Soda Crystal Users - HELP!

[expatinscotland]

How on Earth do you keep it from going rock hard?

I've got some that is so hard I cannot chip anything off!

.

sorry, can't help.

i use them, but they've never gone hard.

where do you store them?

in a plastic ziploc bag

keep them air tight

as a laundry booster, CA, particularly for whites and cloth nappies.

can i save the stuff that's gone rock hard, tho?

i hate to chuck it!

whack the hard bit with a hammer and chuck the chunks into the washing machine.

Put in a poly bag and bash with a hammer?

Put in a pot with some hot water and store them as a strong solution?

I don't store mine in anything airtight - just the packet under the sink (and they haven't gone hard yet)

Could they be too dry? - they are great for ceaning the metal bits on a cooker.... the racks & stuff

This has happened to me...need to keep air tight. I fnot depends what you are using it for...I usually just use for drains and washing -up so it melts with HOT water.

Soda is not nice stuff to get in your eyes. Not even slightly.
As someone who has worked with dangerous chemicals I would advise you in the strongest possible terms to never ever go at a lump of soda with a hammer in such a way that it might produce splinters.
Don't do it.
Just don't.
If you really must break it up, then it is a use for old shopping bags. Put soda in the bag (preferably double bagged), and hit it, preferably with a lump of wood.

Soda sucks water from the air, indeed it will suck it from your skin given a chance. Sealing will work for a while.

I put some cold water in it and it sort of loosened a bit. There wasn't too much left and I've used what was on my cloth nappies.

Found out it also works FAB on dirt stains on clothes, which is excellent b/c DD1 gets a rash from OxyClean, Vanish, bleach, etc.

Got some more and found an old empty OxyClean tub from donks ago (I LOVE saving containers, for some reason) that's perfect for storing it.

Check out this fab website, however! LOADED w/good ideas for natural cleansers. Found it on the pack of Soda Crystals:

\link{http://www.dri-pak.co.uk/index.html\naturalcleansersarecool}

The links are fab, too!

Bump!

ooohhhh lovely link

Don't forget though soda crystals are still chemicals ! As DC says avoid prolonged contact with skin, especilly when in solution & keep out of reach of children

Soda is a useful cleaning chemical, used it nyself.
It is not a "natural" cleaner and it requires quite a bit of energy to produce, but probably no more than modern powders.
I do find the link more than slightly misleading.
Soda is not biodegradable, in the sense that anyone I know uses it.
If soda comes into contact with almost any form of life, it will start to dissolve it. That is why it is an effective cleaner, most stains are biological, and it attacks almost all biological material, living or not. If there is enough of the organism, then it will be used up.
By that logic, hydrochloric acid, hydrogen cyanide and napalm are all biodegradable.

Soda does have the advantage that you're really unlikely to have an allergic reaction to it, though it will dry out your skin far worse than anything you are likely to have in your house.

Put a few tablespoone of hot water into it.
It's happened to me expat, the water will sort it out. Put it in one of your containers and add water.
Later, when you come back to it, it will have softned it up. Don't waste your energy banging it