Citrus & Lemon Vinegar Mixtures Take Away The Stink From Homemade Cleaners

A SR101 reader shared how she makes lemon vinegar, which is just one kind of citrus scented vinegar you can make for use in homemade cleaners, that can alleviate the problem some people find of stinky homemade cleaners.

SR101 Reader says:

You can also make some lemonade and save the lemons peels.

Throw them in a bowl, fill the bowl with vinegar and leave for a week or two and then take the lemon peels out and pour your scented vinegar in a spray bottle half way, with half water and clean clean clean with a better smell! :)

Taylor says:

That's a wonderful tip, and reminded me of one of the main problems lots of people have with homemade cleaning products recipes containing vinegar -- the STINK!

There are lots of people who don't like the smell of this natural cleaning supply, and therefore shy away from making their own cleaners.

I completely understand the issue, although the smell dissipates quickly if you don't like smelling it even for a while many of the recipes people use won't work for you.

Well, adding citrus scents to your vinegar can alleviate this problem, plus add some more cleaning power to the recipe at the same time.

Essentially, it is a lot like adding some citrus essential oils to your recipes. As explained in more detail in my essential oil cleaning use chart these citrus oils have a degreasing effect that can make lots of recipes even stronger anyway.

Additional Tips From Taylor For Making Scented Vinegars

While the reader above used lemons, you can really use whatever citrus fruit you'd like for the process, including oranges, limes, or even grapefruit.

The picture to the right is from a reader, Traci, and she soaked orange peels.

I would suggest adding several citrus peels to about 3 cups of distilled white vinegar, and capping the mixture in a bottle so you don't have evaporation while it is sitting and slowly releasing its citrus oils and scents into the vinegar.

Over the course of the weeks you let it sit periodically swirl the bottle around.

Once you've let it sit for a couple of weeks you may want to strain the mixture to get rid of any pulp or small pieces of rind from the vinegar before using it in recipes.

You can just dilute this product as the SR101 reader suggested above and clean with it, but you can also add this scented vinegar full strength in place of the distilled white vinegar in most recipes and use it that way as well.

Traci, who provided the picture of how she did it, explained: "Orange peels soaking in white vinegar. I let it go for a few weeks, strain, dilute 1:1 with water, and add a few drops of lemongrass oil. It works great! And I feel safe using it around my kids."

There are lots of cleaning recipes and uses for vinegar around your home. Click the link to see even more, or share your own.

In addition, lemons are also powerful cleaners themselves. You can also check out tips for cleaning with lemons here or share your own.

Related Pages You May Enjoy

Lots Of Homemade Cleaners Recipes From Readers

House Cleaning Tips & Tricks For Busy Moms

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