DIY Network

Cleaning With Lemon Juice Linda Cobb demonstrates the different uses for lemon juice in cleaning. From "Home Made Easy" episode DHME-116

Linda Cobb, the Queen of Clean® and DIY's Cleaning Made Easy expert, joins host Stephanie Lydecker to show you the different ways you can use lemon juice to clean countertops, clothes, brass and copper.

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The Queen shares several ways you can use lemons when cleaning.

Materials:

lemons
salt
cream of tartar
spoon
knife
water
clear plastic tubs for soaking
rubber gloves
aprons
towels
glass ramekins for ingredients (if needed)

	Figure A
	Figure B

Cleaning With Lemon Juice

• Cleaning laminate countertops. First, take a whole lemon and cut it in half. Squeeze lemon juice onto the counter. Using the lemon as a scrubber, work the juice over the counter. Leave the juice on stains until you see them disappear. Then, you can rinse the surface with water and dry it. The citric acid will quickly remove the stains. This should happen fairly quickly, but, tough stains may take longer.

  Note: Lemon juice from a bottle can be used in place of a real lemon if you prefer.

• Cutting boards. The same procedure works on your bread cutting boards. Rub the lemon onto the stains and let it sit. It will bleach the board, plus it disinfects at the same time!

• Cleaning copper. To clean copper, first cut the whole lemon in half and sprinkle salt (any kind—even sea salt) onto the lemon. Massage the lemon wedge onto the brass (figure A), squeezing juice as you go, until the tarnish is buffed off. As it stops working, add more salt to the lemon. Rinse well with water and let it dry.

  Note: It is important to keep your copper bottom pans clean because they redistribute the heat according to how clean they are on the bottom.

• Cleaning brass. If a piece is brass plated, it will be brass on one side and solid black on the other side. You never want to use lemon on anything that is brass plated—only solid brass. Brass plated items need to be cleaned very gently with an oil soap—never use anything acidic on it. Use the same method for cleaning solid brass that you use for copper—one half of a lemon with salt sprinkled on it and rub until it is clean. Rinse well with water.

• Removing rust from clothes. Put lemon juice on the rust stain and then sprinkle cream of tartar onto the top of the juice. Pat it in with your finger and let it sit on the stain until the rust is gone. The citric acid will take the rust right away. Some stains are tougher than others, but 15-30 minutes should work just find. Launder as usual.

• Bleaching white clothes with lemon juice. Mix 1/2 cup lemon juice (or use sliced lemons) and one gallon of really hot water together (figure B). Soak the clothes that need bleaching. Do not use this trick on silk. But, this is perfect for white socks and underwear—even white polyester shirts. This can sit out from an hour to overnight, depending on how badly the clothing needs bleaching. Once they soak, remove the clothing from the mix and pour the mix into the washing machine and wash as usual. You can't over-bleach using lemon juice.

• Getting stains out of Tupperware. Squeeze some lemon juice in the container and then add some baking soda. Use the lemon as a cleaning tool and work it in. If the stains are bad, you can let it sit overnight before you scrub the stains.

Note: Remember, don't use lemon juice bleach on any silk fabrics!

GUESTS :

Linda Cobb
The Queen of Clean®
Website: www.queenofclean.com