8 Things To Avoid Cleaning With Baking Soda At All Costs

Baking soda is a natural, versatile ingredient that can do wonders all around the home. From cleaning microwave filters to scrubbing dirty bathroom floors — it makes you curious if there's anything baking soda can't accomplish. Turns out, there a quite a few! It's usually a go-to when it comes to baking, cleaning, and deodorizing. Not to mention, it's less expensive than many other products. Unfortunately, though, baking soda can do more harm than good if you use it for certain chores.

One of the reasons baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) is a cleaning wizard has to do with its abrasive texture. Yet, despite being mild, it can cause damage to various items and surfaces, including electronics and glass. For this reason (and others), it's a good idea to hesitate before grabbing a box — even if it seems like a jack of all trades. Read below to discover what you should refrain from cleaning with baking soda.

With all you use your countertops for, you want them to stay beautiful. Natural stone countertops typically require extra care to keep them looking their best, but baking soda can do the opposite. The natural scrubbers in baking soda can scratch the polish and cause damage to them. Whether you have marble, limestone, or quartzite, it's important to find a cleaning method that will elevate the counters and not destroy their beauty.

Upgrading your home with hardwood floors can cost a pretty penny. If you clean them with baking soda, it could ruin that investment. The powder's abrasiveness can scratch the surface and also leave it looking dull. Plus, the residue could possibly get stuck in the grooves. There are additional things you should never do when cleaning wood floors, but definitely start by steering clear of baking soda.

It makes sense to want all your glass surfaces and mirrors to be crystal clear. But if you attempt to clean them with baking soda, such as with a paste, you'll only get negative results. Who wants to look out a window that has scratches? Instead, there are other easy solutions using products you probably have, too. For example, it's possible to clean glass with rubbing alcohol.

Our electronic device screens can get dirty very quickly. This is especially true if they're ones you actually touch. While it may seem tempting to use a budget-friendly solution like baking soda to remove dust and smudges — back away from the screens! Baking soda has the potential to leave behind scratches with its texture, which could make a phone, television, or laptop not as enjoyable to use. Alicia Sokolowski, the president of Aspen Clean, shared with Martha Stewart that baking soda could even cause damage to your screens' electronic components as well.

Baking soda is no stranger to working its magic in the laundry room — especially when it comes to eliminating stains. It shouldn't be used on delicate materials, however. The abrasive texture can cause damage to fabrics like cashmere, chiffon, lace, and silk. It could ruin both the look of the garments and also affect their lifespan. Always read the labels before washing to ensure you launder your delicates correctly.

It's important to preserve family heirlooms and items that are precious. Gold-plated dishware is not only beautiful, but it's also very delicate. Cleaning pieces with baking soda could scratch their surfaces and destroy their gold accents. You want to avoid scrubbing the dishes with other tools as well, such as a stiff brush. And make sure to keep them out of the dishwasher, too.

Baking soda can be dissolved or transformed into a cleaning paste. It can also be used in powder form — yet, that's where it sometimes gets messy. If you try to clean a household item that has cracks or little openings, the powder could get stuck. Or, the white residue from a paste could linger as well and be hard to reach. The item you were trying to clean could end up looking not clean in a different way.

Baking soda can be used on many materials, but aluminum isn't one of them. Whether you have aluminum furniture, cookware, appliances, or your child has an aluminum baseball bat — don't clean it with baking soda. On top of getting scratched in the process, since baking soda has an alkaline makeup, it can lead to the item becoming discolored.