Cleaning with Lemons 101 - What you Need to Know
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If you follow many of the eco-friendly cleaning tips published around, you should know by now that lemons are one of the most useful ingredients for this kind of cleaning. With a few citrus fruits by your side, you can keep your home fresh and clean at all times.
In this guide, we will take a look at 10 things you can do with lemons. Some of these are simple cleaning solutions, others shed more light on things that you should never mix lemons with. Let’s get started:
- Neutralising the smell of vinegar – if you are an avid eco-friendly cleaner, perhaps you regularly resort to vinegar. As good as vinegar is at various cleaning tasks, it does come with one big drawback – it leaves a rather strong smell, which not everyone likes. Thankfully, lemon juice can tone that down. Not only will it neutralise the smell, but also boost the cleaning power of vinegar. Lemon juice and vinegar make for a very potent combination of eco-friendly ingredients, which you should use in your home.
- Clean glass – lemon juice mixed with vinegar presents a great tool for cleaning glass surfaces and windows in your home. What you will need for this DIY spray is 1bsp. of white vinegar, 2tbsp. lemon juice, 1 cup of hot water and a spray bottle to mix it all in. When you are done with creating the solution, simply spray on the glass surface and wipe.
- Use lemon juice as a degreaser – another good thing you can use lemon juice and vinegar is to de-grease messy areas. The next time you have trouble with the stovetop, just go for half a cup of lemon juice and 2 cups of white vinegar mixed. Spritz the area and then wipe with a clean rag.
- Scrub dishes with lemon juice – for dishes with stubborn stains, you will want to go with one rather simple solution, which doesn’t necessarily involve endless scrubbing with dishwashing soap. Slice a lemon in half and put salt on it. The acidic properties of the lemon plus the abrasiveness added by the salt will make short work of any mess.
- Clean your microwave – one of the best things you can do with lemons is to clean your microwave like a pro. Pour half a cup of lemon juice into a microwave-safe container. Squeeze 2 lemon halves in the liquid and then toss them in there as well. Microwave this for about 3 minutes. When it is done, don’t be quick to take it out. Instead, let it release some steam inside for a few more minutes. It will soften any gunk and splatters, making it super easy to wipe with a damp cloth.
- Remove stains naturally – did you know that lime and lemon juice is a perfect natural bleaching agent? This makes it perfect for removing stains. Sweat and deodorant marks don’t stand a chance against it. And it is also good against rust stains. Remember not to use it on any colourful fabrics, as there is the danger of it causing discolouration.
- Repel ants with lemon peels – ants often find their way inside the home. One thing that can help you against this issue is lemon peels. The way you use them is by putting lemon peels in a pot, then adding enough vinegar till you cover them. Heat that mixture and then leave it overnight. Strain the liquid and spray it where the ants are coming in. You won’t see them again.
All of these tips using lemons work fantastic, so don’t hesitate to give them a shot!
