10 ways to clean your kitchen using lemon juice

High in citric acid and full of antibacterial properties, lemon juice is one of the best all-natural cleaners. From cleaning the oven to restoring your sink's shine, it's an effective, affordable and eco-friendly way to clean the home.

To help you tap into the cleaning power of lemon, the team at Tap Warehouse have compiled a list of the best all-natural solutions that will work wonders in your kitchen. Take a look at them below...

1. Clean your oven using the juice

Lemon is a natural degreasing agent, meaning it's brilliant to help clean the oven. To give it a go, simply cut your lemon in half and use the pulp to apply the lemon juice across all surfaces of the oven. Then, leave it sitting for 30 minutes before using a damp cloth to remove any grease and grime. You'll be amazed at the results!

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2. Clean your microwave

Looking to restore your microwave's shine? For this, fill a microwaveable bowl with water until it's half full. Next, slice half a lemon and squeeze it into the water before placing the lemon in the bowl too.

Once you've done this, put the bowl in the microwave for 10 minutes (this will make it easier to remove typical stains and grease that can collect inside the appliance). Afterwards, let the bowl stand for five minutes and then wipe down the inside with a clean cloth.

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3. Descale your kettle

Using lemon juice to descale your kettle is a popular hack shared by many online — and it really does work wonders.

To try this yourself, Tap Warehouse explain: "Add half lemon juice and half cold water to your kettle, fill until it is almost full. Leave to stand for an hour so the natural acid from the lemon juice can breakdown the limescale. Once an hour has passed boil the kettle and the limescale should fade away."

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4. Clean your sink with lemon juice and baking soda

If you find yourself with a dirty sink, lemon juice is just the ticket to getting it looking as good as new. First of all, create a paste with baking soda and lemon juice. Then, get a cleaning cloth and scrub the mixture into the sink, targeting any specifically dirty areas. Thanks to the lemon's citric acid and the natural abrasiveness of the baking soda, you'll notice your sink looking (and smelling) wonderful.

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5. Clean your pots and pans

"It can be so frustrating when grease just won't budge from your pots and pans," add the team at Tap Warehouse. "But if you squeeze lemon juice onto the offending pot or pan with a little bit of washing up liquid, then the acid from the lemon juice will do its magic to banish the grease for good."

Why not give this cleaning hack a go?

6. Banish smells from your wooden chopping board

Wooden cutting boards need to be kept clean, especially as they can harbour lingering smells from all kinds of food. If you're struggling the banish bad scents, sprinkle a thin layer of salt across the chopping board, cut a lemon in half, and scrub for two to three minutes. Once you've done this, soak the chopping board in hot water with the juice from the other half of the lemon for five minutes. Leave to dry and then use again.

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7. Get your fridge smelling fresh

Vanquish smells of food in your fridge by placing a few slices of lemon on a plate and leaving them to sit inside. Cleverly, the slices will soak up any bad odours ensuring your fridge smells as fresh as can be. Make sure you swap out the slices every few weeks.

8. Clean your utensils and appliances

It can often be a challenge to remove stubborn stains from steel appliances and utensils. Thanks to a lemon's powerful natural acid, it can quickly remove heat stains and streaks from stainless steel.

To do this, simply grab a cleaning cloth and soak it with freshly squeezed lemon juice. Then, scrub your item with the cloth until all of the marks have vanished. Continue this process if some stains are more stubborn than others.

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9. Freshen up your dishwasher with lemon juice

Cleaning your dishwasher with lemon can work wonders. All you need to do is place a cup of lemon juice on the bottom rack of your dishwasher and run the rinse cycle. Simple and effective, it will leave your dishwasher smelling and looking sparkly clean.

10. Banish countertop stains with lemon juice

"We all know how easy it is to get stains on our kitchen countertops and how difficult they can be to scrub away," explain the team.

"Try squeezing lemon juice on top of the stains and let it sit for a couple of minutes. As lemons are acidic don't let this sit for more than two minutes. Add baking soda on top and use a damp cloth to scrub the stain away. However, don’t try this on a marble countertop as it could etch it."

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