Spring Cleaning With Lemon Essential Oils

Do you have an itch to do some spring cleaning?  You may have notice some areas of your home have been neglected for far too long.

During the 19th century in America, prior to  the invention of a vacuum cleaner, March was often the best time for dusting because it was getting warmer.  Warm enough to open the windows but not warm enough for insect to be a problem.  With the windows and doors open, the high winds would carry the dust out of the house.  This time of the year is also when coal furnaces wouldn’t run and you could wash all the soot from the walls and furniture left by the furnace.  For the same reason, modern household often use this month of March for cleaning projects involving the use of chemical products which generates fumes.

What if I told you there was another way of cleaning without chemicals?

Why lemon essential oil?

Lemon essential oil work works as Antimicrobial agent.  Studies show that lemon essential oil works as a natural antimicrobial agent due to two dominant compounds found in the oil, limonene and b-pinene.  This makes lemon essential oil a powerful tool in cleaning and food protection.

Lemon essential oil can be used to cleanse your home of harmful pathogens.  Using lemon as a natural cleaning product also keeps your home free of conventional products that are made with dangerous toxic chemicals.

Research shows that lemon oil can be used to help protect our food system.  In a study testing the preservative effects of lemon oil, research found that lemon inhibited the growth of bacteria in minced beef meat.  Lemon essential oil successfully stopped the development of Listeria monocytogenes, salmonella, staphylococcus aureus and escherichia coli have been reported to cause foodborne illnesses.

doTerra Lemon Essential oil can help make cleaning those long forgotten nooks and crannies easier naturally (without the chemical fumes).

Here are 11 ways you can use lemon essential oils to clean your home.

1. Window Cleaner/ Mirror Cleaner:  I personally love using this. The house smells lovely and my windows and mirrors are clean without streaks. Mix 1 cup (8 oz) of distilled vinegar with 1 cup (8 oz) of warm water, 10-20 drops of lemon essential oil in a spray bottle.  Spray windows and mirrors, squeegee the liquid starting from the top going downward and wipe the excess liquid off with a towel.
2. Ceiling Fans:  Fan blades collect dust at any speed and cling to them for as long as you let them.  I leave my ceiling fans on most of the summer and after while you can see the amount of dust that the fan bade has collected during the summer months.  I first thought it was spider webs and when I took a closer look, I was truly  surprised to discover it was dust build up. Yuck! Don’t fret, you have two options, vacuum the dust off the fan blades or to avoid choking on the dust bunnies while cleaning your fans, spray the inside of an old pillow case with lemon essential oil and water mixture and loop the fabric around each blade.
3. Air Vents:  One of the most overlooked areas to keep clean in your house is the air you breathe!  Clean vents with a sponge dipped in warm water, vinegar and lemon essential oil to help eliminate allergens and dust from filling the air around you.  You can also add a few drops of lemon essential oil and/or Purify essential oil blend sporadically onto the air filter.  The sent of the essential oils will fill your home. I also do this on vacuum cleaner air filters
4. Trash Cans/ Compost Bins: Regular cleaning out the trash and compost bins cans can eliminate odors.  For indoors trash and compost cans, spray the inside and outside of the can with a mixture of water, lemon essential oil, and vinegar then scrub with a sponge.
5. Shower Cleaner: Combine distilled vinegar with 20 drops of tea tree essential oil and 20 drops of lemon essential oils in a spray bottle. Spray tile surface, scrub with a bristle brush and rinse.  I sometimes add Baking Soda. The baking soda whitens and acts like a soft scrub.
6. Wood Polish: 4oz + 10-15 drops of lemon essential oil.  Rub it into the wood with a soft cloth.  Give the wood a little time to absorb the oil and then give it a buffing with a clean cloth.  Also works to revive and protect your wooden cutting boards.  It’s non toxic and you don’t have to worry about it coming into contact with food.
7. Washing Machine: Run a mixture of lemon essential oil, baking soda wash, distilled vinegar, and water through your empty machine on the hottest water cycle to break up dirt build up and mildew.  Scrub any access with a sponge, then run the machine again with fresh water.
8. Granite Cleaner:  Ratio 2 part water: 1/2 part alcohol, and 10 drops of lemon essential oil.
9. Carpet Deodorizer: Mix one small box of Baking Soda, 10-20 drops of lemon essential oil in a bowl. Sprinkle mixture on the carpets and let it set for thirty minutes to an hour and vacuum.  Your home is rid of unwanted odors.
10. Use a cloth soaked in Lemon oil to preserve and protect your leather furniture and other leather surfaces or garments.
11. Lemon oil is a great remedy for the early stages of tarnish on silver and other metals. Ketchup also helps remove tarnish.

Link to research study https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5543433/