Baking soda

The National Trust has been approached by a manufacturer to do a
"demonstration" using their baking soda product to do general
cleaning of interior and exterior surfaces at some of our historic
sites. (This is a marketing department scheme that may unfortunately
impact the museum operation.)The manufacturer would not be working
on objects, but would be doing floors, window frames, doors, walls,
etc.

I am not sold on the idea, by any means, but am looking for some
technical assistance. Can anyone help me as to whether or not this
is a good idea or not, and why or why not? I know that in its dry
state, baking soda can be mildly abrasive. However, if it is mixed
in a water solution, does it still have that property?

Any help would be appreciated, as I need to give an informed answer
to the "powers-that-be" as to whether or not this is a viable
activity for the Trust.

Melissa M. Heaver
John and Neville Bryan Director-Museum Collections
National Trust for Historic Preservation
1785 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036
202-588-6148
Fax: 202-588-6232


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 15:54
                 Distributed: Tuesday, February 5, 2002
                       Message Id: cdl-15-54-027
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