How to Clean Using Lemon Juice

Lemons make a great cleaner.

Clean with lemon juice to avoid the harmful chemicals in commercial cleaners. According to greenlivingtips.com, 5 percent of a lemon is acid. That acid kills bacteria. For the best quality lemon juice, squeeze it at home. The best juice comes from completely yellow, plump lemons. Before juicing, heat the lemon in the microwave for about 10 seconds. Roll the lemon in your hand or on the counter to soften it. Squeeze the lemon juice out or use a juicer. Store the lemon juice in an airtight container in the refrigerator until it's time to clean.

Things You'll Need

• 2 lemons
• 1 spray bottle
• Warm water
• Rag
• Bowl
• Spoon

Instructions

1. Juice the lemon. Wear gloves while juicing and cleaning if you have any cuts. Remove any seeds or pulp chunks from the juice.

2. Make a 50/50 mixture of warm water and lemon juice in a mixing bowl. The water should be a little warmer than room temperature.

3. Pour the mixture into a spray bottle. Shake the spray bottle to mix any lemon bits that sunk to the bottom.

4. Spray a surface with lemon juice. Test the mixture on a hard-to-see spot to make sure the lemon juice doesn't strip away color or react badly with the surface.

5. Wipe the sprayed area with a rag. If the spot still exists, spray it again. Allow the mixture to sit for a minute and then wipe.

6. Wipe the nozzle with water. Rinse the rag. Store the cleaner in the refrigerator. Lemon juice keeps for up to a month.

Tips & Warnings

• Combine lemon juice and baking soda to clean copper and chrome. Use straight lemon juice to remove lime.

• Rinse the spray bottle after the cleaner is gone. Put clean water in the bottle and squeeze the nozzle several times to rinse it.

References

• 24 handy lemon tips

Resources

• Essential cooking tools