Fresh lemons are a natural, safe and economical way to clean your home (especially if you have your own lemon tree!). By replacing several common commercial cleaning products with fresh lemons you’ll reduce waste, save money and improve your health. In this episode I’ll share six simple ways to clean your home naturally with fresh lemons.
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WhY are lemons so effective at cleaning?
Lemon juice is citric acid, a powerful cleaning agent, in its natural form. It’s a strong antibacterial sanitiser and antiseptic that can be used as a cleaning agent all around your home. Lemon juice is fantastic for dissolving soap scum, fading stains on various surfaces, removing mildew and mould from tiles, and deodorising your living environment.
Limonene (lemon essential oil) in lemon peel is powerful at cutting through grease and grime. Many commercial cleaning products contain citric acid or limonene but you can bypass all the fillers and nasties and use lemon in its purest form.
what are the benefits of cleaning with lemons?
Lemon juice is an amazingly versatile cleaning agent. Its acidity makes it effective for killing most moulds and bacteria and it is fantastic for removing stains from a wide range of surfaces from grout to clothing!
Six simple ways to clean with lemons
1 – Shine Your Chrome Taps
Lemon and salt isn’t just for Tequila drinkers! It’s a great combination for shining your chrome taps or even chrome on older model cars. Cut a lemon in half, dip in salt and rub on your taps. Rinse, dry with a clean cloth and admire the sparkle!
2 – Remove Mould and Mildew from Grout
Use an old toothbrush dipped in lemon juice to scrub mould from grout. Rinse.
You can also place lemon juice into a spray bottle and squirt on tiles to clean if you prefer. It may pay to strain the lemon juice first though!
3 – Dissolve Soap Scum
Rub half a lemon on your shower screens to dissolve soap scum and sanitise the surface.
4 – Make Your Own Natural Laundry Bleach
Add a cup of lemon juice to your laundry to whiten your whites. It’s a natural alternative to chlorine bleach and has the added benefit of leaving your laundry smelling super fresh! Dry your clothes on a clothesline in sunlight for extra stain-removing power. The UV light will react with the lemon residue to further fade stains.
5 – Clean Your Microwave
Place a cup ¾ full of water with a couple tablespoons of lemon juice in the microwave. Heat to boiling. Don’t open the door for another 10 minutes. Then just wipe away food particles with a clean cloth and dry.
6 – Sanitise Kitchen Cutting Boards
Squeeze half a lemon over the top of kitchen cutting boards (wooden or plastic) and allow the juice to absorb for 10 minutes. Rinse. Treat your wooden chopping board with a vegetable oil (e.g. olive oil) if you wish.
Final Thoughts
Lemon are a natural, safe and economical way to clean your home. By using fresh lemons instead of common commercial cleaning products you’ll reduce waste, save money and improve your health.
If you’d like more tips and recipes to help you break up with toxic chemicals in your home, check out my Home Detox Boot Camp. It’s there where I guide you step by step through the process of replacing toxic chemicals in your home with effective, economical and natural alternatives.
OVER TO YOU!
What are your best uses for fresh lemons in your home? Share in the comments below!
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Laura Trotta is one of Australia’s leading home sustainability experts. She has a Bachelor of Environmental Engineering, a Masters of Science (in Environmental Chemistry) and spent 11 years working as an environmental professional before creating her first online eco business, Sustainababy, in 2009. She has won numerous regional and national awards for her fresh and inspiring take on living an ‘ecoceptional’ life (including most recently winning the Brand South Australia Flinders University Education Award (2015) for the north-west region in SA and silver in the Eco-friendly category of the 2015 Ausmumpreneur Awards). With a regular segment on ABC Radio and with her work featured in publications like Nurture Parenting and My Child Magazine, Laura is an eco thought leader who’s not afraid to challenge the status quo. A passionate believer in addressing the small things to achieve big change, and protecting the planet in practical ways, Laura lives with her husband and two sons in outback South Australia. 
