Recently, I’ve got an obsession with lemon – be it lemon-flavored biscuits, lemon lime juice, or cleaning my kitchenware and trusty hot water airpot.
Intrigued by how LEMONS can come into use so often and so handily, I decided to compile a list of these 10 handy tips and uses for lemons.
Additionally, the focus today will be on using lemons to clean your KITCHEN and related stuff. All naturally and in a logical, lemon-saving fashion!
Hopefully, as you are walking through Sheng Shiong or Cold Storage, you get to pick up a couple of lemons today and find this list practical and helpful:
1) Create a spray to clean windows and glass
To begin, cut a lemon into half.
Then, squeeze out a few drops into your spray bottle. You can buy empty spray bottles easily at D.I.Y stores, hardware stores, supermarts or even online on Shopee/Amazon/Lazada.
MEIDE Cleaning Team recommends 4-6 drops in 1 cup of water (about 150ml). Swirl well and use it to get rid of stains over your glass, mirror or window! Remember to use a microfiber cloth or squeegee to avoid scratching glass.
P.S. you can find even more window-cleaning tips here
2) Disinfect chopping boards and wooden utensils
First, wash up your kitchen tools as usual including the chopping board and utensils. Since your lemon is still pretty juicy, squeeze 5-10 drops over your chopping boards and wooden utensils.
Spread it out using a sponge, scrub, cloth, or the lemon itself.
Leave the juice for 10 minutes, then rinse off with hot water. Viola – you have just disinfected the items in a natural and refreshing way!
3) Clean your microwave (or oven) and do away with odors with lemons
Mix 6-8 parts of water with 1 part of lemon juice, in an oven or microwave-appropriate container.
Place this container in the oven or microwave and turn on the heat/microwave it for a short while, until you see the solution boiling and steam floating up.
Stop the oven/microwave but leave the door closed to let the steam work its magic for 5 minutes.
Then, get rid of the solution and container and wipe down your oven or microwave with microfibre cloths and warm water. Now, expect a sparkling and pleasant-smelling oven and microwave ready for use!
4) Use lemons to clean, polish and shine more cookware and countertops
Yeah! Whether it be aluminum products, stainless steel, ceramic, marble or other metals, you can use lemons to clean and beautify them.
For the metal materials, simply use the lemon that has been cut into half, and rub over the metal surface thoroughly. The layer of lemon juice will remove germs, dirt, stains and nasty smells. Leave the cookware to sit for 5-10 minutes.
Next, use the rind of lemons to rub over the metal surfaces. This will enhance the shine of the cooking appliances!
In fact, you can even sprinkle some table salt over the lemon before rubbing the lemon over the surfaces and it will amplify the lemons’ effects.
However, for marble, porcelain and ceramic surfaces, be careful not to leave this solution for too long. The citric acid in lemon juice can be a double-edged sword and damage delicate surfaces if left for too long. We recommend 5 minutes for these products.
Lastly, be sure to rinse off all lemon juice, bits and rind with warm water and buff with a clean cloth before storing the cookware.
5) Remove stains from tupperware and dishes
Depending on how bad the stains are, you can choose two methods to remove stains with lemons.
First up you can squeeze in entire lemon or lemons to fill the tupperware in question. Toss in the rinds too for added results. Leave the solution to sit for anywhere between 30 minutes to 3 hours.
Secondly, you can fill up a large container with lemon juice and mix in the rinds. Then, you can place all the tupperware and dishes that you wish to remove stains from into this large container.
Either way, the acidity of lemons will aid in the stain removal process. Be sure to wear protective gloves especially if you have sensitive skin.
Finally, rinse off the lemon juice with warm water and sponge. Stains would thus be gone or more readily removed henceforth.
6) Remove rust and limescale from your taps and faucets naturally with lemons
Alright, with our list of cleaning tips by now, you should be pretty handy with lemons!
Indeed, there are so many things you can do with lemons. So, save your powerful bleaches and artificial cleaning solutions for when you really need them, such as when natural acids like lemons and vinegar still fail to get your desired results.
But that’s not all. You can even remove rust and limescale from the kitchen tap or toilet faucets and knobs. How?
Simply cut the lemons into halves, and rub the lemons over the rust or limescale portions. For extra oomph, sprinkle rock salt onto the halved lemons before rubbing them.
Leave the layer of juice on the affected areas for 15 to 30 minutes. Then, rub off with microfibre cloths and warm water.
Enjoy the citrus scents whilst cleaning up and say hello to shiny faucets and taps with nice reflective appearances again!
7) Freshen up your fridge, floor and ambience all at once with lemons
Too good to be true?
We couldn’t believe it too, until we tried it out.
Place lemons, whole or cut in your fridge. Or, place a cup of lemon juice. On top of freshening up your fridge, the lemon zest also chases away insects (see below for details).
Moreover, you can even place lemons in your kitchen cupboards and drawers for its beneficial properties to work there. Cut lemons should be replaced within 1 day tops. Uncut lemons can be kept for days or even weeks.
Subsequently, if you don’t want to waste the lemons, use them to clean the floor and baseboards. To do this, mix your remaining lemon juices with white distilled vinegar and clean water ( 1:1:1 or 1:1:2 ratios all work well), and dip in your cloth or mop. Basically, you can use the solution to clean the kitchen or toilet floor, corners, and baseboards.
Rinsing through with clean water again is optional, although recommended especially for those with sensitive skin.
Trust us, the after-effects are amazing both on the feet, eyes and nose!
8) Get rid of mold and mildew, and clean up the grout
Again, don up your gloves because mold and grout cleaning is never an easy chore.
Squeeze undiluted lemon juice over the affected areas. For badly affected areas, you can even mix in equal parts of vinegar. For stronger abrasiveness, you can sprinkle salt or baking powder on the areas beforehand. Be warned, fizzling or popping may occur if you do so. It is normal and expected.
Leave the solution over the grout and moldy areas for at least 5-10 minutes.
From experience, we can tell you that plenty of lemons and juice may be required if you are covering a large area of mold and mildew. So prepare adequate stocks!
Also, prepare toothbrushes, scrubs with handles, and sponges. This will make your life much easier and efficient when doing the grout cleaning, floor cleaning and mold cleaning.
On the bright side, cleaning up mold and the grout between tiles is much more nice-smelling compared to using artificial bleach!
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9) Capitalize on the all-natural bactericidal and pesticidal capabilities of lemon
Well, in layman terms, we just mean use lemons to chase away insects, pests and bad bugs!
How to use lemons as pesticides or sanitizers? Honestly, there is no best method. Feel free to showcase your creativity here.
You can place lemon halves over the areas where ants, fleas, cockroaches or lizards tend to appear. Alternatively, you can squeeze lemon juices over window sills or ledges or nooks and crannies of your kitchen and toilet.
You can sit lemon juice in tiny cups around the house, or even utilize the spray bottle that you created for window and mirror cleaning to sprinkle over wide surfaces.
All in all, using any particular method works purely because of the citrus in lemons. The pH and lemon scents naturally kill germs and chase away insects nearby. What are you waiting for?
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10) Deodorize your garbage and drains with leftover lemons and rinds
What is so amazing about lemons is that they never stop giving.
Even till they are used up, we can still throw whatever is remaining of the lemons, rind, skin or part thereof, into the garbage and drain.
There, the lemon continues to contribute whatever they have left of them. Be it the remnant juices, lingering lemon aroma, or lemon oils, they will deodorize the kitchen drain odors and neutralize the garbage funk.
We hope that everything we have here has greatly helped you to enhance your cleaning knowledge and skills!
Thank you, you wonderful lemon!
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