Green Cleaning Tips using Lemon

Lemons are best for house cleaning because of its acidic or anti-bacterial properties and aroma that will keep your house smelling clean and fresh and an eco-friendly alternative to commercial agents. As you will notice many commercial cleaning supplies added lemons to enhance their products. Generally, lemons are used as a degreaser, bleacher, odor eliminator/freshener, and stain remover.

Some of the house cleaning uses of lemons are the following:

Kitchen

• Kitchen Drains - mix lemon juice with hot water and pour in the drain. Or you can use it in cleaning your sinks by making a paste mixture of lemon juice and salt then scrub it gently to your copper, brass, or stainless steel sink and fixture then rinse with water.
• Cutting Boards - to remove stains and avoid leaving the flavor of foods from your cutting boards, just rub half of the lemon in your cutting board and leave it for minutes then rinse
• Countertops - remove stains from countertops by sprinkling salt mixed with lemon juice, scrub the area then rinse. Don't use in delicate stone like marble or granite, it may cause discoloration.
• Microwave Cleaning - for stains and odors in your microwave, mix lemon slices and water in a bowl and heat in the microwave for 1 minute. then wipe out the food particles with a moist sponge or clean cloth.
• Oven Spill and Stovetop Cleaning - make a paste mixture of lemon juice, baking soda and water then apply to the spills and let it stay there until 15 minutes. Scrub and rinse with water and sponge. 
• Refrigerator - just leave half lemon inside the refrigerator to help control unpleasant smell
• Dish Cleaner - cut lemon into half, sprinkle baking soda in the cut part then rub to the dishes 

Bathroom and Laundry

• Bath, Showers - remove soap lime, and scum from bathroom/shower tiles and grouts using lemons, just prepare a paste mixture of 2parts baking soda and 1 part lemon juice. Apply the paste to the tiles and grouts using a damp cloth, leave for 10 minutes then scrub with soft toothbrush or sponge.
• For White Clothes - just add 1/2 cup lemon juice for a normal-size load

General Area

• Windows Cleaning - for sparkling windows just mix 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1/2cup white vinegar, and 1-quart warm water. Scrub or use the sprayer in applying the mixture in your window glass.
• Deodorize Vacuum Bag - just simply add baking soda and lemon peel to the vacuum bag
• Removing Rust - sprinkle rock salt in the rusted area and squeeze a lemon into it, leave for about an hour 
• Brass, Chrome, Copper Cleaner - make paste mixture of baking soda and lemon juice and rub it to the metal then rinse and wipe with a cloth
• Wood Furniture and Floors - use lemons as a furniture polish by mixing one cup of olive oil and half a cup of lemon juice. Use a cloth to apply in your wooden furniture. This mixture can also be used as a floor shine.

Aside from removing dirt, stains, and odor using Lemon, you would also would want to make sure everything is dry and squeaky clean. To help you with finishing touch of cleaning here is the latest 2020 model of  JPK SX Spin Scrubber 

Image Credit to Pixabay.com

How to Get Rid of Bad Odor from your Refrigerator

Stinky smelling fridge not only irritates your nose when you are about to prepare your food but can cause other health concerns for your family later on. The bad odor can be caused by spoiled foods, spill on the bottom shelf, or even molds.

Here are some ways to get rid and prevent bad odor from your refrigerator:

1. Clean your fridge thoroughly - The basic and best thing to do is of course clean your fridge or put it in your weekly or bi-weekly general cleaning schedule.

Start cleaning by turning off your refrigerator. Keep the remaining food in a cooler with ice while you are cleaning the fridge.

Then remove all the items inside your fridge, sort out and discard the spoiled foods or anything rotten like fruits/vegetables, meat, fish that are causing the stinky smell. Wash the containers especially plastic containers that already absorbed the odor of spoiling foods.

Remove, wash and dry the drawers, bins and other removable parts of your fridge. Make sure also to thoroughly wipe/scrub the walls, floor, drawers, egg slots, crisper.

Clean and dispose water from the dip tray located beneath the refrigerator. It is essential to regularly clean the dip tray as it contains dirty water that could be another reason for the bad odor in your refrigerator.

2. Natural Cleaning Solutions. Use natural cleaning solutions since this will directly affect your food, you can use any of the following:
-  use mixture of half (1/2) cup baking soda into a sink of filled of warm water
-  mix handful of salt into a gallon of warm water
-  mix equal parts of water and white vinegar 

Leave the refrigerator's door open to let the air circulate.

3. Removing Odors in your Fridge/Odor Prevention. After cleaning,place odor remover inside the fridge. You can use any of the following to deodorize and maintain pleasant odor inside your fridge:

a. Baking Soda - spread baking soda across a baking sheet and place it inside the refrigerator, close it until the bad odor disappears then discard the used baking soda. You can leave an open box of baking soda inside your fridge to counteract daily odors.
             
b. White Vinegar - put an open cup or bowl filled with white vinegar inside the fridge, this will help neutralize bad odor inside fridge

c. Oats - put a bowl or cup of oats inside your fridge to absorb the odor

d. Dry coffee - place dry coffee in a shallow bowls, place in different levels inside your refrigerator

e. Charcoal - place bowl of charcoal inside your ref, bad odor could be removed in few days

f. Vanilla / lemon - dampen a cotton ball with vanilla extract and place it on a shelf , it will serve as deodorizer and smell good
       

4. Be Organize Inside your Fridge:

   - Prioritize eating/consuming the fresh foods by keeping them easily visible in the fridge, this way you could plan which food to consume first thus avoiding spoilage, putting label and date of  leftovers will also help

  - Put your food in airtight containers to avoid spread of bad odor if in case they spoil or to avoid spreading the smell of your leftovers like pizza, noodles. Putting food in airtight containers will also help it to stay edible for a longer period.

   - Defrost regularly to avoid the bad odors get mixed with the ice found in the freezer

   - Regularly clean and dispose water from the dip tray
   
 
Got other tips in removing or preventing bad odor from fridge? Share in comments below. 

 
(Image Credit: Refrigerator Interior from Flickr)

Easy Ways to Clean Your Oven

Proper care and cleaning is needed in order to prolong and to keep our ovens hygienic but most often we neglect to clean it that causes the built up of grimes and greases.  But don't worry here are some quick steps to clean your oven without using chemical cleaners:

1. Clean Oven with Lemon-Water Mixture

• Mix Lemon Juice with Water into Microwaveable Dish or Container
• Microwave the Mixture, put the power on max for 5-10 minutes allowing the steam to condense on the walls and roof of the oven
• Gently remove the microwaveable dish or container once the time is finished, let it cool for a second before wiping with a soft dishcloth

2. Clean Oven with Baking Soda

• Heat Your Oven Gently and Allow to Cool Down
• Prepare a thin paste of Baking Soda and Water Mixture 
• When the Oven has cooled or a little bit warm, spray the oven with water using spraying bottle to make it damp and apply a thick portion of Baking Soda Inside the oven especially at the bottom portion  and let it set for few hours 
• After couple of hours, use damp cloth to wipe the mixture off the oven and the grease / grime will also be removed. For thick grimes, you might repeat this process for complete cleaning

3. Upgraded Version of Baking Soda Cleaner

    Ingredients:
                    1 Cup of Baking Soda
                    1/2 Cup of Washing Soda
                    3 tbsp of liquid dish soap,
                    Hot Water
                    1/4 Cup of White Vinegar

• Make sure your oven is fully cooled down
• Wipe anything that's loose inside the oven with a damp cloth
• Make a thin paste by mixing first the dry ingredients and gradually adding hot water and washing soda until you have created a thick paste. Then add vinegar.
• Ready now to coat all the oven surfaces with the cleaning paste and leave it overnight
• Wipe it off with damp cloth and warm water the next morning

                   

Do you have other suggestions in naturally cleaning our oven? Share in the comments below.

Image Credit

How to Clean and Maintain your Bathroom

Bathroom is one of the area of your house that are most prone to germs, bacteria, mildew, dirt and the more it is  needed to be sanitized and cleaned to ensure not only the ease in using the bathroom but most important is the health of your family.

Daily light cleaning will be a quick and pro-active way to maintain and lighten the load in your deep cleaning. Here's some quick tips on how to maintain the cleanliness of your bathroom, which you could do instantly without having to wait for heavy dirt built-up:

How to Clean your House Fast

Cleaning your house fast and effective is needed if you juggle working and maintaining your home or you want to enjoy the quality time you still have for your family or pursue some hobby. But how is it possible to clean your house fast without sacrificing the quality of cleanliness of your home? Here are some tips on how to clean effectively fast:

Green Cleaning Tips using Vinegar

Vinegar specifically white distilled vinegar is a natural cleaner because of its acetic acid content, not only it is an environment-friendly alternative but also very economical and does not contain harmful chemicals. It is an effective deodorizer, germs/molds/bacteria killer and best for home cleaning.

Among uses of Vinegar in our household cleaning are the following:

Basic Tips on How to Take Care of your Carpets

Carpets are one of the home essentials not only for its beautification purposes but also for the comfort that it gives. Taking care of your carpets should be a top priority to avoid frequent hiring of professional cleaners or replacing it occasionally. 

Here are simple tips on how to proactively maintain your carpets: