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Did you know that lemons are a natural polisher and odor killer? There are countless ways that you can incorporate these versatile fruits into your home cleaning routine, from counter to floor.
Here are the top 17 lemon cleaning hacks to make your home shinier (and more fragrant) than ever:
Microwaves can be really tricky to clean, with baked-on food that takes some elbow grease to scrub off. It’s not exactly a pleasant ordeal.
Fortunately, you can make the process much quicker and easier with a halved lemon, juiced into a bowl of ½ cup water. Run this in the microwave uncovered, then run a rag over the grime, and it will wipe right off.
If your garbage disposal is starting to smell, just run some lemon and lemon peels through it. The zesty scent will replace the odor. Any kind of citrus will work!
As you’re no doubt aware, soap can wreak havoc on a wooden cutting board. Germs are still sure to accumulate in the many cut marks, however.
For a gentle yet effective solution, scrub your wooden cutting boards with ½ of a lemon and a generous sprinkling of salt.
Freshen up your fridge by swabbing it down with some lemon juice, or simply placed some halved lemons in your fridge for a couple of days, and they will both release their own fragrance, and absorb odor.
It’s always a bit of a task to clean a cheese grater. The old bits of food can harden into stubborn cement. To soften the food up, simply grate a lemon. Let the juice and pulp sit for a minute or two, and then scrub. It should be a lot easier.
To super-power your dishwasher, simply put a lemon inside of it and run it. This will remove both scum and odor. As a result, your dishes will be cleaner and nicer-smelling than ever!
Lemon is a popular ingredient in store-bought floor polish. This is because it has natural polishing properties, and it smells amazing, to boot. All that you need is ½ cup freshly-squeezed lemon juice, ¾ cup olive oil, and a gallon of water.
You can also add a couple of tablespoons of vinegar to the mixture, for a natural, homemade floor cleaner.
Coffee makers are hard to clean, and there’s no doubt about it. Luckily, there’s a method that couldn’t be simpler.
All that you need to do is fill your coffee pot with 1 cup of distilled white vinegar and 1 TBSP of lemon juice, and then the rest of the way with water. This will clean the nooks and crannies when you run the coffee maker.
Finally, run it through once with just water (or your next cup of coffee might have a hint of lemon and vinegar).
Create your own natural all-purpose cleaner with just some lemon rinds, lemon juice, vinegar, and water!
Ingredients:
Steps:
You can polish up your pots (and cooking sheets or other cookware) with ½ cup of lemon juice to 1 gallon of water. All that you need to do is pour the mixture into the sink, add your pots, and let them soak. Then, give them a good scrub and a rinse as usual.
There are few who don’t absolutely love the scent of lemons. Infuse your home with this refreshing fragrance by making your own lemon air freshener. How?
Simply fill a pot with water and then add lemon rinds and your choice of spices, herbs, extracts, or essential oils. Bring all of this to a boil, and then allow it to simmer for up to an hour (by which point the water is sure to run out).
Tea kettles tend to accumulate minerals and scum from water, and these can be hard to get rid of. To polish your tea kettle up nicely, just employ roughly 1 ounce of lemon juice and 2 cups of water. Place these in your kettle, bring them to a boil, and then let cool. Rinse a few times, and your kettle is sure to be shinier than ever!
Even if you replace your humidifier filter promptly, eventually, it will probably develop some odor. When this happens, you can deodorize it simply by adding a few tablespoons of lemon juice to the water.
There are a few ways that you can use lemons to freshen your toilets. First, you can squeeze half of a lemon into the bowl. Sprinkle some salt as well, for some scrubbing grit. You can also add baking soda or Borax. Allow to sit for about 10 minutes, and then scrub the toilet bowl as usual.
If you’re feeling adventurous, you can use a halved lemon to directly scrub the inside of the bowl (don’t forget cleaning gloves).
If your mirrors are looking a bit streaky, you can solve the problem with three tablespoons of lemon juice, mixed with ½ tsp of dishwashing soap and ½ cup of rubbing alcohol. Place this in a spray bottle, shake well, and use it as a homemade mirror and glass cleaner.
This is one you’ll only want to use on white laundry, as colored clothes will lose their color. To whiten and brighten your white laundry, all you need to do is add 1 cup of lemon juice to the usual wash cycle. Let it run, and at the end, your white laundry should be cleaner and brighter than ever!
As you can see, lemons are a must-have for your cleaning arsenal. They’ll tackle grime and scum, all while filling your home with a zesty fragrance and replacing unpleasant odor. What more can you ask?