Citrus plus Vinegar = Power Cleaner

Here is an easy and inexpensive cleaner for your home.

Citrus Peels soaked in white vinegar makes a powerful and natural all around household cleaner.  I started this project in March 2017, so I could gift my friends and neighbors for Earth Day and May Day, primarily, but, it’s a great offering at any time of year.  This combination of citrus and vinegar is what my NASA brother says they use to clean jet engines.

The small, glass jar you see in the photo on the far left, is from peanut butter, with the peels of only 2 oranges, soaking in white vinegar.  It is easy and inexpensive to make.

Recipe:

1 glass jar, 14 oz/413 ml

2 oranges, lemons, or other citrus peels.  Use only the peels, remove any fruit on the inside.

White vinegar – enough to fill up the glass jar after the citrus peels are inside.  If desired, add spices or essential oils, such as cloves, cinnamon, rose oil, lavender oil, etc.

Soak for 2 – 3 weeks

Strain the vinegar and citrus concentrate from the peels into a glass jar.

Allow time for sediment to settle after straining.  Keeping the jar and solution still, siphon above the settled sediment at the bottom of the jar.  Save the solution with sediment in a separate glass jar to add to a bucket for bigger cleaning jobs, as the sediment may clog the spray bottle.  You can also use this concentrate with sediment to control weeds.  Place a small amount on each weed, avoiding desirable plants.  A natural weed control.  You can also discard the vinegar with sediment.

In a plastic spray bottle, add the vinegar concentrate with water, at 8:1, or 8 parts water to 1 part vinegar.  This is the recommendation of a professional cleaner.  However, you can dilute this even more to whatever you desire.  10:1, 16:1.  Many spray bottles have the dilutions listed right on the bottles.

Here’s just a FEW places on where to use this vinegar solution. 

Refrigerator: Spray and wipe with soft cloth on the interior and exterior.  We use microfiber cloths.  Avoid toxic cleaning chemicals where you store your food with this natural cleaner.

Cutting boards: Spray, wipe, rinse.

Countertops: Spray onto surface, then wipe clean with a wet rag.  Avoid cleaning countertops with vinegar if you have a granite or marble surface.

Windows: Spray on windows and wipe with soft cloth.  We use microfiber cloths.  I was told by a window company not to use paper towels, as it is abrasive and will scratch surfaces.

DO NOT USE ON GRANITE, MARBLE OR STONE.