Things You Should Never Clean With Baking Soda

Baking soda is a pantry staple for good reason: it’s a must-have baking ingredient, an effective cleaner and stain remover, and a medicine cabinet essential. So, it’s hardly surprising that many people use baking soda as the only cleaner around the house. But it turns out that even baking soda isn’t universal, and using it to clean certain surfaces, like wood, marble, and glass, can damage them. Find out which surfaces should never ever be cleaned by baking soda and why.

1. Wooden Floors and Furniture

Wooden furniture and wooden floors are processed with special sealing agents and finish to extend their longevity, give them a nice shine, and protect them from scratches. Baking soda consists of granules that can be too harsh and slowly wear away the finish, which will, unfortunately, end up ruining the furniture and floor.

Instead of using baking soda, experts recommend using designated floor detergents for wooden floors. As for the wooden furniture, diluting a few drops of dish soap in lukewarm water will do the trick just fine without causing any harm to the finish. 

 

 

2. Aluminum Kitchenware

Before you start disagreeing with us, saying that you've been using baking soda to get rid of stubborn stains on your aluminum pots and pans, let us specify. It's actually fine if you give aluminum surfaces a quick scrub with baking soda, but it's not advised to let the baking soda sit on the surface because long-term exposure to baking soda can oxidize the surface and cause irreversible damage. 

 

Even the smallest amount of baking soda residue can stain aluminum surfaces with brown rusty spots, so make sure you rinse them really well right after you're done cleaning.  

 

 

3. Ceramic Stove-tops

Most stovetops really need a good scrubbing from time to time, and most of them can also luckily handle baking soda just fine. The only exception to the rule is ceramic stovetops, which can be easily scratched by baking soda. In addition to that, baking soda can also leave an unsightly white film on the surface of the stovetop, which can be hard to remove. So, it's best to clean it with the same old dishwashing liquid solution we mentioned earlier.

If you did accidentally use baking soda on the ceramic cooktop and now have to deal with the white film, simply soak a clean cloth in some vinegar solution and wipe down the stovetop. This trick will get rid of the white film.  

 

 

 

4. Objects with Cracks or Indentations

Baking soda consists of tiny little granules that can get stuck and leave a white, milky residue on surfaces. Usually, it can easily be removed by wiping down the surface with a damp piece of cloth or a cloth soaked in a vinegar solution, but doing so with objects with deep indentations and cracks in them may prove difficult or even impossible. Over time, the residue will only continue building up and become even more apparent. 

 

Therefore, it's not advised to clean things like computer keyboards, wicker or straw furniture and other objects, and things made of decorative metal, for example, with baking soda.

5. Gold Plated Tableware and Silverware

Gold plated cups, tableware, silverware, and decorative dishes always look impressive and luxurious, but you must really baby them to preserve the beautiful gold lining. Gold is one of the softest metals, and using any abrasive cleaners, including baking soda, is bound to scratch away the beautiful gold lining. 

 

Therefore, it's best to wash the gold-plated tableware and other items you might have that are lined with gold by hand using a damp microfiber cloth and dish soap. 

 

 

6. Marble Surfaces

Marble countertops and furniture are highly sought after these days, and it's no secret that genuine marble is super expensive, so it's essential to take good care of it and hopefully preserve it for years. Cleaning professionals say that one of the most common marble and quartz maintenance mistakes they see is using baking soda to clean these surfaces.

They note that marble has an upper protective coating, which regular cleaning with baking soda can significantly degrade and eventually scratch the stone. Thus, it's safer to opt for gentler and non-abrasive cleaners like dishwashing liquid or vinegar instead.

 

7. Antique Silverware

Submerging silverware in a water and baking soda solution is a common method recommended to remove tarnish, but there is one problem with this method. Cleaning experts point out that this mixture can be too abrasive for antique silverware and will degrade the patina, a natural protective layer that develops over a long time on the silverware. 

 

This, in turn, will make the priceless vintage silverware to tarnish even more quickly than it did before. We have an entire article that lists several safe ways to clean and polish silverware called 8 Silver Polishing Tricks, which we highly recommend you check out. 

 

 

8. Glass

Like many other surfaces we mentioned earlier, glass is very susceptible to scratches, so using baking soda to clean windows, glass tableware, or any mirrored surfaces can end up in a disaster. Baking soda may also leave a white film over the glass, ruining its shiny and transparent appearance. 

 

Therefore, it's just safer to stick to commercial cleaners when you're working with glass or mirrored surfaces. If you'd like to use natural cleaners, though, try vinegar - it will make your windows spotless and as shiny as ever.

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