8 surprising cleaning uses for lemons

SINGAPORE – You have just squeezed the juice from a lemon half.

Do not throw that used fruit away.

Dip it into some baking soda and rub it onto the stains on your stone countertops and sinks.

It will prevent mould that is likely to build up in the minuscule cracks on the surface and remove any such growth that has already occurred.

However, do not use this method on delicate surfaces, such as marble or stainless steel.

You can also use lemon juice to whiten stained areas on light wood and plastic cutting boards.

To remove stains from such boards, slice a lemon in half, squeeze the juice onto the soiled surface and rub it in. Let the juice sit for 20minutes before rinsing it off.

If you want to cut the grease further when washing your dishes, add a teaspoon of lemon juice into the basin of suds and use this to wash your dishes.

As for lime scale that forms on taps and in kettles, I like to rub half a lemon over the taps and kettles. Then wipe them with a piece of damp cloth and the lime scale will come off easily.

Alternatively, squeeze the juice from a lemon into a kettle, fill the kettle with water and bring the water to the boil.

Those white stains inside will disappear like magic.

To brighten your whites while doing your laundry, add half a cup of lemon juice to the water in the washing machine during the rinse cycle for a normal-sized load.

Similarly, you can bring stained plastic ware back to new life if you rub lemon juice on the stains left behind by acidic food. Let the plastic ware dry, then wash it as usual.

And of course, we all know how to rub our hands with lemon juice after touching raw fish to neutralise the smell.

You can do the same thing after eating durians.

Source: Mind Your Body, The Straits Times

Category: Wellness and Complementary Therapies