If you’re like most families, your kids’ backpack, lunch box and gym bag have been cast aside since that last school bell rang before summer vacation. As you gear up for back to school, what sights and smells will you find when you open them to prepare for the first day? Arm yourself with the odor neutralizing power of ARM & HAMMER™ Baking Soda and you’re ready to tackle whatever smelly stains and surprises your kids’ backpacks and lunch bags hold.
No matter which of our tips for cleaning back-to-school clothes, backpacks, lunch bags, shoes, sports gear, clothing, or the family car you use, gather these ingredients to be ready for stains and odors whenever they arise.
Revive your kid’s lunchbox inside and out by using all-natural baking soda to clean and deodorize. Baking soda is a mild abrasive that’s good for helping lift surface stains without bleach. And as nature’s odor absorber, you can get rid of the funky smells from last year’s lunches – even if a sandwich or banana became a surprise science experiment over the summer.
Baking soda is a safe and effective way to help remove stains, grime, and odor from your backpack. Here’s how to use baking soda to clean a backpack quickly and easily.
Have your kids’ shoes gotten a bit of summer stink or stains of unknown origin? Baking soda can help remove sweaty foot odor in shoes and help revive white soles or stained fabric.
To deodorize sneakers, try sprinkling some baking soda directly into the shoes. Leave for a few days for the baking soda to absorb odors. Tip the shoes over the trash and tap to dispose of any remaining baking soda or vacuum out. Alternatively, make a baking soda deodorizer sachet by adding 1/3 cup baking soda to a square of cloth, forming a pouch, and tying off with string, ribbon, or a rubber band. Place a soda sachet inside each stinky shoe.
Our How to Wash Shoes with Baking Soda guide has more tips for using baking soda to whiten and brighten shoes and laces.
To clean golf irons, football gear, hockey sticks, and soccer balls & guards, make a paste of three parts ARM & HAMMER™ Baking Soda to one-part water, then brush on, rinse and let dry. This works great for grit and grime that can get on helmets, pads, and gear.
Give secondhand clothes a second chance for back-to-school! Whether you’re repurposing clothes from an older sibling to a younger, or you’ve scored great (and affordable) finds at a consignment or thrift shop, baking soda can help your used clothing look and smell fresher and newer.
Help remove musty odors and boost your laundry detergent by adding ½ cup of ARM & HAMMER™ Baking Soda to your washing machine or learn about more ways to wash thrifted or consigned clothing and items shared between friends and families.
The family car can get messy in no time, especially when chauffeuring the kids back and forth to school or after-school activities. When spills from snacks, dirt from cleats, or muddy paws get on your cloth or vinyl interior, clean things up with ARM & HAMMER™ Baking Soda.
Here’s how:
Get more advice for how to clean car seats and interiors with baking soda from our car cleaning guide.
When school starts up, the kids are constantly go, go, go — and their snacks need to go with them. You can keep plastic containers fresh with a sprinkle of baking soda on a clean, damp sponge, then wash as normal. The shaker container of ARM & HAMMER™ Baking Soda is a convenient way to add a little when needed and refill.
For stubborn odors on plasticware, soak containers in a solution of 4 tbsp Baking Soda and 1 quart of warm water.
Start the school year off fresh with baking soda. And check out other ways baking soda can help clean and deodorize your home for back to school and every day.
