Using Lemon Juice and Lemons To Clean, Bleach, And Freshen

Lemon juice is one of nature’s many blessings on the modern world. Women have been cleaning and cooking with lemon juice for hundreds of years for various reasons, most important of which is that it works! You cook with lemons for obvious reasons; their flavour can be used to give a tangy effect to chicken, fish, or beef, as well as in sauces, cookies, and many other dishes. Many people have forgotten the other more practical uses for lemon juice. One of the reasons lemons are used, and began being used was merely for the tangy, citrus-y smell that they have. Even major cleaning product distributors try to simulate a lemon scent for most of their detergents; lemons just smell “clean.” Other reasons lemons are used for their anti-bacterial and cleaning purposes is because of the high amount of acidity in them. This acidic quality kills germs, and is antiseptic for most surfaces, including the air.

All you need to make freshener for any room of your home is about an ounce of lemon juice, a few cups of cold water, and a spray bottle. Just mix the water into the spray bottle with your lemon juice, set the nozzle on mist, and start spraying it throughout your home. Make sure the mixture is diluted enough, and to stay away from cloth surfaces that might be easily bleached. Be sure to open your windows as well, to let the scent circulate, and let the old odours drift out in the breeze. This small ritual will cycle more healthy air throughout your home, remove musty odours from stale air, and kill any bacteria that lives in the air as well. Another great idea is to spray down linens that may have been stored for a while before guests use them with a mixture, and let them hang outdoors for a while, to freshen them. This also works off any skin irritating dust or lint that may be built up from storage.

Uses for lemon juice in laundry are numerous, because lemon juice is so acidic that it acts as a natural stain remover and bleach. All that needs to be done to use lemon juice as a bleach, is to simply lay the linen or clothing out in an area undisturbed, under the sun light. Add enough lemon juice to soak the area with the stain, and let it sit until it dries in the sun. When the area is dry, the stain will have been bleached away. Lemon slices and chunks can be ground in a garbage disposal to freshen the disposal, and hot water an lemon juice poured down a drain will kill odour causing bacteria.

Pots and pans with copper bottoms last forever; if well-preserved, and in the right hands. Lemon juice can also work wonders cleaning the copper bottoms of this cookware. You simply cut a lemon in half, coat the inner end with salt, and gently scrub away any stains on the copper. Make sure you don’t have any small cuts or scrapes on your hands though; you won’t need to be reminded twice of how much it can sting. Many people would love to clean with vinegar if it weren’t for its unappealing and positively repulsive smell. Lemon juice can be safely mixed with vinegar, which will neutralize the harsh smell of vinegar. Because of lemon juice’s ability to bleach, it also removes stains from countertops; but always be sure to never leave it sit for long. Despite it not being chemical bleach, it’s still highly corrosive. Using all natural cleaning agents is just one way to green clean this spring.