[kevinmac]

Due to the Alkaline nature of baking soda, if you were to dissolve it in water, how long would it take for it to damage the fibers on cotton/polyester clothing if you sprayed it directly on it? After X amount of time it would likely damage the fibers and cause corrosion due to Alkalosis would it not?

[chenbeier]

Probably years. Washing powder is more alcaline as sodiumhydrogencarbonate.

[kevinmac]

Yeah but detergent powder gets washed away and diluted in the machine in minutes. What I mean is lets say you use a deodorant with baking soda which a lot of deodorants have, what sort of effects would it have on clothing overtime. Since the baking soda will obviously come into contact with your clothing and will stay until you throw it in the wash.

[ClassicArabians]

There is often the effect of time upon a stain: the older the stain, the harder it is to remove.  Drycleaners who are trained in stain removal prefer to work on fresh stains which have not had time to "set" or react with the fabric, dyes, finish, or atmosphere.  Generally, a stain less than two months old can be treated; a stain one-day-old is easier than one that is two-weeks-old, etc.