How To Green Your Cleaning Routine
6 Uses for Lemons and Vinegar for Eco-Friendly Cleaning
Jul 6, 2009
Lemons have many amazing natural qualities. Besides being refreshing and a great addition to any meal, lemons have some amazing properties when combined with other natural cleaning products can work miracles to clean every room of your home. According to Lowes.com, here are some great alternatives to conventional cleaning when you have a bunch of (organic) lemons to the rescue.Please note: with lemon juice, always test a small section if you are unsure of the effect of the acidic qualities of the juice.
Because lemons have are acidic, they can add a disinfecting element to your cleaning routine.
Lemon Juice Tips
- Clean your counter tops with lemon juice by simple squeezing a small amount and letting it sit for a few minutes (not too long, as the acid packs a punch). After a few minutes, sprinkle on some baking soda and scrub the stain away.
- Every once in a while, the sink drain can build up some gunk and get that ever lovely scent of grime and disposal sludge. The best way to get rid of the smell quickly is to chop up a lemon and send a few pieces down the garbage disposal along with some hot water.
- Another hidden talent of lemon juice is its wonderful ability to bleach materials naturally. For those nasty yellowing spot on linens and clothing which normally require bleach, simply drizzle on some lemon juice and let them dry naturally in the sunshine. That's white minus the nasty chemicals of bleach.
Vinegar To The Rescue
Tip for cleaning with vinegar: Cut the smell of vinegar by adding a bit of lemon juice.
Vinegar has an amazing ability to dazzle your meals as well as clean a myriad of surfaces around your home. Here are a few easy cleaning tips for saving money and cleaning with distilled white vinegar.
Vinegar Tips
- Simply soak a washcloth in undiluted distilled white vinegar and give the counter top a good rinse. Once the initial smell of the vinegar has evaporated, the smell left behind will be fresh and clean.
- Every oven around the world that gets used on a regular basis gets blessed with that lovely film of sticky grime. Hours of elbow grease will get it off...maybe. Instead, open the over door and get a nice wet layer of undiluted distilled white vinegar onto the grime. Let it sit open for approximately 15 minutes then wipe off the grime with a sturdy sponge.
- This tip is especially for coffee lovers. A daily cup of coffee can take it's toll on a coffee machine by leaving white deposits from the water used to make the daily brew. Every 2-3 months (or as needed) fill the water tower in the coffee machine with one cup of distilled white vinegar and let the coffee machine run a full cycle. Run two more cycles with just water after the vinegar has gone through. This should leave the coffee machine sparkly clean.
Please note: with lemon juice, always test a small section if you are unsure of the affect of the acidic qualities of the juice.
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