eli5: why is sodium bicarbonate so prevalent in “miraculous” higiene recipes (or regular recipes, for that matter)?

Question

I mean, why is it so effective in cleaning, removing yellowing, disinfectant…
Sometimes it’s paired with acid, like vinegar. Sometimes it’s just it and some form of soap or detergent…

In: 9

Answer 1

It’s one of the very few alkaline ingredients you will find in the food ailse.

Basically whenever you need a base, and want to use only things you can ingest (maybe you have dogs or kids that keep licking the bathtub) you can use sodium bicarbonate.