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When life gives you lemons, you could make lemonade…or you could use them all around your home and as part of your personal routine. It’s unbelievable what you can do with these lemon cleaning hacks! Plus, who doesn’t love that fresh, clean citrus smell from lemons. All natural, try out one of the cleaning hacks using lemons:
19 Lemon Cleaning Hacks To Rescue Your Messy Home
Around The House
1. Eliminate Fireplace Odor: Throw a few lemon peels into the flames to rid your home of any stench a fire sends into a room. Or burn some lemon peels along with your firewood as a preventative.
2. Last Resort Marble Stain Remover: If you’ve tried everything under the sun to remove a tough stain from marble as a last resort cut a lemon in half, dip the fleshy part into salt and rub it vigorously on the stain. Rinse well. Do this only as a last resort as the acid from the lemon can damage the marble.
3. Neutralize Cat-Box Odors: Place cut lemons, cut side up in a bowl in the room with your cat box and soon all you’ll smell is lemons. A nice way to ditch those aerosol sprays.
4. Deodorize A Humidifier: When your humidifier starts to smell funky, place 3 -4 teaspoons of lemon juice into the water. It will remove the off odor and keep it smelling lemon fresh. Repeat every couple of weeks to keep the odor from returning.
5. Polish Chrome: If you’re having trouble removing mineral deposits from your chrome bath handles, rub the lemon rind over the chrome to make it shine. Rinse and dry with a soft cloth.
Read: Tips and Tricks To Remove Tarnish from Silver
6. Freshen Up The Refrigerator: After throwing out whatever is making your fridge smell nasty – grab some lemons. Freshen up the fridge by dabbing lemon juice on cotton balls or a clean, new sponge and leave it in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight. I like to place the cotton balls near the vents to help circulate the lemon smell even quicker.
7. Bleach Delicate Fabrics: Ordinary household bleach can be too harsh for delicates. Instead, soak your delicates in a mixture of lemon juice and baking soda for at least half an hour before washing.
8. Shine Up Aluminum: Get your aluminum pots and pans shiny by rubbing the cut side of half a lemon all over them and buff with a soft cloth.
9. Whiten Whites: Diluted or straight, lemon juice is an effective whitener.
10. Freshen Cutting Boards: Cutting boards can become odorous over time from cutting everything from raw meat to smelly garlic and onions. To freshen them and sanitize the board, rub a cut lemon all over the board or wash it in undiluted lemon juice.
Read: 9 Crazy Spring Cleaning Hacks
11. Make The Whole House Smell Terrific: Create your own room freshener by leaving lemon peels along with orange, cinnamon, or other spices simmering on the stove top.
12. Clean Brass: This hack will work on brass, copper, and stainless steel. Make a paste of lemon juice and salt (you can also substitute baking soda or cream of tartar for the salt) and coat the affected area. Let it sit for 5 minutes, and then wash with warm water, rinse and polish dry. Use the same mixture to clean stainless steel sinks.
13. Keep Insects Away: No need for ant traps or nasty bug sprays to rid your home of pests. First, squirt some lemon juice on door thresholds and windowsills. Then squeeze lemon juice into any hole or cracks where the ants are getting in. Finally, scatter small pieces of lemon rind around the perimeter of your home. Lemon is also effective against roaches and fleas. Mix the juice of four lemons along with the rinds with 1/2 gallon of water and wash your floors with it. They hate the smell and exit your house.
14. Deodorize Your Disposal: Toss some lemon or orange peels down the disposal to keep it smelling fresh and clean. Do this regularly to prevent any nasty odors to reappear.
15. Remove Underarm Stains: To remove unsightly underarm stains, simply scrub them with a mixture of equal parts lemon juice and water. Save on the dry cleaning by using this method!
Read: The Secrets of Getting Your Laundry from Hamper to Hanger
16. Boost Your Laundry Detergent: To remove rust and discolorations from cotton shirts and briefs, pour 1 cup of juice into the water during the wash cycle. The natural bleaching action of the lemons will remove the stains.
17. Rid Clothes of Mildew: If you find some of your clothes are stained with mildew, make a paste with lemon juice and salt and rub it on the affected area, then dry the clothes in sunlight. Repeat the process until the stain is gone. This also works on rust stains too.
18. Freshen Your Vacuum: Sometimes a vacuum bag can leave a weird smell in the house. You don’t want to replace it because it’s not full, but the smell has got to go. Add a squeeze of lemon juice to the bag to make it smell better and remove that old smell.
19. Clean Your Coffee Maker: Run a mixture of lemon juice and water through your coffee maker, once or a couple of times depending on how dirty your machine is, to cleanse all of its innerd’s. You can also wash the detachable parts in the same solution to remove any odors and stains.
These lemon cleaning hacks can be used all over the house to help with your spring cleaning or any regular cleaning. You’ll love how it does the job, and the fresh scent will leave your home smelling wonderful.
