Baking soda is a practical, healthy and ecological product that can be used for everything from cooking to hygiene and cleaning. You can find it in supermarkets and DIY stores in 500g or 1kg packages for really next to nothing. And yet, it will do almost everything in your boat! Here's a quick overview.
Cleaning stainless steel
You can easily make a scouring powder with baking soda to maintain stainless steel on taps, sinks but also stainless steel fittings. Simply mix 5 spoonfuls of baking soda with a spoonful of black soap and a little water to form a paste.
Then, simply put some of this paste on your sponge to scrub the stainless steel. You can use this trick even for attached pan bottoms.
Fight against bad smells
In a boat or in any other confined space, it is not uncommon to smell bad odors. Baking soda is a good ally: a spoonful in the garbage can, a cup full of it in a smelly crew, in the saloon or in the refrigerator, baking soda will clean up the atmosphere!
You can also sprinkle the inside of your deck shoes or boots and leave overnight before emptying them.
Cleaning surfaces
Baking soda will be useful for cleaning all surfaces in general except aluminum. Simply mix a tablespoon of baking soda with water in a spray bottle and you have a ready-to-use cleaning product. For greater effectiveness, add 2 tablespoons of black soap to your mixture.
Maintain the laundry
Adding a spoonful of bicarbonate in the drum of your washing machine (for those who have it on board for long trips) or in your manual tub will improve the efficiency of your laundry. If you don't have any of the latter, bicarbonate can be used as a detergent, but it's better to combine it with Marseille soap, black soap or soda crystals for a brilliant laundry!
Sanitizing mattresses
To sanitize the mattresses of bannettes and benches, sprinkle them generously with bicarbonate. Leave for at least 30 minutes and then vacuum up the residue thoroughly. This also works for carpets and rugs.
Maintain toothbrushes and hairbrushes
To maintain your toothbrushes and hairbrushes, you can soak them for half an hour in a bath of water and bicarbonate before rinsing them well and drying them.
Putting out a kitchen fire
Keeping a packet of bicarbonate near the boat's gas stove is a great idea because if there is a cooking fire, you can put it out by pouring a good amount of bicarbonate at the base of the flames.
