I had a blast as I did research for our October Buchheits Seminar; DIY Cleaning Solutions! I always use some natural cleaning products but I found confirmation on why it’s so important to switch to a more natural approach.
One of the DIY “Solutions” we will make is an all-natural powdered laundry detergent. The ingredients are simple: bar of laundry soap, washing soda, borax and oxygen cleanser. While you can usually pick up some Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda at Buchheits, if they run out, you can make your own using baking soda instead. I found it intriguing that simply by adding heat; we can change the chemical make-up of one compound and change it into something that we need to make several all-natural cleaning products.
The difference between baking soda and washing soda is water and carbon dioxide. Baking soda’s chemical makeup is NaHCO3 (1 sodium, 1 hydrogen, 1 carbon and 3 oxygen molecules.) Washing soda’s chemical makeup is Na2CO3 (2 sodium, 1 carbon, and 3 oxygen molecules). When baking soda is heated up to high temperatures, it breaks down to become washing soda, water steam and carbon dioxide. The steam and carbon dioxide are released during the cooking process, leaving you with: washing soda! Isn’t that cool. Let’s get cooking!
Pour a thin layer of baking soda, (2 – 3 cups), into a large baking pan. Set oven to 400°F. Bake for 1 hour and mix it around, then bake for another hour. The texture is how you will know when the baking soda has converted into washing soda. Baking soda is light and fluffy while washing soda is flat and grainy as you can see in this photo:
Allow it to cool and you are ready to use the washing soda in DIY laundry detergents, to clean pots and pans (not for use with aluminum pans), oven cleaner and DIY dishwasher soap to name a few. DIY Cleaning Solutions recipes will be available at our upcoming class. Hope to see you either at class on Tues., Oct. 18 at Sparta, IL or at Ladies Night at Buchheit on Oct 20.
Don’t forget to cut yourself some slack today: I’ve got a feeling you are doing your best, so relax and enjoy life! Be blessed! Anne May
Thank you so much for giving your seminar about cleaning methods and DIY cleaning solutions! I found this very interesting and slowly but surely, hope to switch over to DIY products in my household. I look forward to working with you in the future!
It was a pleasure to meet you! I like your phrase “slowly but surely.” It
sets all of us up for success rather than trying to make sweeping changes. Hope you see you again soon!