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Cleaning With Lemon Juice
Lemons are a natural
disinfectant, stain remover, and they're wonderful at polishing
metal. Best of all, they're inexpensive and eco-friendly. Several
examples follow:
Cleaning laminate countertops: Cut a whole
lemon in half; squeeze the juice onto the counter. Using the lemon
as a scrubber, work the juice over the stains. Leave the juice on
until the stains disappear then rinse with water and dry. The
citric acid will quickly remove the stains. Bottled lemon juice can
be substituted for a fresh lemon.
Cutting
boards: The same procedure works on cutting boards.
Rub the lemon onto the stains and let it sit until the stains are
gone. The lemon will also disinfect the board at the same time.
Cleaning copper: Cut a lemon in half and
sprinkle salt (any kind - even sea salt) onto the lemon. Massage
the lemon wedge onto the brass, squeezing the juice out until the
tarnish is buffed off. As it stops working, add more salt to the
lemon. Rinse well with water and let dry. It is important to keep
copper bottom pans clean because they distribute the heat according
to how clean they are on the bottom.
Cleaning brass: If a piece is brass plated,
it will be brass on one side and solid black on the other side.
Never use lemon on anything that is brass plated - only on solid
brass. Brass plated items need to be cleaned very gently with an
oil soap - never use anything acidic on them. Use the same method
for cleaning solid brass as for copper - one half of a lemon with
salt sprinkled on it, and rub until it is clean. Rinse well with
water.
Removing rust from clothes: Put lemon juice
on the rust stain and then sprinkle cream of tartar on top of the
juice. Rub the solution in and let it sit on the stain until the
rust is gone. The citric acid will take the rust off. Some stains
are tougher than others, but 15 to 30 minutes should work just
fine. Launder as usual.
Bleaching white clothes with lemon juice: Mix
1/2 cup lemon juice (or sliced lemons) with one gallon of very hot
water. Soak the clothes in the solution. Do not use for silk; it is
best for cotton and polyester. Let the clothes soak for at least an
hour to overnight, depending on how badly the clothing needs
bleaching. Remove the clothing from the mix, pour the mix into the
washing machine and wash as usual. It's impossible to over-bleach
using lemon juice.
Getting
stains out of Tupperware: Squeeze lemon juice in the
container and then add baking soda. Use the lemon as a cleaning
tool and work it in. If the stains are bad, let it sit overnight
before scrubbing the stains.
Source: DIY network.