11 Ways You Can Benefit From Leftover Lemons

11 Ways You Can Benefit From Leftover Lemons

“When life gives you lemons…” keep them, after all lemons are great for cleaning various areas of your home, as touched upon in “15 Tips to Help You Save Money on Cleaning Products”. But it isn’t just your home which are good for, and below we’ve outlined 11 further ways you can benefit from leftover lemons.

Fresh Chopping Board:

When you consider the food which is cut, sliced and diced on your chopping board it shouldn’t come as any surprise that the surface can become less than hygienic.

It also shouldn’t come as a surprise that odours can be harboured within your chopping board either. But these odours and germs can be removed by rubbing the cut side of a lemon over the surface. [source: PreventDisease.com]

Fridge Deodoriser:

Over time our fridges can begin to emit an unpleasant odour, particularly if smelly foods such as blue cheeses are left within them. These odours are more often than not transferred to other foods and waft out when the fridge is opened.

Help remove such odours by using a few drops of lemon juice on a sponge and leaving the sponge for a couple of hours in your fridge. We would also recommend that you regularly clean your fridge and remove any food which is beyond its best before date – as per the advice outlined in “How To Keep Your Fridge Clean & Running”.

Remove Unsightly Underarm Stains:

An issue we all face, particularly with white tops, is the unsightly underarm stains. Unsure what I’m referring to? Take a look at the underarm of any white t-shirt which you’ve had for a while – but look at it with the t-shirt inside out, chances are there’s an unsightly stain.

Using a mixture made up of equal parts lemon juice and water, you can remove such stains from your tops. Simply scrub the area with the solution, leaving it long enough to soak in, and then wash the clothing as normal.

Stain Free Delicate Fabrics:

If clothing made from delicate fabrics has become stained you don’t need to pay over the odds for a dry cleaner or a specialist cleaning product. Mixing lemon juice with baking soda will provide the perfect cleaning solution.

Simply mix the two together and leave it to soak into the clothing for half-an-hour, lifting the stain out without the risk of additional bleaching. Once the half-an-hour has passed, wash the garment as per the care label instructions.

Remove Stains from Marble Worktops:

If you’re fortunate enough to have a marble worktop or marble table, the last thing you’ll want is to see it compromised by stains. If you have found the marble has become stained, don’t spend hours scrubbing with various cleaning products. Instead, cut a lemon in half, dip the cut end in salt and run it over the stain.

Clean Marble Tops With Lemons

However, please take care when doing this as the acid from the lemon can cause damage to the marble, so we would recommend only using it as a last resort and to also thoroughly wash the area afterwards using warm water.

Stop Your Rice From Sticking:

Cooking rice may seem like a simple task, but there seems to be an art to it – especially if you want to ensure you don’t cook too much. Another issue when it comes to cooking rice is it sticking into one lump – to combat this do you stir the rice or not?

At BuySpares, we say not! Instead, add a tablespoon of lemon juice into the water as it boils and then cook your rice as normal, the end result will be perfectly cooked fluffy rice, which isn’t stuck together. [source: RD.com]

Keep Insects Out of Your Home:

Have you noticed ants or other insects in your kitchen, despite the use of ant powder? Try a method which is less harmful to your pets and use a lemon. The most effective way to use lemon to keep insects out of your home is to squeeze lemon juice around the threshold of your doors.

The peel from your lemon should also be sprinkled around the external threshold of the door, and these combined will be enough to keep unwanted insects at bay. [source:kitchensinstock.co.uk]

Brighten Your Fingernails:

Are your fingernails looking dull or yellow? Brighten them using lemon juice squeezed into a small dish. Simply wash your fingernails before soaking them for a couple of minutes in the lemon juice. It has also been rumoured (although we’re unsure how true it is) that following these steps can also help strengthen your nails.

Clean Stains From Your Toilet:

Cleaning the toilet is far from being a glamorous job, but if you want to keep your bathroom clean and hygienic, it is a must. Whilst there are various cleaning products available to help you clean your toilet, using a lemon is said to work just as well – and it’s also cheaper.

To make your own toilet cleaner using a lemon, simply mix lemon juice with borax to make a paste, and then apply the paste to the toilet and any stains within it. Leave the past to soak for 2 hours, before scrubbing clean & flushing as normal. [source: ecosalon.com]

Polish Your Shoes:

Whether you’re off for a job interview or hitting the town on a Friday night, to help you look smart and stylish it’s important to ensure your shoes are polished and aren’t showing signs of scuffing. If after searching high and low you’ve not found the shoe polish don’t worry, a bit of lemon juice can work wonders.

Simply apply the lemon juice to your shoes neat, and then buff with a soft cloth – hey presto, polished shoes. [source: talktalk.co.uk]

Cure Your Hangover:

The older we get the longer the hangovers seem to be. But if you’ve drank one too many glasses of wine / beer / vodka and cokes than you should have, a splash of lemon juice could be just the cure you’re after.

Use Lemons To Cure Your Hangover

What’s more there’s no need for any unpleasant ingredients to go with it. Instead, simply squeeze lemon juice into warm water or your regular morning cup of tea and drink as normal. Not only will the warm water / tea help rehydrate you, but the lemon juice will help to balance your pH levels.

So next time a recipe calls for a half a lemon, don’t worry about wasting the other half. Instead, put it to good use by cleaning your home, clothing or even your fingernails with it. And if you have any other tips of what to do with leftover lemons share them in the comment section.

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