With natural anti-bacterial properties, lemons are well-known for having far more uses than just cooking.
Their fruity acids make lemons the go-to solution to treat pesky skin problems, naturally clean surfaces in the home, and quickly disinfect anything.
Since they don’t contain any harsh chemicals, lemons can also help preserve food in a healthy way.
If you’re not stocked up on lemons already, here are 10 incredible ways they could change your life:
- DIY Deodorant: If your skin is sensitive to the harsh chemicals in most commercial deodorants, then try dabbing a little lemon juice underneath your armpits instead.
- Remove Armpit Stains: Nobody likes the embarrassment of walking around in yellow-stained t-shirts. But before you run out and buy some expensive stain cleaner, try this: mix equal parts water and lemon juice, gently rub into the stain, and let the piece of clothing air dry.
- Lighten Nails: Your nails may be yellow for a number of different reasons, but that doesn’t mean they have to stay that way. Simply mix 1 cup of water with 1 juiced lemon, soak your fingers in the solution for a few minutes, and rinse. That’s it!
- Clean Plastic Containers: There’s nothing grosser than smelling last week’s dinner in your clean Tupperware this week. To get rid of the lingering smell, just soak the container in a solution of equal parts lemon juice and water.
- Get Rid of Grease: Rid everything in your home of tough grease by placing ½ a lemon with salt over the greasy area. After letting the mixture sit for a few minutes, simply wipe it off with a clean towel. The grease should come right off!
- Polish Chrome/Stainless Steel: Sponges aren’t tough enough to effectively clean chrome and stainless steel surfaces, but scrubbing pads are too rough. Lemon rinds, on the other hand, are perfect! Just scrub the metal, lightly rinse the area, and dry it with a clean towel.
- Kill Weeds: Instead of spending way too much money on a pricey weed killer, soak those annoying weeds in lemon juice. This works just as effectively as store-bought weed cleaner, but without all those chemicals.
- Repel Ants/Pests: While we absolutely love a fresh lemon scent, ants, roaches, and moths hate citrus! To ward them off, fill a spray bottle with lemon juice and mist the solution around your home. ##MN_RESP##
- Preserve Food: To keep fruits and veggies from browning, squeeze a hint of lemon juice on them before storing.
- Refresh Withering Lettuce: When your lettuce starts to look like its wilting away, stick it in a bowl of ice water with lemon juice (about ½ a lemon) to bring it back to life.
Do you use lemon for anything else in your home? If so, tell us in the comments!
Photo Copyright © 2010 Troy Tolley/Flickr
