This environmentally friendly, lemon rind all-purpose cleaner uses natural ingredients and is food safe so you can use it with confidence in your kitchen.
Jump to RecipePLEASE NOTE: This cleaner is NOT effective at killing COVID-19 and should NOT be used for this purpose. Vinegar has many natural disinfectant properties, but is primarily effective at killing bacteria and not viruses. Therefore, this cleaner should not be assumed to kill viruses including the flu and COVID-19. My general rule of thumb is to use this cleaner for day-to-day purposes, and if somebody in my home is sick we use a more conventional cleaner during that time. Use your best judgment for your home and family!
Over the past few years, I’ve been slowly working on trying to reduce my impact on the environment. Bit by bit, I’m making my home more eco-friendly, and this all-purpose cleaner is just one way to take another little step forward. Not only does it re-purpose food waste in your home, but it’s easy to make, highly inexpensive, food safe, and effective at killing many types of bacteria. This cleaner is my FAVORITE to use in the kitchen because I don’t have to worry as much about it coming into contact with our food (as all the ingredients are edible, though I certainly wouldn’t recommend drinking this….). I also have a dog who sometimes likes to lick things, so there’s some added peace of mind for me when using this cleaner on our kitchen floor to clean up spills (as she regularly licks the floor…).
Once you’ve juiced a couple of lemons or limes, save the rinds and put them in a quart-size mason jar.
Pour your white vinegar over the lemon rinds and tightly seal the lid of your mason jar. Set your jar in a cool, dark place (I put mine under the kitchen sink) for 3-5 days.
Then, remove the lemon rinds and discard them. Strain your vinegar mixture through a fine mesh strainer to remove any extra particulates. Fill a glass spray bottle half-full with your strained vinegar mixture, and finish filling the bottle with water.
Store any of your extra vinegar mixture in a capped bottle or sealed mason jar until you need a refill!
If you try this out, be sure to let me know your thoughts in the comments! I would also love to hear your favorite eco-friendly products, so feel free to share those as well!
Please note there are Amazon affiliate links in this post. While the cost to you is the same, I do earn a small commission on any sales made through the links in this post. I would never recommend anything that I don’t believe in–thank you for your support!
Lemon Rind All-Purpose Cleaner
Equipment
- 1 Quart Size Mason Jar
- Glass Spray Bottle
- Fine Mesh Strainer
Ingredients
- 2 lemon rinds halved, juice and seeds removed
- 2 cups white vinegar
- 2 cups water
Instructions
- Place lemon rinds into a quart-size mason jar and cover with white vinegar. Tightly seal mason jar and set in a cool, dark place for 3-5 days.
- Remove lemon rinds from mason jar and discard. Pour vinegar mixture through fine mesh strainer, reserving the liquid and discarding anything that gets trapped in the strainer.
- Fill glass spray bottle half-full with vinegar mixture, topping off bottle with water. Store any remaining vinegar mixture in sealed mason jar until you need to refill your spray bottle.
Notes
- You can use lime rinds instead of lemon if you'd like, or one of each to change up the scent of your cleaner!
- You can use essential oils to scent your cleaner instead, if you'd like, I just like using citrus rinds because it re-purposes food waste! You could also leave your cleaner unscented (though it will still smell a bit like vinegar).
- Only have a rind from one citrus fruit? Make a half-batch of cleaner, or save your rind in a food storage bag in the fridge until you have another (please note, do not use your rind for this cleaner if it is moldy, so make sure you aren't storing your rind for too long before using).
- Please note: vinegar does have many natural disinfectant properties, but it may not be as effective as conventional household cleaners. My general rule of thumb is that I'll use this cleaner for day-to-day, but if somebody in my home is sick we'll use a more powerful cleaner to disinfect surfaces they come into contact with. Do what you feel is best for you and your family!