Citric acid, also known as sour salt, is found in citrus fruits, like lemons, limes, oranges and grapefruits. Like vinegar and lemon juice, citric acid is a mild acid that can be used in everyday household cleaning. Citric acid has many uses. It is traditionally used in candy flavouring to give the candy a sour flavour. Citric acid may also be used as a preservative and a colour dye; it’s also found in sodas, cosmetic products and cleaning products due to its cleaning properties. It is naturally antibacterial and is actually capable of removing rust and softening water. Citric acid is sometimes used in laundry detergent. Furthermore, it is gentler than most chemical products on the market.
Cleaning the Bathroom With Citric Acid
We’ve all experienced scrubbing a shower door or fixture for what feels like hours, only to realize that those stubborn water stains just won’t budge. Amazingly, citric acid can be used in most areas of the bathroom (not just the steam shower) to dissolve stains and remove calcium build up.
Hard water and soap create stains on showers, bathtubs and sinks that can be difficult to remove. Expensive cleaning products claim to remove these stains, but many of us have spent money on these products only to bring them home, use them and realize that our bathrooms don’t look cleaner at all. Read on to learn more about using citric acid to clean bathrooms, and you may never spend money on expensive cleaning products again.
Why is citric acid so effective at cleaning bathrooms? The stains that build up in showers and bathrooms are often caused by soap and hard water. Both soap and hard water are alkaline, which are broken up by acids. Citric acid is gentle enough that it can be used in the home and the bathroom. In general, cleaning your bathroom on a regular basis will help ensure that less stains and calcium build up on your shower and in your bathtub.
The following paragraphs explain how to clean separate areas of the bathroom using mixtures with citric acid.
Mirror –The mirror can quickly become the dirtiest part of the bathroom as it gets covered in water, toothpaste, etc. You can make your own mirror cleaner by mixing one part citric acid with one part vinegar. Put this mixture in a spray bottle and spray down the mirror. Wipe off the cleaner. Enjoy your newly clean mirrors!
Tile Floor– To mop your bathroom floor, mix one part citric acid with one-and-a-half parts hot water in a bucket. Use your mop to soak the bathroom floor in the citric acid mixture. Use a scratch pad (that won’t scratch the tile), and wear gloves while scrubbing the floor. After scrubbing, rinse the floor with clean water at least twice.
Toilet– Try the recipe for Natural Toilet Cleaning Fizz Bomb for an easy, go-to way to clean your toilet. Throw a Fizz Bomb into the toilet, and wait for it to completely dissolve before flushing the toilet to avoid damaging the pipes. Your toilet should now be much cleaner. These Fizz Bombs are completely safe and are made up of baking soda, citric acid and essential oils (including orange oil and lemon oil). Make sure to store the Fizz Bombs in an air-tight container between uses.
Bathtub –Remember that citric acid is found in the juices of limes, lemons, oranges and grapefruits. To clean your bathtub, cut a grapefruit in half. Sprinkle the half with salt, and rub the grapefruit on the ceramic. The calcium build up and stains on the bathtub will be dissolved by the citric acid in the grapefruit. You can use this same method with a lemon. This is a great option for cleaning the bathtub, because it avoids using harmful chemicals in your cleaning routine.
Sink –Easily clean your bathroom sink with a mixture of one part lemon juice and two parts baking soda. Scrub this mixture on the surface of the sink until the stains are rubbed away. Rinse the sink and wipe it down. You can use this same mixture on your toilet, tile floor, bathtub and shower.
Shower –For a deep cleaning, fill a spray bottle with a mixture of citric acid and hot water. Use two tablespoons of citric acid to one litre of hot water. Shake the bottle and then spray the surfaces of the shower. For hard-to-remove stains, you can soak a paper towel in the mixture and lay it on top of the stain. It should also stick to the shower wall. Let this soak into the stain and then rinse the entire shower.
There are also some tips you can try for keeping the shower cleaner in-between the deep cleanings. For example, use a squeegee on your shower door after every shower. It may sound tedious, but it will save a lot of cleaning time in the future. Lastly, make your own Daily Shower Cleaner Spray, and spray your shower with it after every shower. The Prairie Homestead has a great recipe that uses water, rubbing alcohol, white vinegar, liquid dish soap and Tea Tree oil.
DIY DAILY SHOWER CLEANER SPRAY
1.5 cups water 1 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup rubbing alcohol 1 teaspoon liquid dish soap
15 drops lemon essential oil
seven other ways to use citric acid for cleaning
1. Remove stains and adhesives from stainless steel.
2. Kill bacteria, cut grease, and stains on floors, countertops, and tables. You can disinfect and clean kitchen countertops with a solution of nine parts water to one part citric acid.
3. De-scale and disinfect inside of washing machine. In an empty washing machine, add two tablespoons of citric acid, use hot water, and run on the longest cycle.
4. De-scale taps and shower doors, make a solution of one-litre warm water and two tablespoons citric acid. Make sure it is dissolved. Spray on let sit for five minutes and wipe clean.
5. Clean dirty windows, two litres of warm water mixed with two tablespoons of citric acid. Spray on and wipe off.
6. Get a sparkling clean toilet, take ¾ cup of citric acid and sprinkle into toilet. Leave in overnight. Do not flush, but the next morning brush and flush.
7. Get rid of wine stains, with one part citric acid and 2 parts baking soda. Sprinkle over the stain; mist with water, until it fizzes, let sit for five minutes, and then scrub away.
easy citric acid cleaning; all purpose recipe
2 tbsp liquid Herba Farmacy soap 2 tsp baking soda or washing soda
1 tsp citric acid Water to fill a 32 oz spray bottle
Pour soda into spray bottle and fill halfway with tap water. Close it, shake, and allow too dissolve. Add soap and gently swirl.
$11. In a separate container mix citric acid with hot tap water until dissolved
$12. Pour in bottle, once everything is settled then fill with cold tap water to top off.
natural dishwasher detergent recipe
Ingredients:
2 cups Borax 2 cups Bicarbonate of Soda
Directions:
Combine and thoroughly mix the ingredients in a plastic container which contains a lid.
For each load of dishes for your dishwasher add 2 tablespoons of the mixture to the dishwasher’s detergent dispenser.
Warning: Do not wash Teflon pans with this dishwasher detergent, because the alkalinity will pit the aluminium and remove the Teflon coating.
how to de-scale your electric kettle
You can either add a 1:1 ratio of vinegar and water, or 30 grams of Citric Acid 500 mls of water. If you don’t want to be so precise just throw in a quartered lemon in with the water.
Boil the acidic liquid and water mixture in the kettle and then let sit to cool, and when you dump out the water, the scale will be loosened and gone.
After you’ve removed all the lime scale thoroughly rinse your kettle with water several times before using it again, or you’ll taste either vinegar or lemon in whatever what you boil.