Water alone is not a very effective cleaner for fabrics or other household items. Water needs the addition of soap or detergent to loosen the dirt and suspend it in the water away from the fabric, dishes or other surface being cleaned. An effective grease- and dirt-loosening addition to water is washing soda. Washing soda is often a key ingredient in recipes for homemade laundry detergent, dish soap, bar soap and many other cleaning formulas. Unfortunately, washing soda is not as easy to find as it once was.
Soda Ash
Washing soda is the chemical sodium carbonate, which is also known as soda ash. Soda ash is most commonly used to raise the pH in swimming pools because it is alkaline. Soda ash can be found at any store that sells pool supplies. Sometimes it will be marketed with a commercial name, so be sure to read the label to make sure the ingredient is soda ash. The soda ash used for swimming pools can be used as a substitute for washing soda with the same results.
Baking Soda
Do not confuse sodium carbonate, washing soda, with sodium bicarbonate which is baking soda. They are not the same and will not perform the same. Washing soda is much stronger, with a pH of 11 (neutral is 7), while baking soda has a pH of 8.1. This means washing soda will work better than baking soda on tough cleaning jobs. But it also means washing soda is much more caustic than baking soda, and care and protection (gloves) should be taken when handling it. As a washing soda substitute for general cleaning and laundry soap recipes, baking soda will be effective for lightly soiled items, but will not clean heavily soiled items as well as washing soda.
When baking soda is heated to a temperature above 140 degrees Fahrenheit, it will convert to washing soda. You can make washing soda from baking soda by heating it at 350-400 degrees for an hour or two. The baking will release water and carbon dioxide, converting the baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) to the chemical washing soda (sodium carbonate). After the "new" washing soda has cooled, store it in an airtight container to keep moisture from re-entering the powder.
Other Options
You may wish to substitute the product OxiClean for washing soda because, along with other ingredients, it does contain sodium carbonate. Borax can also be a substitute for washing soda, but like baking soda, it will not be as strong an agent for cutting grease and dirt.
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