Back to Basics: the many uses of lemon
- by Anna Sattler (RSS feed) on Jul 30th 2007 6:00PM
- Filed under in the kitchen, staying green, DIY: Back to Basics, cleaning
These days, with all the household cleaning products on the market, it is almost always easier to buy these products rather than make your own household remedies. But if you look in your refrigerator, you probably have a little yellow thing in there called a lemon. Lemons are just as useful to clean as commercial products are, and many people don't realize just how many uses there really are for this little yellow fruit. I have listed my tried and true methods that I personally love.You can sanitize and remove mineral deposits and odors from your empty dishwasher by placing 1/4 cup of lemon juice in the soap dispenser and running through a normal cycle. This remedy should leave your dishwasher clean and smelling great.
- Freshen a smelly garbage disposal by slicing a lemon into the disposal and turning it on, running water into it until the lemon is gone.
- Clean glass shower doors by applying lemon juice with a sponge. For an unbeatable sparkling shine, dry with crumpled newspaper.
- You can remove ink from clothing by applying lemon juice on the ink stain. Wash the garment with regular detergent in cold water on the normal cycle. This has worked well for me with my two little artists, who everyday seem to get new ink stains. The clothes come out ink free every time. To remove fruit, baby formula stains, or rust from colored clothing, mix a paste of cream of tartar and lemon juice, check the fabric for color fastness, and apply the mixture, letting it sit for 15-30 minutes. When stain is gone, launder as usual.
- Rinse your hands with lemon juice to remove fruit and berry stains. Rub a lemon slice on your hands to remove garlic and onion smells, and then rinse your hands thoroughly.
- Pouring three to four teaspoons of lemon juice into the water in your humidifier will help to eliminate odors.
- To clean copper pots, rub a cut lemon with salt and use as a scrub. I had to do this for a few minutes, as mine were not so clean. Rinsing and buffing with a soft cloth gave a beautiful shine. You can clean silver with lemon juice and buff with a soft cloth, and you can remove tarnish from brass by using the same method.
- I always seem to get some stain on my countertops so I clean them off by scrubbing with a cut lemon and salt. Rinse well and dry. This works great for laminate and stone countertops. For kitchen tile grout, mix lemon juice with water and scrub with a toothbrush.
- You can make your own furniture polish that is much better for your furniture than what you can buy. All you need to do is mix the juice of one lemon, add one teaspoon each olive oil and water, and apply a thin coat to your furniture and buff to a deep, beautiful shine. Mix only what you need for a single use, as you will want to make a fresh batch every time you use it. I have found that the olive oil usually repels new stains.
- I have found that lemons and their juice just aren't for baking and cooking. Speaking of which I must go clean up and disinfect the cut my little one just got with some lemon juice.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-26-2007 @ 4:44PM
mary scabet said...
boil rhubarb in ur pans and they will get clean and shiny,white whitening tooothpaste will clean the rubber around the door of ur fridge.use bar soap and a damp rag and clean ur stuff animals that r'nt to dirty,a half a cup of borax and white vinegar and baking soda will get rid of a clog,put an old piece of ur nylons and wrap at the end of ur vacuum hose with a rubber band and u can clean ur small knickknacks w/o sucking them up,find a contact lens the same way
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