Just like vinegar, good old natural and fresh smelling lemons make for a fantastic cleaning agent. Being an acidic fruit, lemons have antibacterial and antiseptic powers, and act almost as a natural bleach…but not quite. While lemons are indeed wonderful at freshening up your surfaces, shining faucets and eliminating grease, they are no substitute for bleach or a similar product if you’re looking to clean to a high standard of hygiene. Lemons will not destroy all dangerous microbes, but they can be used safely and effective as a mild cleaning agent for many areas of
your home.
A little advice for buying lemons:
As you doubtless already know, lemons are not always cheap to buy, so if you plan on using them often in your home, you should consider buying them in bulk for a better rate or purchasing lemon juice from concentrate. Be sure to buy some plain old, cheap table salt when you’re buying lemons, as the two items together make a powerful team.
Tips for cleaning with lemons:
Lemons are good for so much more than lemonade, and here are few uses for them around the home:
- Getting your copper-bottom pots and pans to shine
Simply cut a lemon in half, dip it in some plain table salt, and use it to clean the copper bottoms and even the fixtures. You can also use this exact same combination of lemons and salt to clean coffee makers, microwaves and even food storage containers.
- Use lemon juice in conjunction with vinegar
Vinegar alone is a great cleaning product, but the smell can be a little off putting to some. To combat this, simply add lemon juice to the vinegar and use the solution to clean many areas and items in your home, such as shower stalls, faucets, kitchen surfaces etc.
- Counter top cleaning
The counter tops in our kitchens can quickly get grubby, and food stains become commonplace. For stubborn stains, squeeze (or pour) lemon juice directly onto the stain and let it sit there for a few minutes. Then, take some baking soda and apply that to the stain, too. Give the lemon juice and baking soda a light scrub, and you’ll see the stain begin to disappear. Be careful not to leave the lemon juice on for too long though, the acid in it can damage some surfaces.
- Fixing a not-so-fresh drain
If you have a garbage disposal unit that’s beginning to pong, you can add some lemon rinds and let them be ground up in it to help keep it smelling fresher. If your drains are less than fresh smelling, too, hot water and lemon juice poured directly down it should help.
- Whitening your whites
The juice from lemons has a natural bleaching effect, so to help get the white back into your linens or clothing (or to remove unsightly stains), simply apply lemon juice directly onto them and leave them to dry in the sun.
- Eliminating grease
Acidic lemons can cut through grease quicker than some shop bought cleaning solutions, so use them in your home for a cheap and natural way of eliminating grease.
- Helping glass to get back its’ sparkle
Lemon is great for cleaning glass even if you don’t add vinegar to the solution; but adding vinegar may give you a squeakier clean result.
So, as you can see, lemons have a million and one uses around the home, and should you happen to have any left over, you can always make some refreshing lemonade to quench your thirst after all your hard work!