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Tag Archives: Lemon

The Sweet and Sour Side of Lemons – 8 Practical Uses

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Lemons

The acid in lemon juice removes dirt and rust stains. It’s especially effective when mixed with salt, which makes “an excellent scouring paste,” says Karyn Siegel-Maier, author of The Naturally Clean Home ($9,amazon.com).

Price: About 50 cents a lemon.
Use Them to Clean Your…

Counter tops: Dip the cut side of a lemon half in baking soda to tackle counter tops; wipe with a wet sponge and dry. Don’t use on delicate stone, like marble, or stainless steel (it may discolor).

Cutting boards: To remove tough food stains from light wood and plastic cutting boards, slice a lemon in half, squeeze onto the soiled surface, rub, and let sit for 20 minutes before rinsing.

Dishes: To increase the grease-cutting power of your dish washing detergent, add a teaspoon of lemon juice.

Faucets: Combat lime scale by rubbing lemon juice onto the taps and letting it sit overnight. Wipe with a damp cloth.

Garbage disposal: Cut a lemon in half, then run both pieces through the disposal. “The lemon cleans it and makes it smell great,” says Linda Mason Hunter, a coauthor of Green Clean ($13.50, amazon.com).

Grout: Spilled morning coffee on your tile counter top or back-splash? Here’s how to tackle grout stains: Add lemon juice to 1 or 2 teaspoons cream of tartar (an acidic salt that acts as a natural bleaching agent) to make a paste. Apply with a toothbrush, then rinse.

Hands: When you touch raw fish, the smell can linger on your fingers. Rub your hands with lemon juice, which will neutralize the odor.

Laundry: To brighten whites, add 1/2 cup lemon juice to the rinse cycle for a normal-size load.

Plastic food-storage containers: To bleach stains from tomato soup and other acidic foods on dishwasher-safe items, rub lemon juice on the spots, let dry in a sunny place, then wash as usual.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Do you have green or Eco-Friendly tips and tricks?  We know you do, send them to us for an opportunity to be a Guest Blogger.  What better way to build your community by sharing your knowledge?

1st Green Clean – A Leader in Home Management Services
Give the gift of a healthier environment.

Imagine how much better you will feel to have a pristine and healthy working environment and all you did was make a phone call.  1st Green Clean can transform your life.  1st Green Clean is a professional firm here to manage with a superior level of detail to the cleanliness of your business.  You can also brag to your customers about your commitment to their health, office experience, and supporting the environment by going chemical free.  We work with a goal of exceeding your expectations and increasing your value.

P.S. Hurry! Our services are exclusive and strictly limited. Don’t miss out!

Call now! 866-905-9002 ext. 104

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10 Ingredients In Homemade Cleaners

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By Sarah Aguirre, About.com Guide

Baking Soda: Baking soda works as a mild abrasive, helping to gently scrub things that need to be scrubbed, but not scratched. Baking soda also works well to remove smelly odors, making it a prime candidate for a bathroom and kitchen cleaner. Baking soda also works to removes stains, and can be used to help soften laundry.

Borax: Borax is a laundry booster that can be used in a few different ways around the house. Borax is actually a natural mineral, but can be an irritant on skin, and shouldn’t be ingested. Borax can be used as a stain remover and a substitute for bleach. Borax can also be used to repel insects, although care should be used around pets and small children.

Castile Soap: Castile soap is an oil based soap, that can be used to clean almost anything in your home. Diluted liquid castile soap can be used as an all-purpose cleaner. Liquid castile soap is an excellent degreaser.

Cornstarch: Cornstarch can be used as a starching solution for clothing. Cornstarch also absorbs oils and greases, making it a great help in the laundry room or for stains on counter tops.
Essential Oils: Essential oils help add a pleasing scent to homemade cleaning solutions. Be careful when using essential oils. A little goes a long way. There are people with high sensitivities to essential oil fragrances.

Lemons and Lemon Juice: Lemons can be great for scrubbing copper bottom pots. The juice works to clean and shine the pans. Lemon juice is a natural bleach, especially when combined with the sun. Lemon juice is a natural degreaser, which comes in handy with dishes.

Salt: Salt is an abrasive solution for scrubbing. Use salt to get rid of rust and mildew. Salt also works to help polish copper and silver.

Toothpaste: Toothpaste works as a very mild abrasive, similar to soft scrubbing gel solutions. Toothpaste can be used to clean silver. It can also be used to remove stains on white clothing, tennis shoes, and in many other places where a light scrubbing is needed.

Vinegar: Vinegar can be used as a fabric softener in the rinse cycle of your washing machine. Vinegar makes a great all-purpose cleaner. Mopping with vinegar is an inexpensive way to keep your floors clean. Vinegar is a great stain remover. Vinegar carefully combined with baking soda, makes a great foaming toilet cleaner.

Hydrogen Peroxide: Hydrogen peroxide can be used as a disinfectant. It also is one of the most effective blood stain removers.With all of these ingredients, be careful about mixing cleaners together. Use new clean bottles. Follow storage guidelines for cleaners. Rinse thoroughly, and always follow instructions.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Do you have green or Eco-friendly tips and tricks?  We know you do, send them to us for an opportunity to be a Guest Blogger.  What better way to build your community by sharing your knowledge?

1st Green Clean – A Leader in Home Management Services
Give the gift of a healthier home.

1st Green Clean prides itself as a premier leader in residential home management services. 1st Green Clean is a luxury service provider we accept a limited number of appointments, we have an exclusive and limited clientele. When you invest in a home, you want a service provider that invests time in managing your home service needs, comprehensive consultation, and the security of reliable service.

P.S. Hurry! Our services are exclusive and strictly limited. Don’t miss out!

Call now! 866-905-9002 ext. 104

How may we service you?: http://www.1greenclean.com/our-services.html

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Clean Everything Lemon-Lime Spray

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Lemons-and-Limes

 

 

By Karen Peltier

This uplifting all-purpose spray combines the power of three effective green cleaning ingredients – lemons, limes, and vinegar – and it can be used virtually anywhere in your home from the bathroom to the kitchen to the windows. Just breathe in its fresh citrusy scent and you’ll be inspired to get some serious cleaning done in your home! Not only that, but with its safe, eco-friendly, and cost-effective ingredients that clean and disinfect naturally, you won’t mind using it generously, since it’s so easy to whip up another batch!

 

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • 1 cup distilled white vinegar
  • 1 cup water

Preparation:

  1. Juice the lemon and lime and strain the juice through a natural cloth or unbleached coffee filter into a measuring cup to remove all the pulp. Otherwise, the pulp could clog the sprayer.
  2. Add the lemon juice, lime juice, vinegar, and water to a spray bottle. Shake well.
  3. Spray it on whatever needs cleaning and let it sit for a few minutes to allow mineral deposits to loosen, grease to dissolve, grime to lift, and surfaces to be disinfected.
  4. Rinse well with water unless you’re doing quick cleaning, or cleaning mirrors or windows, then simply buff dry with a clean soft cloth for a streak-free shine.

How does this cleaner work? The low pH (i.e., 2.0 pH for lemon and 2.2 pH for vinegar) and acid content of the citrus and vinegar (i.e., citric and acetic acid, respectively) make it an inhospitable environment for many microorganisms to grow. So it is great at combatting germs and mold while you clean!

In addition, the high acidity level of lemons, limes, and vinegar help loosen mineral deposits, such as lime and calcium, and dissolve soap scum due to their alkaline nature. Plus, this cleaner helps remove stains, such as coffee and tea, so it is especially great for cleaning kitchen sinks and more.

1st Green Clean
Bladensburg, MD 20710

 

Toll Free Phone and Fax: (866) 905-9002 ext. 104#

 

Join 1st Green Clean on Facebook for all your natural and eco-friendly cleaning tips.  Don’t forget to follow our Blog.

 

Come and see all 1st Green Clean  has to offer to shorten your to-do-list and add hours to your day.

 

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The Sweet and Sour Side of Lemons

by 2 Comments

lemons-bowl-b_300

 

Lemons

The acid in lemon juice removes dirt and rust stains. It’s especially effective when mixed with salt, which makes “an excellent scouring paste,” says Karyn Siegel-Maier, author ofThe Naturally Clean Home ($9,amazon.com).

Price: About 50 cents a lemon.
Use Them to Clean Your…

Countertops: Dip the cut side of a lemon half in baking soda to tackle countertops; wipe with a wet sponge and dry. Don’t use on delicate stone, like marble, or stainless steel (it may discolor).

Cutting boards: To remove tough food stains from light wood and plastic cutting boards, slice a lemon in half, squeeze onto the soiled surface, rub, and let sit for 20 minutes before rinsing.

Dishes: To increase the grease-cutting power of your dishwashing detergent, add a teaspoon of lemon juice.

Faucets: Combat lime scale by rubbing lemon juice onto the taps and letting it sit overnight. Wipe with a damp cloth.

Garbage disposal: Cut a lemon in half, then run both pieces through the disposal. “The lemon cleans it and makes it smell great,” says Linda Mason Hunter, a coauthor of Green Clean ($13.50, amazon.com).

Grout: Spilled morning coffee on your tile countertop or backsplash? Here’s how to tackle grout stains: Add lemon juice to 1 or 2 teaspoons cream of tartar (an acidic salt that acts as a natural bleaching agent) to make a paste. Apply with a toothbrush, then rinse.

Hands: When you touch raw fish, the smell can linger on your fingers. Rub your hands with lemon juice, which will neutralize the odor.

Laundry: To brighten whites, add 1/2 cup lemon juice to the rinse cycle for a normal-size load.

Plastic food-storage containers: To bleach stains from tomato soup and other acidic foods on dishwasher-safe items, rub lemon juice on the spots, let dry in a sunny place, then wash as usual.

 

 

1st Green Clean
Bladensburg, MD 20710

 

Toll Free Phone and Fax: (866) 905-9002 ext. 104#

 

Join 1st Green Clean on Facebook for all your natural and eco-friendly cleaning tips.  Don’t forget to follow our Blog.

 

Come and see all 1st Green Clean  has to offer to shorten your to-do-list and add hours to your day.

This gallery contains 1 photo.