With its unmistakable citrus scent, the bright yellow lemon is incredibly versatile. It has long been known for its usefulness as a preservative and flavouring, but it also has tremendous potential in the kitchen, in the garden, as a beauty product, for health benefits, for pet care and as a natural cleaning product. Any part of the lemon can be used; the juice is rich in fruit acids and natural sugars, and it has been used for centuries as a treatment for chills and coughs, and to relieve sunburn and skin rashes.
See below for todays “Top 5 Tips” for use with lemons.
#Tip 1 – Cleaning; Bacteria
Almost all detergents and cleaning materials for general households are costly and filled with chemicals. The humble lemon for many of these toxic household cleaning substances is a natural, organic, environmentally friendly obvious solution. Lemons are an amazingly powerful cleaning tool that can be used in the home for a large array of specific chores. They’re only just a fraction of the price and so much better for your well-being. But they do smell awesome!
When you want to destroy bacteria without cleaning up the contamination left by the majority of cleaning products, why not use a lemon? The acids in lemon juice kill off the bacteria which do not live in an acidic environment for long. Kitchen food preparation surfaces, including chopping boards and sinks, as well as bathroom sinks and surfaces, can be disinfected with lemon juice. The juice naturally kills the bacteria, and leaves a fresh fragrance.
#Tip 2 – Laundry; Whitening
These can be seen as you walk through the supermarket – stain removers, whiteners for garments, special washing powder or gel tabs for coloured clothes and softeners for fabric. Was it ironic that while all these can work, the humble lemon is just as successful for most laundry jobs? Thanks to its amazing bleaching properties, lemon juice can eradicate the most stubborn stains including rust and mildew. The advantage is you have nice sweet-smelling clothes and save money on expensive products.
Some washing powders claim they wash whiter. The bleaching effect of lemon juice can really work on keeping your whites white. Add lemon juice to your normal wash cycle. The amount required of juice depends on the volume of laundry that you are washing. For example; a complete bed set of whites, use the juice of two large lemons. But, for a small load, like 1 or two t-shirts, then ½ a lemon will suffice.
#Tip 3 – In the Garden; Repelling Garden Weeds
Ant Sprays, mothballs, insecticides, weed killers–should we have an infestation, there is an endless range of chemicals we might run to. But there’s still no need to go to the cost of purchasing these repellents individually.
Lemon is particularly effective at killing garden weeds. This doesn’t mean you can rid your entire garden of them, but lemon juice doused along cracks in pathways and patios will work.
#Tip 4 – Pet Care; for dogs
Lemon is really helpful in having a dog’s coat conditioned and keeping your pet free of flea. Add lemon slices to 1⁄2 litre of boiling water and allow to mix to cool by making it stand overnight. Strain the mixture and pour into a spray bottle. Using this mixture you can spray the animal liberally without it having any adverse effects, taking care to avoid their eyes. The limonene in the lemon conditions the dog’s coat, and it is also an effective flying insect repellent. Additionally, this spray is very good at keeping animal fleas away. Such tiny unwanted creatures have waxy coating. When the liquid is sprayed onto the animal’s fur, it disables the flea from feeding.
#Tip 5 – Personal Care – Cellulite
Lemons are antifungal, antiviral, antioxidant, anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory and antihistamine. They are also diuretics, detoxifiers and tonics.
Lemon juice is ideal for a wide range of skin issues. Cellulite is a dimpling of the skin where there is excess tissue fluid. Massage lemon oil onto the affected area. Since lemons are rich in Vitamin C and also act as a diuretic, you can either make sure that you include lemon juice and zest in your regular daily diet, or add two drops of lemon oil to your bath water and rub the dimpled skin region with a loofah. In this way, the use of lemon juice would reduce the excess tissue fluid and thus cellulite signs.
We hope that you enjoyed todays “5 Tips with Lemons”. Stay tuned for more coming very soon!