When life gives you lemons, use them to clean your house. You probably know that lemons are extremely useful for all kinds of recipes but did you know you can use them around the house as well? They are wonderful for keeping your house fresh and clean and in this article we are going to share a number of ways in which you can use lemons for your house cleaning.
- It neutralises vinegar smell – If you love cleaning with vinegar but are not a fan of the smell, you can use lemon. It will tone down the smell.
- It is good for cleaning glass – If you are tired of using strong commercial glass cleaning products and want a nice, natural solution instead, use lemon juice. The mixture of vinegar and lemon juice will be your new go-to. If you mix 1 tablespoon of white vinegar and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, put them in a spray bottle, add 1 cup of hot water and use it on your glass surfaces and mirrors.
- It is a great degreaser – Lemon juice will help you clean that greasy stove top next time you decide to do that. Mix ½ cup of lemon juice and 2 cups of white vinegar in a spray bottle. Spray on the greasy surface and wipe with a rag.
- Wash your dishes – Whenever you find some dirty dishes that are covered in food that you cannot remove, lemon juice and coarse salt are going to be your best friends. Mix them and start scrubbing, you will be impressed. This method is used even by professional cleaners.
- Clean your microwave – Microwaves can get greasy, dirty and smelly with time. Lemon juice mixed with water will do wonders with your microwave. You will be able to easily clean it and make it smell fresh and clean again. Put ½ cup of lemon juice in a microwave-safe bowl with some water, squeeze two halves of a lemon inside and leave them in the water. Microwave that mixture for 3 minutes. After that, without opening the door, let the steam sit in for 5 more minutes. It will loosen up any stuck on food residue and you will be able to easily wipe the inside of your microwave clean after that.
- Stain removal – Lemon is a natural bleaching agent so yellow underarm stains don’t stand a chance against a little lemon and some elbow grease. What is more, it is also great against rust stains. The only thing you should not forget is not to use it on colourful fabrics since it may cause discoloration.
- Ant repellent – If you have an ant problem, save your lemon peels for they can help you get rid of ants.Just put your peels in a pot, cover with vinegar and heat the mixture until it’s hot but not boiling. Let it sit overnight, strain and spray the ants whenever you see them.
Next, we will give you some useful tips:
- Save yourself some cash – If you want to use lemon juice for cleaning, you don’t need to buy lemons and juice them yourself. You won’t be needing the lemon itself, nor the peel. You can get your hands on 100% lemon juice from your local grocery store.
- Do not use lemon juice on marble or brass-plated items. The acid may etch and harm the stone.
- Never mix lemons and bleach. You should never mix any acids with bleach ( lemon juice or vinegar). Never mix ammonia with bleach as well.
Another great natural ingredient that you can use instead of commercial products full of chemicals is tea tree oil. It is great for disinfecting thanks to its antimicrobial, antiviral, antifungal and antiseptic properties. It is perfect to use instead of bleach, for example, and all you have to do is dilute some tea tree oil into a home recipe. In this article we will show you some of the best ways you can use tea tree oil, as well as some recipes.
- All-purpose Cleaner – Add 10 drops of essential tea tree oil to 2 cups of hot water and ½ cup of vinegar to make a multipurpose cleaner. Be careful not to use it on stone and marble because the vinegar will etch them.
- Laundry cleaning booster – Adding a teaspoon of tea tree oil to your laundry load will help prevent fungal and bacterial infections from extra soiled clothes.
- Fight mould and mildew – Combine a cup of water with a teaspoon of tea tree oil. Put those in a spray bottle and spray on affected areas. Let it sit for a few minutes and wipe. This will prevent mould and mildew from appearing again.
- Bathroom Scrub – mix tea tree oil with water, vinegar, baking soda and castile soap. The soda will fight stains, Tea tree oil and vinegar will work together against mould and mildew.
- Disinfectant spray – make your own quick disinfectant spray by combining tea tree, witch hazel, eucalyptus and water.Use this on sport equipment, your phone, car, door handles and light switches at home, as well as anywhere else you would like to disinfect in a natural way.
- Easy soap – Mix 2 cups of glycerin soap base with 2 tablespoons of tea tree oil and make a fresh, antibacterial soap to use around the house or for your body.
- Bug spray – Bug sprays often contain questionable ingredients. You can now make your own natural spray by mixing in 15 drops of tea tree oil and peppermint with water and witch hazel, for example. This spray is good against mosquitos and ticks.
- Toothbrush Degunker – soak your dirty toothbrush in a cup of water with 10 drops of tea tree oil in it. Leave it in for 15 minutes and enjoy it being clean again.
- Air purifier and natural deodoriser – You can add a few drops of tea tree oil to your oil diffuser and enjoy an antibacterial blast of fresh air. You can also mix it with some alcohol and water or other essential oils to use as a deodoriser.
- Skincare – Use against dandruff, acne of toenail fungus. The antibacterial, drying properties of the tea tree oil will help with those.
Enjoy those natural ingredients for many things in your house. Quit filling your house with toxic fumes from chemicals you usually use for cleaning. Enjoy nature’s gift and lead a cleaner, healthier life.