This sunny citrus fruit with the bright aroma and sour taste also provides powerful antibacterial properties—making it ideal for cleaning and disinfecting surfaces in both the kitchen and bathroom.
YOUR MAIN SQUEEZE
Lemon oil is often referred to as “liquid sunshine”; it also happens to be the most effective antimicrobial remedy of all essential oils. But the juice of the lemon is also a powerful bacteria eliminator, even diluted. Straight up, it cuts through dried-on cheese, bleaches tough stains, unclogs drains . . . you can even use it to sanitize the silver or stainless-steels posts of earrings.
DIY: Lemony All-purpose Cleaner
Clean and Deodorize Garbage Disposals: Garbage disposals are convenient and useful parts of our kitchens, but they also attract odors and bacteria. And cleaning them is not as easy as the other surfaces in your kitchen—it can even be dangerous. Fortunately, there is an easy, natural way to deodorize your garbage disposal and kill the bacteria that can live in it. Make deodorizing pods by mixing 3/4 cup baking soda, 1/2 cup table salt, 1/2 teaspoon of dish soap, and the zest of 1 lemon. Add lemon juice until the mixture looks like slightly wet sand (about 3 tablespoons of juice). Pack tightly into an empty ice cube tray and allow to dry overnight. Remove pods and store in an airtight container. When ready to use, drop one pod into the garbage disposal and turn on. Use as needed to keep your garbage disposal clean and odor free.
Clean Glass: From mirrors to windows to sliding patio doors, glass is everywhere in our houses, and if you have small children or pets, these glass objects never seem to stay smudge free. Store-bought glass cleaners are full of harsh chemicals and dyes that can be dangerous to your family, especially if you use them often. These chemicals can also be dangerous to other, nonglass surfaces in your house. There is a natural, effective alternative, however, one you can make using lemon juice. Simply add 3 tablespoons of lemon juice and 1/2 cup of rubbing alcohol to a spray bottle. Fill rest of the bottle with water and shake well to mix.
Clean glass
Clean Toilets: Toilet bowls are one of the germiest places in a home, and keeping them clean can be a real chore. Commercial toilet cleaners are also one of the most dangerous home cleaners—they cause burns if they get on your skin, plus the fumes can be harmful for you and your family. A less-dangerous solution can be made using lemon juice and borax. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of borax into the toilet bowl and then squeeze in half a lemon. Let the mixture sit in the bowl for a few minutes. Scrub with a brush, then flush.
Scour Rust: As metal objects get older, they tend to rust. This is unsightly and unsafe, especially when the rust is on kitchen appliances. Rust is notoriously difficult to remove, and commercial rust cleaners are full of dangerous chemicals. Scraping the rust off can cause the rust to get into the air and be breathed in accidentally. Luckily, all you really need to remove oxidation is a lemon and some coarse salt. Rub a liberal amount of salt over the rusted area. Squeeze or spray lemon juice over the whole area, and allow to sit for about 3 hours. Then, scrub the area with lemon rinds to remove the rust.
Scour rust
Remove Sweat Stains: White T-shirts are particularly prone to getting unsightly yellow sweat stains that can seem impossible to remove. Often, commercial stain removers will not work for these types of stains, and using bleach can ruin other clothes in the wash. Lemon juice, however, can work as a bleaching agent without ruining your laundry. All you need to do is fill a spray bottle with pure, undiluted lemon juice. Before washing a shirt with sweat stains, spray the stains thoroughly with the lemon juice. Then, wash the shirt as you would normally, and the stains should fade.
Deodorize Carpets: Make your own carpet deodorizer by combining 2 cups of baking soda with 20 drops of lemon essential oil. Sprinkle the mixture over the whole carpet and allow to sit for about 15 minutes, longer for dirtier carpets. Then, simply vacuum up the powder and enjoy your fresh carpet. Store in a shaker jar for easy use.
Tip: For an even fresher scent, add about 5 drops of another essential oil, such as thyme or rosemary, to the mixture.
Mix baking soda and lemon to create an effective cleaner
Whiten Clothes: Traditional methods of whitening clothes by using chlorine-based bleach can be dangerous and harmful to your health. Bleach fumes should not be breathed in, and if bleach gets on your skin, it can cause painful irritation. It also smells terrible. Many bleach products have fragrances added to try to mask the smell, and these fragrances can stay in your clothes and cause irritation when you wear them. Lemon juice, on the other hand, is a natural alternative to chlorine bleach that smells great and is far less dangerous. Simply add 1/4 cup of lemon juice to your white wash during the rinse cycle. Dry the clothes in the sun to activate the brightening effects of the lemon juice.
Whiten clothes
Clean Microwave: Place half a lemon, cut side up, in a bowl. Fill bowl with water and place in the microwave. Microwave on high for 5 minutes. Grime and stains should easily wipe off the inside surface of the microwave. If they do not, microwave the bowl for another 5 minutes. Tip: add 20 drops of your favorite essential oil to the water before microwaving to deodorize the microwave.
Wash Fruits and Vegetables: Fruits and vegetables that we buy from the grocery store are usually sprayed with pesticides and waxes to keep them fresh and looking nice. However, consuming these pesticides can make you and your family sick. To remove them before eating, simply mix 1 tablespoon of lemon juice with 2 tablespoons of baking soda and 1 cup of water. Whisk the mixture until the baking soda is completely dissolved. Pour the mixture into a spray bottle, then spray produce until it is completely soaked with the mixture. Let the mixture sit on the produce for about 5 minutes, then rinse thoroughly and dry.
Wash fruits and vegetables
Tip: Use this spray on organic produce and produce that you grow yourself as well. While the organic produce may not be sprayed with pesticides, it could have bacteria on it that will be killed using this lemon-baking soda spray.
Clean Humidifiers: Even with regular cleaning, humidifiers can need a little extra treatment to prevent the growth of bacteria, mold, and mildew. A natural way to do this is by adding 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice to the water in the humidifier every time you fill it. The lemon juice will kill bacteria that can grow in the water and will release a pleasant scent into the air as well.
Clean Mildewed Clothes: Mildew can grow anywhere there is a damp place without ventilation, such as a child’s sports locker. It can be smelly and annoying, and sometimes mildew can be a hazard to your health. It might seem impossible to remove from fabric, and you might be tempted to just throw the item away. There is a natural solution for this problem, however. Due to its antifungal properties, lemon juice works very well at removing mildew. Simply add salt to 1/3 cup of fresh lemon juice to form a paste, then rub the paste into the fabric. If necessary, scrub the paste in using an old toothbrush. Then, wash the fabric as normal.