Lemons are super useful and not just for cooking. Here are my top ten tips for using lemons at home covering everything from naturally cleaning your chopping board to facial cleansing and lots more.
Lemons have to be one of Mother Nature’s most useful fruits for all sorts of reasons. Their acidic content makes them a veritable powerhouse in the cleaning stakes, and their sparky taste adds a new dimension to so many wonderful dishes.
Here are my Top Ten Tips For Using Lemons.
Clean your microwave with lemons
- To clean a microwave the natural way just put 3 tablespoons of lemon juice into 300ml of water in a jug and pop this into your microwave.
Now microwave on high for 5 minutes, then just wipe round the insides with a cloth. This lemon combo will remove all those nasty greasy and sticky bits.
Lemon juice for veggies
2. Keep your veggies white when cooking. Potatoes and cauliflower can often look a bit greyed after boiling. To avoid this simply add a tablespoon of lemon juice to the water at the start of cooking to keep them bright and white.
Lemon juice also helps to keep apples and celeriac from browning when using them in salads etc.
Natural lemon wood cleaner
3. Another great way to use lemons as a natural cleaner at home is to wipe down your wooden chopping board and wooden kitchen table and counters with a used lemon.
The juices from the cut lemon that you are rubbing into the surfaces will freshen and disinfect the wood.
Natural lemon skin freshener
4. Using lemon juice as a natural beauty aid has been done for centuries.
When open pores and blackheads threaten deal with them by dabbing with a little lemon juice on a cotton wool ball. It will draw out impurities and tighten those pores.
Lemon fly deterrant
5. You can use lemons as a natural fly deterrent to get those pesky things to buzz off!
Simply cut two lemons in half and stud them with cloves then leave the lemons in a bowl on the kitchen table to help keep flies out of the room.
Green cleaning with lemons
6. Here is one of the best ways to use lemons at home as a natural cleaning agent.
Simply squeeze every last drop of juice out of your lemons and mix with some bicarbonate of soda to make the most amazingly powerful scouring powder.
This natural lemon scouring powder is tough on dirt and bacteria but gentle on your surfaces. Use in the kitchen and loo.
Lemons for nail care
7. Another natural lemon beauty aid is to keep your nails in tip-top condition by mixing the juice of half a lemon with 200ml of warm water and soaking your nails for 5 minutes.
This will keep your nails white and clean. Rub the peel on the nails and cuticle area too as the essential oils are really beneficial.
Use lemons to remove sweat stains
8. Got those telltale yellowing marks on the underarms of a white shirt or T-shirt? Make a natural sweat stain remover with lemons.
Simply make a 50/50 mix of lemon juice and water and scrub the area prior to normal washing. Works a treat.
Lemon skin softener
9. Get your skin holiday ready by using lemons as a natural skin softener. Rub elbows and knees and heels with a used lemon, the juice will help soften the tough skin there.
Using lemons for weight loss
10. Lemons have been proven to help in the battle of the bulge. You should drink the juice of half a lemon in a glass of water every morning 15 minutes before breakfast.
Drinking natural lemon water helps curb the appetite and clears the system.
So there you are folks, my top ten uses for lemons in the home. But my favourite use for lemons is of course its power to enliven that perfect partnership of Gin and Tonic – Cheers!
Looking for more great natural home hints? Then check these out before you go;
Great uses for sugar without eating it
Top ten tips for using honey at home
If you are interested in home tips then check out my Home Hints section for lots more inspiration.
Finally, if you do try this recipe don’t forget to leave a comment/star rating below as I just love to hear from readers. Want more Larder Love? Then follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter and sign up for my newsletter too of course.
Great hints there, Karon.
My favourite use for lemons is removing rust from vintage linen :-
* Squeeze lemon juice directly onto the rust spots, enough to wet the fabric well.
* Cover with salt, place item in the sun until completely dry. The hotter the sun the more efficiently this seems to work.
* Rinse out in warm water.
* If the rust remains, you can give this multiple treatments, but do wait for it to dry between treatments to get the full strength of the lemon juice each time.
* Once you are satisfied, rinse article again then gently wash in a mild detergent, such as Lux flakes, and allow to dry in the sun.
Susan
That’s great Susan, I’ll certainly add that one to my list.
Thanks
Kx