17 Tips for Cleaning With Vinegar and Baking Soda

Whether you love cleaning with vinegar and baking soda together, or you take advantage of each individually around the house, there’s no doubt these environmentally friendly cleaning ingredients serve as the perfect combination for many cleaning tasks. Plus, they’re both usually readily available in most people’s homes, so they’re unlikely to cost you anything. Use these 17 tips for cleaning with vinegar and baking soda throughout your home for a safe, worry-free clean.

1. Clean Out the Sink Drain

You can use vinegar and baking soda together to clean the gunk out of your kitchen and bathroom sinks, including soap scum, food scraps, and even mineral build-up from hard water. This is particularly helpful if you have a slow-draining fixture.

Simply pour one cup of baking soda down your drain and let it sit for a few minutes. Next, pour two cups of white distilled vinegar into the drain. The mixture will fizz and might bubble out into the sink: that’s expected. Wait 10 minutes, and then run hot water down your drain for one minute, followed by cold water down the drain for another minute.

You can also sprinkle a little baking soda around problem areas in the sink itself, and scrub with an old toothbrush to clean off any visible debris while you’re at it. Baking soda is lightly abrasive and perfect for getting off stuck-on food and even rust stains.

2. Cleaning Dishwasher

Much like your sink drains, your dishwasher is likely to see a build-up of food scraps, soap scum, and hard water minerals over time. Enter vinegar and baking soda once again!

Place one cup of white distilled vinegar in an upright cup, place it on the top level of your dishwasher and run a normal cycle. Once it’s finished, sprinkle one cup of baking soda over the bottom of the dishwasher and run another cycle. Your dishes will be clean and sparkly, and the vinegar and baking soda will help to remove some gunk from the interior components and drain line.

3. Clean Your Toilet

Whether you want to clean your toilet bowl or the tank, you can use vinegar and baking soda. Start by shutting off the speedy valve that supplies your toilet with water, and flush until there’s no water in the tank or the bowl. Sprinkle some baking soda in the bowl and let it sit. You can work it in with a toilet brush for discolored areas.

Spray down the inside of your toilet tank with vinegar, trying not to wet the metal components inside. Put some baking soda on a scrub brush and scrub the inside of the tank. Let both the tank and the bowl sit for 10 minutes before you turn the water back on and flush the residue away.

You can also use a vinegar and baking soda mixture in your toilet to clear clogs, as the mixture will expand and help loosen clogged materials in the pipes.

4. Remove Hard Water Stains From the Shower Door

Vinegar is great for breaking up mineral deposits on your shower doors or the mirrors in your bathroom, especially if you have hard water. Mix a solution of water and vinegar in a 1:1 ratio, spray it on the glass, and scrub clean with a microfiber cloth. You can add half a part of baking soda to the mixture for particularly tough hard water stains.

Use bottled or distilled water to help remove the hard water stains and keep them from returning after cleaning.

5. Remove Carpet Stains

While a red wine stain or other dark stain may need heavy-duty cleaning if it sets in, you can use vinegar and baking soda to remove less severe stains. Make a paste by adding two to three tablespoons of vinegar to one-half cup of baking soda. Add more vinegar if the paste is too dry or more baking soda if it’s too liquidy.

Spread the paste over the carpet stain and let it sit for a few hours. Once it dries, vacuum up the remnants and repeat as necessary. If heavy staining persists, consider paying for a house cleaning service.

6. Freshen Your Tile Grout

Mix warm water, baking soda, and white vinegar in a ratio of 2:1:2. Dip an old toothbrush into the mixture and scrub the lines of grout in your kitchen or bathroom. It should pull up new and old stains, as well as remove any dirt and other debris stuck between the tiles.

Once you’re done going over your floor or backsplash, use a clean, damp cotton cloth to remove any baking soda residue and make your tiles look like new again.

This can be pretty physically-demanding work, even with the power of vinegar and baking soda. You may want to consider hiring a house cleaner near you to get this work done unless you’re willing to put in some serious elbow grease.

7. Get Pots and Pans Looking New 

Have stains on your pots and pans or stuck-on food that you can’t seem to get off? Harness the power of vinegar and baking soda to clean stainless steel cookware! Sprinkle some baking soda over the affected areas, then wet a cotton cloth with some vinegar and use it to scrub the baking soda. The gentle friction you create with the powder should be enough to remove stains.

Sprinkle some baking soda over the affected areas, then wet a cotton cloth with some vinegar and use it to scrub the baking soda. The gentle friction you create with the powder should be enough to remove stains and food remnants without scratching your cookware.

If it’s not, mix up a paste using one-half cup of baking soda and one to two tablespoons of vinegar. Spread the paste over the stained areas and let it sit for a half-hour before scrubbing it clean with a damp cloth.

8. Deodorize Your Fridge

Baking soda readily absorbs odors, so leaving an open box in your fridge is an excellent way to prevent food odors from taking over. If you’ve let your refrigerator go too far, though, you can do a quick clean with vinegar and baking soda to get it smelling fresh again.

After emptying the fridge, spray the insides with a 1:1 mixture of water and vinegar, and wipe it clean. For areas with food build-up or other gunk, sprinkle on some baking soda and scrub again. Finish by leaving an open box of baking soda inside to keep odors at bay.

9. De-Tarnish Your Silverware

You can also get your silverware and cutlery looking like new again with these household cleaners, as they pretty reliably remove rust from metal.

Mix up a paste using three parts of baking soda and one part of vinegar. Put some paste on your silverware and rub it in using a cotton cloth. This will remove stains and tarnished areas and provide a nice shine. Give it a quick rinse before moving on to the next piece, and make sure to dry thoroughly to avoid the stains from returning.

10. Remove Odors From Your Garbage Can

Garbage cans are a hot spot for odors, but with vinegar and baking soda at your side, you’ll have your trash can smelling fresh in no time. Start by spraying a 1:1 mixture of water and vinegar onto the inside of the can and letting it sit for about one minute. Wipe down the inside walls with a paper towel or clean microfiber cloth.

The vinegar should cut out lingering odors and kill the bacteria in your garbage can, but sprinkle one-quarter-cup of baking soda in the bottom of the can liner before putting in a new bag. The baking soda will absorb any new odors that show up.

11. Descale and Clean Your Coffee Maker

Coffee makers need routine descaling to remove calcium and magnesium from hard water. Start by filling your coffee maker with a 1:1 ratio of vinegar and water, and then run it without coffee. Dump the water, and run a few more cycles with just water to remove the vinegar smell and taste from your machine.

If you have coffee stains or discoloration in your carafe, sprinkle some baking soda on the inside and rub it in with a cotton cloth soaked in vinegar. Rinse the carafe thoroughly before enjoying a fresh cup of coffee.

12. Get Rid of the Mildew Smell in the Washing Machine

White vinegar and baking soda can work wonders in your washing machine, as the acidic vinegar can kill mildew, and the baking soda will absorb any lingering odors. You might even notice your clothes look a little brighter, as these ingredients are great for removing dirt and other debris.

Add a half cup of baking soda to your normal detergent right in your machine’s loading drawer. After the washing cycle is done, and you’re on the rinse cycle, open the door and add a cup of white distilled vinegar. This can soften your clothes a bit, and will also kill off any remaining odor-causing mildew.

13. Make Your Oven Look Brand New

If the inside of your oven needs a little love, you can use a bicarbonate of soda and vinegar to bring it back to life.

Mix a solution of white vinegar and warm water in a 1:1 ratio in a spray bottle, and apply the solution liberally to the inside of your oven. Close the door and let it soak for about 10 minutes.

Next, sprinkle some baking soda over particularly dirty areas and scrub with a microfiber cloth. You might need to spray and sprinkle again over stubborn stains or baked-on food. This will leave your oven looking and smelling fresh.

14. Unclog Your Shower Head

Hard water can wreak havoc on your plumbing fixtures, and one of the first places most homeowners notice an issue is the showerhead. The small pathways for the water can accumulate calcium and magnesium, reducing water pressure and making showers less satisfying.

To remedy that, soak a clean cotton cloth in a mixture of warm water and white vinegar in a 1:1 ratio. Wrap the cloth around your shower head and tie it in place, making sure the cloth is touching the area where the water comes out. Let it sit for about a half hour.

Remove the cloth and scrub the shower head with a paste made from a cup of baking soda and a few tablespoons of vinegar. Rinse and repeat as needed.

15. Remove Pet Odors

If you have pets in your home, white vinegar and baking soda can quickly become your best friends.

For pet beds or fabrics that your pets frequent, spray some vinegar over the surface, and then sprinkle some baking soda over it. Let it sit for 10 to 20 minutes, and then vacuum it up. This will help keep odors at bay, especially if you do the cleaning once a week or so.

For pet stains on carpets or other fabrics, spray a mixture of vinegar and water in a 1:1 ratio over the area, let it sit for five to 10 minutes to neutralize, and then vacuum. To help reduce the risk of odors, follow that by sprinkling some baking soda over the area, letting it sit for a half hour, and then vacuuming again.

16. Keep Your Pool Clean

There are few things worse than going to open your pool in the spring or summer and finding tons of algae growth to deal with. But fear not! Baking soda and vinegar are great all-natural cleaning solutions for your pool.

Mix one cup of baking soda with a few tablespoons of vinegar to create a thick paste. Spread the paste over algae-ridden areas of your pool liner and equipment. Let it sit for about 10 minutes, and then scrub it off with a cleaning brush or rinse it away. Repeat, as needed, for stubborn areas.

You can also use baking soda to lower the pH in your pool without using store-bought chemicals.

17. Get Your Faucets to Shine Again

Hard water stains can quickly make your faucets look old and dingy, but cleaning with vinegar and baking soda should take care of the problem quickly.

Soak a clean cotton cloth in a 1:1 mixture of white vinegar and warm water. Wrap the cloth around your faucet, and let it sit for about a half hour. Remove the cloth and wipe the faucet clean. If any hard water spots remain, feel free to sprinkle some baking soda over them and scrub it clean with the same cloth you used in the previous steps.

Cost to Hire a Professional House Cleaner

If your space needs more time or attention than you can provide, or you simply prefer to let professionals tackle the job, hiring a local house cleaner costs an average of $175 per visit, or around $50 an hour. However, the cost can vary widely depending on the square footage of your space, layout, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, and how many people live in your home.