Did you squeeze the juice out of half a lemon and now you have a juiced-out lemon half with some guts and great smell? It would be a shame to just throw it out. Here’s what to do with it…
Clean with your lemon! You can use it to clean dishes, grimy pans, bathroom tile…just be sure your dirty surface is nonreactive (do not use a lemon to clean cast iron) and nonporous (do not use a lemon to clean nonlaminated marble or limestone). We used a lemon recently on a nonstick pan we didn’t want to use a scrubby sponge on, and it worked very nicely!
If you don’t like to use chemical cleaners, sprinkle baking soda on your nonporous surface (to be ultra-safe, test an inconspicuous area before using), and buff with your halved lemon shell. For tougher messes or burnt-on gunk, dip the lemon half in salt—this makes it a more abrasive scrubber.
After your cleanup, cut your lemon rind up and chuck a small bit at a time in your sink disposal. When you run your disposal, your sink drain will smell fresh and clean.
Thanks to Julie Edelman, author of The Accidental Housewife: How to Overcome Housekeeping Hysteria One Task at a Time (Ballantine) for help with this tip.
More ways to make cleaning a breeze…
- Clean Your House in Minutes
- 26 Household Tricks That Save You Money
- Top 10 Germy Spots in Your Kitchen…and How to Keep Them Clean
