sea salt Archives - Ducks 'n a Row

Guest post by July Minor

After squeezing a lemon, what do most of us do? Throw the peel away! We don’t really think about all the great ways we can put it to use.

There are interesting ways you can use peels in cleaning. All of them are easy, they don’t take much time or effort and are very effective. Here is how to apply citrus peels in cleaning.

Citrus Vinegar Cleaner Vinegar is known for its qualities of a natural cleaning product. The only disadvantage is its very strong smell which not many find pleasant. However, adding citrus peel to vinegar, reduces the smell of vinegar and gives it a nice fresh scent. And also increases the cleaning features of the substance.

Trash Bin Refreshing

How unpleasant is it to walk past a trash bin and feel a bad smell coming out of it? There is an easy solution – throw a few lemon peels in the trash bin and this will effectively kill the stink. After a while your trash bin will smell like lemons rather than garbage.

Polishing Chrome and SteelWant to clean metal? Use sea salt and citrus peels to scrub it and make it shine again.

Microwave CleaningLemon peels are a great natural microwave cleaner. Put some lemon peels in a bowl of water and put the bowl in a microwave. Heat the water and let it boil. Then wipe the condensation with a cloth and here you have a clean microwave.

Coffee Stains On Cups Put some lemon peel in a stained cup and add hot water. Let it sit like this for a couple of hours and then scrub the coffee stains. They will easily disappear.

Homemade Air FreshenerThere is an easy way to freshen up your home using citrus peels. All you have to do is simmer them together with some herbs of your choice. Orange peels and cinnamon make a great combination. This is a simple and very effective way to add a warm and lovely aromatic touch to your home.

Homemade PotpourriAnother easy and nice way to add something beautiful to your home would be to make potpourri. All you have to do is dry citrus peels and mix them with dry flowers or herbs. This will give extra fresh scent to your home and it also looks beautiful.

No More Ants Put pieces of lemon peel near door entrances or cracks and holes in the wall. Ants don’t fancy lemons, so this might be a good idea to try and get rid off insects.

Freshen Your FridgeSometimes when the smells of different foods in your fridge mix together, this creates a very unpleasant stink. Fortunately, it can be easily handled. Place a few citrus peels in your fridge and it will smell be fresh again.

Clean a Tea KettleTo clean chlorine deposits from your tea kettle, you should fill it with water and add lemon peels. Then boil it and when you turn it off, let it stay like that for an hour. Then dry it.

Clean a Coffee PotIf you want to clean your coffee pot, you could put lemon peels with ice and salt in it. Shake it for a minute and then empty and dry.

Disinfect a Cutting Board Lemon’s acidity is a great antibacterial remedy. Wash your cutting board, then scrub it with lemon peels, let it stay for a minute, then wash and dry it. And there you have a super clean bacteria-free board.

Next time before you throw away a citrus peel, remember how well you can use it to clean. It’s a natural product which is easy to get, easy to use and very effective.

Author Bio: July loves to write about cleaning and home improvement. She works as a coordinator at Shiny London and she has much knowledge to share with her readers.

More Cleaning Tips

Photo Credits:

Lemon, Lime and Orange by robinlou8 Flickr Creative Commons
Citrus Peels by hanspetermeyer.ca Flickr Creative Commons
Tea Pot from Stock Xchng