If its concentration is exceeded or things lie in the solution longer than necessary, they will simply crawl during washing.

Boiling with soda

To get rid of yellow spots on white linen and make it snow-white, boiling it with soda ash will help. To make the result even stronger, before you start boiling, it is recommended to lather things with laundry soap. Then pour 500 grams of soda ash and the same amount of whiteness into the water, leave to boil for 1 hour, not forgetting to turn over with wooden tongs. After the time has passed, leave to cool, and then rinse. For boiling it is necessary to use a galvanized tank or an enamel pan. Chipped basins, aluminum or copper pots are not suitable for this procedure, because the linen in them will be covered with rusty spots. Put a white cloth on the bottom.

This whitening method is known for its efficiency, but it is not often used. The fact is that in this case, the fabric will begin to corrode and things will become worthless.

You can also boil in a different composition:

• 10 liters of water;
• 200 grams of laundry soda;
• a glass of laundry soap shavings.

In this case, the time for boiling is 2 hours, and if you add 2 tablespoons of hydrogen peroxide and ammonia, you need to boil for only 40 minutes. This procedure with the addition of sodium carbonate is not recommended for colored laundry.

Hand wash with soda

Soda ash is a great help when washing stained work clothes:

• fuel oil;
• engine oil;
• gasoline;
• paraffin.

Inexpensive laundry soda is great for greasy stains and other food stains that often appear on catering workers' bathrobes.

The use of this product for colored laundry is also acceptable, but it does not need to be brewed. For washing, pour 10 liters of water at 30-40 degrees into a basin, put 3-5 tablespoons of laundry soda in it and wash dirty things in this solution.

Soda ash machine wash

In the prewash section, put 3 tablespoons of sodium carbonate. If things are very dirty, then it is best to take more of this product - about 5 tablespoons. In some cases, you can throw soda into the washing machine, directly into the drum. So it dissolves better and stretches better, especially:

• cotton clothes;
• linen towels;
• bed linen.

It should be noted that the speed and efficiency of washing with soda in a washing machine is strongly affected by the temperature of the water: the higher it is, the better. Washing water can be made softer by adding 3-5 tablespoons of this product to the machine. In addition to its emollient properties, baking soda:

• destroy germs;
• remove slippery plaque and mold;
• eliminate bad odors.

Washing with laundry soap and soda

Many housewives, knowing about the positive properties of this substance, want to know how to make washing soda on their own. To do this, you need to take 0.5 liters of water and dissolve half a glass of laundry soap in it. Put this mixture on fire, but make sure that it does not boil. It is necessary that the soap is thoroughly dissolved. After that, add 2 liters of water there and half a glass of soda and borax. The resulting mixture is boiled and then allowed to cool. After it becomes thick, the composition can be used for hand washing.

This washing powder made from laundry soap and soda is a good tool for caring for natural fabrics. Soap is desirable to take 72%. This homemade cleanser gently cleanses, softening even tough fabrics.

For hand washing, you need to take 3 tbsp. washing soda and 50 g of pre-grated soap, machine - 1 tsp. soda and 25-50 g of soap chips. An excellent cleanser for colored items is a mixture of baking soda and green tea,which will not only wash with high quality and care, but will not spoil the color.

There is another way to make your own detergent. Grate a bar of laundry or baby soap on a grater, pour 200 grams of hot water to dissolve it. Separately dilute the fourth part of a glass of soda in half a glass of water. Then mix these two solutions. Cool, and the effective detergent is ready, it remains to pour into a container.

It should be applied as needed:

• for soaking;
• boiling;
• hand and machine wash.

Do-it-yourself laundry detergents have a number of advantages, one of which is safety for he alth. They do not dry the skin, do not cause poisoning, people using them reduce the risk of allergies. These compositions are universal, you can wash bed linen and children's clothes. Their availability is also noted, which is expressed in low cost, which allows saving on washing. A large number of housewives appreciate home detergents because they do not have a chemical smell. However, it must be borne in mind that many recipes are based on dry soap, and it is known that it is difficult to wash out, remains on things and completely dissolves only at temperatures above 60 degrees.

Washing with laundry soda is preferred by those who want to effectively deal with various pollution, while saving money. Thanks to this natur althe laundry will become clean, old stains and unpleasant odors will disappear. The soda added to the washing machine cleans the parts of the machine from scale, as a result, the appliance will last much longer.