You may be using lemon juice, or a nice cut lemon half, to clean your home naturally in many ways already. With the natural cleaning and antimicrobial action of lemon juice and its components, alone or with other green cleaning agents, there are so many ways you can get even more out of lemons when it comes to your home. Here are a few ways we bet you haven’t heard of.
1. Paintbrushes – You can take those old paintbrushes with the hard bristles and make them new again. Take an old pot, and fill it with lemon juice – enough to submerge the bristles (but not the handles). Bring to a boil, and place the brushes in the pot so that the bristles are under the liquid. Lower the heat, and allow it to simmer for about 15 minutes. Remove the brushes and rinse them with lukewarm soapy water. Discard the liquid.
2. Paint from a glass – If you get paint on a window, use a soft cloth doused in fresh lemon juice to wipe it up. If it resists, daub the lemon juice on the paint drip, and when it is almost dry, you should be able to wipe off both the juice and paint.
3. Clean the grill – After you are done grilling, and while the barbecue is still hot, cut a lemon in half, and skewer it through the skin on a long fork utensil. Use the exposed fruit to scrub and degrease the hot grill.
4. Scrub that cheese grater – Grating your own cheese is the best way to avoid unnecessary packaging, but then you’re left with a grater that is so hard to clean…or is it? Just cut a lemon in half, and use the flesh side to scrub the grating surface on both sides. The lemon’s acids will help to break up any left over food bits, including proteins and fats. When you are done, rinse it thoroughly in hot water and dry.
5. Make dingy grout bright again – Dingy grout in the kitchen or bathroom can bring down the ambiance of the whole room. Mix about equal parts lemon juice and baking soda to create a fairly thick paste. Use an old toothbrush to apply the paste over the dingy or stained grout. Let it sit for about 20 minutes, and then rinse off.
6. Make a dusting spray – Make a spray to dust furniture, appliances, and whatever else you want to lightly clean. Boil 3 cups of water, and add two tea bags. Steep until the tea is cool. Add the juice of one lemon, and stir together. Transfer the mixture to a clean spray bottle. To use, spray it on a clean dusting cloth, and then dust where you like.
7. Solution for musty towels – Are your towels getting an unpleasant musty odor? Wash with your usual detergent, adding 1/2 cup of bottled lemon juice for top-loading machines, and 1/4 cup for front loaders.
