45 Amazing Uses for Lemon You’ll Wish You Knew Sooner
Lemons are known for their great cleansing benefits and soothing properties when suffering from things like sore throats or chronic coughs. What you might not have known is that there are many practical uses for lemons, not just for your body, but for your living space as well!
If there is one fruit you can’t do without, it is the almighty lemon! After reading this list you will never leave your house devoid of lemon!
Kitchen
1. Keep your fridge fresh
Baking soda is effective in removing odours but lemon will add a fresh scent and remove odours even faster than baking soda can on its own. Slice a lemon into 1-inch thick pieces and place in a small shallow dish. Sprinkle a little bit of salt on the lemon, and then another 2-3 tbsp. baking soda. Place the dish, uncovered in the fridge for 4-6 days and you will notice a difference in just a few short hours!
2. Renew cutting boards
Smelly cutting boards are gross and unsanitary. Get rid of weird garlic and onion smells by rubbing it with lemon and then rinsing with water.
3. Brighten dull aluminum
Make your dull pots and pans sparkle! All you need to do is rub the cut side of half a lemon all over them and buff with a soft cloth.
4. Deodorize the garbage can
Save leftover lemon and orange peels and toss them in your garbage can, under the garbage bag itself. To keep it smelling fresh, repeat every week or so.
5. Keep insects out of the kitchen
Don’t kill harmless bugs, instead, deter them from entering your kitchen. Squirt some lemon juice on door thresholds and windowsills, and any holes or cracks where ants may be getting in. Scatter lemon peels around the outdoor entrance and deter ants or other creepy crawlies from entering your house. Wash your floors with lemon and water (4 lemons juiced to 2 litres water) to help get rid of fleas and roaches.
6. Prevent browning of guacamole
Lemon contains antioxidant properties and so it prevents the oxidation of avocado when exposed to the air. After making a batch of guacamole, squeeze some lemon or lime on top and it will stay bright and green! Lemon and lime are normally additions to guacamole, so you don’t need to worry about the flavour changing.
7. Prevent browning potatoes & cauliflower
Lemon will also help prevent browning of potatoes and cauliflower. Simply squeeze some lemon on top of these foods during preparation and get rid of that weird brown hue.
8. Keep lettuce crisp
Put your soggy lettuce into a bowl of cold water with the juice of half a lemon. Stick in the fridge for 1 hours and watch your soggy lettuce come back to life! Dry the leaves with a salad spinner before adding to salads.
9. Reduce rice stickiness
Add a few drops of lemon to your rice while it is cooking and you will prevent the rice from sticking together once it is done cooking.
10. Fruit & vegetable wash
Squeeze out 1 tbsp. of lemon juice and place in a basin of water with your fruit and vegetables to get rid of harmful pesticides and herbicides.
11. Get rid of stains on marble
It is sometimes difficult to get rid of stains on marble because it is a porous substance that can be easily stained and damaged. Cut a lemon in half and dip the exposed flesh in some table salt. Rub vigorously on the stain, then rinse well. Use this as a last resort as lemon is very acidic and can damage marble if left on for too long.
Health & Beauty
12. Soften dry, scaly elbows
Improve the look and feel of your elbows by making an abrasive paste out of baking soda and lemon juice. Rub this into your elbows for a soothing, exfoliating treatment. Rinse, and moisturize with coconut oil.
13. Control blood pressure
Lemons are high in potassium which helps control blood pressure and reduce the effect of nausea and dizziness.
14. Lighten age spots
Help diminish the appearance of liver spots by applying lemon juice directly to the area and letting it sit for 15 minutes. Rinse your skin clean afterward. This is a very safe and effective method of helping lighten the skin!
15. Give your hair natural highlights
Add a 1/4 cup lemon juice to 3/4 cup water and rinse your hair with the mixture. Sit in the sun until your hair dries and repeat once daily for a week. Your hair will get salon-worthy highlights!
16. Facial cleanser
Draw out blackheads during the day by dabbing lemon juice on them. Wash your face with a little bit of lemon to help naturally cleanse it and exfoliate it. After several days your skin will improve.
17. Cleaner, whiter nails
Make your nails whiter by adding the juice of 1/2 lemon to 1 cup warm water and soaking your fingertips in this mixture for 5 minutes. Push back your cuticles afterward and rub some lemon peel back and forth against the nail to get nails that look as though they were done by a manicurist!
18. Headache prevention
Drink 1 litre of water with 1 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice to help prevent headaches. Alternatively, you can add 1 tsp. lemon juice to 1 cup peppermint tea and relieve a headache instantly. Get rid of drugs, lemon juice is the perfect headache solution!
19. Treating inflammation
Lemons act as a natural diuretic and so this helps improve urine flow and reduce inflammation by helping flush out toxins and bacteria at a faster rate. This will help give you relief from arthritis, rheumatism, and pain associated with cuts and other wounds or injuries.
20. Kidney stone prevention
Lemon juice mixed with water can increase the production of urinary citrate, a chemical that prevents the formation of crystals that may build up into kidney stones.
21. Respiratory health
Lemon water reduces phlegm and can help you breathe properly. It is also great for those suffering with asthma.
22. Anti-aging
Free radicals from our food (pesticides, junk food, etc.), the environment and stress are responsible for the aging of skin and skin damage. Consuming lemon, whether in food or in your water reduces the production of these free radicals and is therefore a great anti-aging food!
23. Infection treatment
Lemons are anti-bacterial and anti-viral, and so they help fight infections externally and also internally. Lemon water is great for those suffering from a sore throat, and although it may sting, is a wonderful cleanser for open wounds.
24. Oral health
Freshen the breath, stop bleeding gums and prevent toothaches with lemon! Use lemon juice as a mouth rinse to help get rid of bad breath. Swish with 1/4 cup lemon juice, and then rinse with water afterward to prevent tooth erosion.
25. Vaginal hygiene
Making a douche out of diluted lemon water makes a safe and sane method for the health of a woman’s vagina. It is a powerful antiseptic and is free from irritating drugs which are often found in douches and suppositories.
26. Diphtheria
You don’t need a vaccine to help cure Diptheria. Swallow 1/2 to 1 tsp. of lemon juice every hour to help cure yourself of this disease. The lemon acid is strong enough to cut loose the false membrane in the throat, allowing it to come out.
27. Fever & chills
Lemon water is a great way to help get rid of fever and the chills. Drinking 1 cup of lemon water (1 tsp. lemon per 1 cup) every couple hours or so can help reduce symptoms in no time.
28. Wart removal
Tried everything to get rid of your wart? Why not try lemon juice? The acids in lemon will help dissolve the wart in just 7 days when you dab the wart with lemon juice every day.
29. Flaky dandruff treatment
Suffer from an itchy, dry, flaky scalp? Massage two tablespoons of lemon juice into your scalp and rinse with water. Stir one teaspoon of lemon juice into one cup of water and rinse your hair with it. Repeat every day until the dandruff disappears.
30. Soothe rashes (aka poison ivy)
Skip the calamine lotion, poison ivy rash can be treated simply by applying lemon juice to the affected areas. This will help alleviate the rash as well as the itching that comes along with it.
31. Relieve rough hands & sore feet
Using a mixture of equal parts lemon juice and water, let your feet soak, and then massage them with coconut oil and dry with a soft cloth.
32. Detox the body
Overall, lemon is a great way to help cleanse and detox the body. Drinking 1 litre of water with 3 tbsp. lemon juice in the morning will help flush out stagnant toxins and dead cells that your body worked hard at scavenging and ushering out of our tissues while we were asleep. Flushing yourself with plenty of lemon water in the morning will help your body effectively eliminate these unnecessary particles.
Around The House
33. Berry stain removal
Sponge your berry stains with lemon juice or rub a slice of lemon over the stain. Flush with a little bit of water and blot as much as possible, and allow to dry.
34. Whiten clothes
Lemon is extremely effective at whitening clothes. Place your clothes in a large basin of hot water and add a generous amount of lemon juice. Soak overnight, and wash normally the next day. Your white clothes will be whiter than ever!
35. Rid clothes of mildew
Make a scrub out of lemon and salt to help get mildew out of clothes. Mix 1/4 cup lemon with 1/3 cup salt and rub the paste onto the mildewed areas. Let the garments dry in the sun, and repeat these steps until no mildew remains.
36. Replace moth balls with lemon
Moth balls are incredibly toxic and should not be used in your household. Instead, repel clothing moths by taking a lemon and sticking them with cloves until it looks almost like a clove-studded porcupine. These heavily studded lemons dry slowly with the cloves and leave a beautiful odour throughout closets and rooms, while repelling moths.
37. Natural air freshener
Help naturally freshen the air in your house by taking a pot of water and letting it simmer on low. To this water, add some lemon peels, cinnamon sticks, cloves and apple skins. Your house will smell incredible!
38. Enhance laundry detergent
Make your laundry detergent 10 times more powerful by pouring 1 cup of lemon juice to your washer during the wash cycle. The natural bleaching action of lemon will remove rust and other stains and will also take out mineral discolourations from cotton T-shirts and briefs, leaving your clothes smelling fresh. They will also come out brighter and smell citrus-fresh!
39. Eliminate fireplace odour
Burn lemon peels with firewood to help improve the smell of your fireplace. It will also act as a natural air freshener!
40. Neutralize a smelly litter box
Lemon is great for relieving smelly litter boxes. Cut a couple lemons in half, place them cut side up in a dish in the room where the litter box is located and the air will soon smell lemon-fresh!
41. Replace the dry cleaner
Scrub stained areas on dry-cleaning items with equal parts lemon juice and water. The clothes will be good as new and smell amazing!
42. Polish chrome
Cut a lemon in half and sprinkle with baking soda on the cut side. Clean up and down the chrome. Buff dry and then rinse with warm water.
43. Clean tarnished brass
Make a paste of lemon juice and salt (or baking soda or cream of tartar) and coat the affected area. Let it stay on for 5 minutes and then wash with warm water, rinse and polish dry.
44. Remove underarm stains
Lemon juice helps remove dark underarm stains on t-shirts and undershirts. Put a bunch of lemon juice on the stain until it is thoroughly soaked. Add 1 tsp. of salt and rub between your fingers until the stain lifts. Expose the garment to the sun and allow it to dry to enhance the stain removing power of lemon juice.
45. Rust-removing scrub
Mix 1 tbsp. lemon juice with 2 tbsp. salt to make an easy rust-removing scrub.
