The Humble Lemon: Not Just For Your G&T!
Have you ever noticed that so many cleaning products have a lemony fresh scent?
This isn't just be because its sharp citrus notes feel fresh and clean, but because lemons actually have some superpowers which can be a secret weapon, and help to massively reduce the amount of chemicals in your home.
Not only are they antibacterial and acidic meaning they're great for tackling limescale and cutting through grease, that fresh scent of theirs helps (because let's face it it’s nice when things smell clean, as well as actually being clean).
Here are just a few top tips of how lemons can help you at home:
1. Chopping boards – Because lemons are naturally antibacterial and great at getting stains out, either cut the lemon and rub it all over the board or you can juice the lemon and just rub the juice straight into the board. Extra tip: If you want a little extra scrubbing power you can sprinkle some salt over the board too. Then simply leave for a while to give the stains time to fade, or even over night before rising well and drying.
2. If you wipe a cut lemon over shower screens, draining boards and taps you can keep limescale at bay, simply wipe with a damp cloth and gently buff.
3. You can even descale your kettle by adding some lemon slices to it, and boiling ( just allow the lemons to stay in there for an hour and then rinse well afterwards).
4. Lemons can even be used as a window and mirror cleaner. Simply sqeeze about 3TBSPs of lemon juice into a spray bottle and add about 150ml of water. Shake the bottle spray onto mirrors or windows and wipe using a clean cloth. You can keep this solution for around a week, but it will go bad after that.
5. Use a lemon to freshen your fridge: simply cut in half and leave in your fridge, or squeeze and have a small bowl of lemon juice in the fridge. (The lemon or juice will need replacing about once a week, whereas bicarb in a bowl in the fridge lasts about a month)
6. To remove stains, rub lemon juice on the spot ,and leave for a while or overnight before washing as normal.Just don’t use on silk or delicates. This works even better if you can leave clothes to dry in the sunshine.
7. They also brighten whites if you soak your whites in a mix of dilute lemon and hot water and then wash as normal.
8. You can use lemon juice and an old toothbrush to clean grout.
9. A brilliant degrease, lemons are great for cleaning cooker hoods, hobs and also BBQs.
10. You can use lemon juice and salt to scrub the toilet bowl or if you want some fizz, lemon juice and bicarbonate of soda.
On top of that, lemons are great with honey if you have a cold, makes great desserts (lemon Drizzle is a personal fave!) and look lovely in your fruit bowl!
Who says it has to cost more to be a little more eco friendly?
Caution – Please do not use lemon to clean natural stone and anything that is brass plated. These things do not get on with lemon.
Also please always do a patch test on any area or clothing first, just to be safe.