Cleaning Tricks! 11 Natural Ways to Use a Lemon

Whether you’re looking to rid your microwave of that horrendous caked-on mess or find an environmentally-safe way to freshen up your kitchen, replace that bottle of bleach with something a little more family-friendly:  lemon is the ultimate, all-natural cleaning agent. The common household fruit not only deodorize the house with a zesty fragrance: Thanks to a high level of citric acid and antiseptic qualities, lemon also dissolves dirt and acts as an antibacterial solution, making it an amazing natural alternative for your household chores. To help you save money and replace costly cleaning products, we have compiled a list of eleven uses for this winter citrus!

• 1. Use lemons to clean sink faucets and remove lime scale build-up.

• 2. Clean up your garbage disposal with a quartered lemon to get rid of nasty odors and freshen the drain.

• 3. Get rid of stinky food odors from wooden cutting boards and countertops by rubbing the surface with half a lemon. This works well on wooden cutlery and bowls.

• 4. Sprinkle salt over half a lemon, rub it over tarnished brass and copper to restore their sparkle. Rinse and dry immediately after using.

• 5. Kill smells, freshen up your microwave and get rid of baked on particles: boil lemon juice in the microwave. Fill a pyrex bowl with water and half a lemon and zap for five minutes. Then wipe clean with a sponge.

• 6. Add half a lemon to the dishwasher load for sparkling spot-free clean smelling dishes.

• 7. Mix lemon juice and water in a spray bottle and you get a 100% natural air freshener.

• 8. Make your own all-purpose cleaning solution. Combine lemon juice, vinegar and water in a spray bottle. Great to use on windows. Use newspaper to dry.

• 9. Similarly, to get rid of dust particles: Mix 10 drops lemon oil, 2 tablespoons lemon juice and a few drops olive oil in a spray bottle. Spray onto surfaces; wipe with a cotton flannel cloth.

• 10. Make a natural wooden furniture polish. If it’s varnished: Add a few drops of lemon to ½ cup warm water. Spray onto a slightly damp cotton cloth and wipe the surfaces. If it’s unvarnished: Combine 2 teaspoons each of olive oil and lemon juice. Apply to a soft cotton cloth. Use wide strokes to distribute evenly.

• 11. Squeeze lemon juice into your laundry for a refreshing scent. Lemons can also be used to attack stains. To bleach your clothes, add a ½ cup of lemon juice to a load of white laundry at rinse cycle and let dry your clothes in the sun.

(Picture by Nina Palmer)