Washing soda, also known as soda ash or sodium carbonate, is a chemical that is used for the manufacture of various cleaners. It is also used for swimming pool and in waste water applications for pH maintenance. Many other household uses for this chemical can be found in the section to the right. Washing soda is also used in a large variety of manufacturing processes, such as in the making of glass, rayon and paper. It is also used in a number of chemical manufacturing processes, such as the synthesis of sodium silicate (used in detergents), sodium hydroxide (lye), and sodium bicarbonate (baking soda). http://antoine.frostburg.edu/chem/senese/101/inorganic/faq/carbonate-uses.shtml
Below you will find some precautions to be followed when using washing soda and the two different sources of this material, manufacture and mining. You will also find on this page Google links and Related Mahalo Link sections, as well as other types of information sources on this important chemical. If you have a question about washing soda, please ask in the provided box to the right.
Precautions on the Use of Washing Soda
- Wear gloves, the pH is caustic.
- Do not use to wash wool and silk.
- It is not recommended for cleaning no-wax floors, aluminum surfaces, tiles or fiberglass.
- Do not use it to clean sink drains, use caustic lye (sodium hydroxide) instead.
Mining and Manufacture of Washing Soda
Soda can be either manufactured or mined. The manufacturing method, called the Solvay process, using the inexpensive raw materials of carbon dioxide, ammonia, and a concentrated salt-water (brine) solution. The raw material limestone, or calcium carbonate, is heated to release calcium carbonate. When the carbon dioxide dissolves in water, it forms the unstable carbonic acid, of which part becomes hydrogen carbonate ions. Ammonia addition forms ammonium carbonate and sodium replaces the ammonium to form sodium carbonate. Sodium carbonate (washing soda) can be heated to produce sodium bicarbonate (baking soda). http://scifun.chem.wisc.edu/chemweek/Bicarb/SodiumBicarb.html
One of the largest sources for sodium carbonate in the United States is the California Desert area. http://www.law.indiana.edu/publicland/files/ca_desert.pdf However, most of the production from this state occurs by extraction from brine from Searles Lake. http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:eUmCyFW7EOkJ:www.epa.gov/ttnchie1/ap42/ch08/final/c08s12.pdf+%22sodium+carbonate%22+mine&hl=en&gl=cr&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEEShWnEZYiPsu0FEEaYmJqLwvb3qYzqlCzHaB_VUB6ne8vmvyrgou9cpDf_BtQLCp2JJgG2eGd4LNU2f3TxMoLg62kAHYXh7FNcWM2dHdNJ_9-pHvgHa1dsaFz9ezoRWc-TWGJ9ZV&sig=AHIEtbQTv9D29LcqYNezJJqyu3Srek1ldQ Washing soda can also be extracted from other mined ores. http://www.freepatentsonline.com/5955043.html
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References
Fast Facts
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'''Wax and Paint Removal'''
Make a thick paste, smear it on the surface, let it dry and then rinse
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'''Spray and wipe cleaner'''
1 tablespoon per 2 cups hot water, mix and dissolve
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'''Heavy duty cleaner'''
2 tablespoons per 2 cups of hot water, clean with a scrub pad or sponge, let dry and then rinse.
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'''Stove-top drip pan cleaner'''
Add enough hot water in a container or pail to cover the burner pans, add 1 cup of washing soda and then the burner drip pans
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'''Swimming pool maintenance'''
Used to raise the pH when needed
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'''Cleaning silver'''
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'''Home Laundry Detergent'''
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'''Rust Removal'''
See the featured video
