Follow these cleaning with lemon hacks to….
unleash the CLEANING POWER of lemon!
Why lemon?
As well as being an main ingredient in the famous cocktail sapphire sin, lemon is a pretty powerful alternative to cleaning chemical.
The scent of the lemon is fresh, clean and energising. It is also quite inexpensive and extremely easy to come by.
Lemons contain both the acidity found in the juice along with the grease cutting oil in its skin, a combination that creates a more than superb cleaning agent. This multipurpose citrus fruit can be used to clean countless number of things around the house.
We have narrowed that list down to provide you with the top 10 ingenious ways to clean with lemon. Here we go:
Fridge Freshener
Leaving an open box of baking soda in the fridge can help to manage unpleasant odours and so can lemon. You can use the lemon in one of three ways:
– soak cotton balls in lime juice and leave them in an open boil in the fridge.
– cut a lemon in half and place the lemon the flesh side up in a bowl and leave it in the fridge.
– leave a small bowl of freshly squeezed lemon in the fridge.
Be sure to change the lemon out every 4-6 days so you won’t add the smell of rotting lemons to the odours in your fridge.
Microwave Steam Clean
It is simply amazing how you can tackle even the most stubborn stains in your microwave by using just a lemon and a bowl of water.
All you have to do is:
– cut a lemon in half and squeeze each half into a bowl.
– fill the bowl half way with water, then add the rest of the squeezed lemon to the bowl.
– place it inside your microwave and set the timer to 3-5 minutes on the highest heat setting available.
– once the microwave stops, let it cool down for another 3 minutes then get a damn cloth and simply wipe the microwave out.
The lemon will eliminate the all the nasty odours, and the steam will mix with all the oil in the skin of the lemon to loosen the build up,inside your microwave.
De-Cheese your Cheese Grater
Cheese graters are excellent for grating cheese, but absolutely horrible at staying clean. Even,after a cycle or two in the dishwasher, cheese still clings to the inside of hard to get to places. This is where lemon comes in.
Cut a lemon in half and grate the fleshy side on both the inside and outside of the grater. Then simply rinse and give an extra wash.
The lemon oils and juice will help to break up the dairy fat and stubborn proteins.
Scour your cutting board
Cutting boards tend to get damaged over time and the small cracks left by your knives are the perfect place for bacteria and food residue build up.
To clean with lemon:
– get some coarse salt and sprinkle it on the surface of the cutting board.
– then cut a lemon in half and use half of it to scrub as thoroughly as you can.
– You will see food stains will start to disappear along with any lingering odours.
– rinse and add some mineral oil to the surface to help protect your board.
De-scale your kettle
If you use your kettle as heavily as some of us do then you will no doubt have a scale build up.
Add an ounce of lemon juice with two cups of water, pour it in the kettle and bring it to a boil. Then let it cool. Empty the kettle and hive it a couple rinses and there you would have de-scale your kettle.
Clean your glasses and mirrors
Vinegar is the more popular means of getting this done, but if you can’t stand the smell of vinegar like most of us, lemon is the answer:
– squeeze about 3-4 tablespoons,of lemon juice into a spray bottle and add a cup of water.
– shake thoroughly then spray your mirrors or glass
– Then simply wipe your mirror down with a clean and dry microfiber cloth and you are done.
– for glasses, you simply shine with a microfiber cloth or soft paper towel.
Toilet bowl cleaner
Now, we all have encounter that annoying water ring on the inside of our toilets at some point or the other. Whilst, we live our toilets clean, sometimes cleaning them or keeping that ring at bay can be tricky.
Here is how you can use salt and lemon yo easily get rid of it:
– squeeze half of a lemon on the interior of the bowl.
– then sprinkle with some coarse salt
– then use your toilet bowl brush to give it a gently scrub.
You can add some baking soda for an added punch.
Now if you aren’t too squeamish, simply put a glove on, then add the salt to the surface of the lime and scrub instead of using a toilet brush.
Get rid of soap scum
We would all enjoy having soaps that didn’t leave scum behind, but in the absence of that lemon can be used to combat the unsightly scum that leaves our showers looking dirty.
– place an ounce of lemon juice with a bottle of water in a spray bottle.
– spray directly on the walls of your shower and leave it to sit for 2 minutes.
– then use a damp, clean microfiber towel and simply wipe clean.
The soap scum cannot handle the acidity of the lemon.
To clean faucets, chrome and steel
We love nothing more than to have our sinks and faucets clean and sparkly, luckily lemon makes this easy. Simply cut a lemon in half and rub the fleshy part of it along the metal surfaces. Make sure to get into all those books and crannies. Wipe or rinse away and you are done.
Create a humidifier
If you want a more homeopathic way of eliminating dry indoor air and to give your home a citric fresh scent, the use lemon.
Simply add a few lemon slices to a saucepan of water and leave it to simmer for up to 10 minutes. This will combat all the dry air and smells you don’t like.
Now, you have 10 more ways to use lemon– cleaning with a difference!