Why Clean With Essential Oils?
Most of us have heard the benefits of cleaning with raw materials such as baking soda, vinegar or lemon juice. Adding essential oils to the formula enhances its cleaning value, leaving behind a soothing and natural scent. A fundamental truth is, that sanitary hygiene and aromatherapy are partners in crime against germs!
It not an advertisement gimmick that many commercial products utilize citrus oils to their products, lime and lemon are natural degreasers and have the added property of being anti-bacterial and anti-viral. In fact, citrus oils are work-horses of the bathrooms and kitchen. There is a wide variety of other essential oils that contain antimicrobial properties as well, but today I would like to focus on the citrus family.
The majority of essential oils are antiseptics and bactericides, which means they inhibit the growth of bacteria, obviously a great concern in the home. There is one "Mr. Do It All" also known as Lemon, an antibiotic, antifungal, antiviral and antibacterial. Lemon will tackle with power, not only it smells delightful but compared to many other oils, it falls in the inexpensive spectrum due to its easy distillation, this oil is produced by cold-pressing the peel. Lemon has also proven to be an antidepressant. "After being researched, lemon scent is diffused through the air systems of some Japanese offices and factories to increase worker's concentration, ability to memorize and cut the number of mistakes they make by half" ~Aromatherapy for Dummies.
Lemongrass is by far one of my favorite smells, it is an up-lifting and vibrant smell, refreshing and clean. Lemongrass is an antiseptic, it attacks fungi by preventing mold growth, antibacterial and it is an insect repellent.
Lime is an antibiotic and antiseptic, after having lemon as the mastermind, it is a little hard to step away from it and replace it with lime. However, if you have any stains then lime is your buddy here. Mixing 1/4 of vinegar, 1 tablespoon of baking soda and 4 lime drops, let it sit for 15 minutes then scrub with a tooth brush or scrubbing brush and rinse well.
How about some ready-when-you-need-them kitchen wipes.
Instead of using paper towels to wipe spills or clean off the countertops, store multiple cut-up squares of microfiber cloth in a container (I use a recycled "Cascade" container) filled with a mixture of 1 cup of water, 1 oz. castile or dawn soap, 8 drops lemon essential oil and 6 drops lemongrass essential oil. Note: if you don't want to use microfiber, old cut up T-shirts can be used, it can be washed and returned to the jar for reuse.
Added bonus, throw an used lemon in your garbage disposal, it will clean it and disinfect it as well.
It not an advertisement gimmick that many commercial products utilize citrus oils to their products, lime and lemon are natural degreasers and have the added property of being anti-bacterial and anti-viral. In fact, citrus oils are work-horses of the bathrooms and kitchen. There is a wide variety of other essential oils that contain antimicrobial properties as well, but today I would like to focus on the citrus family.
The majority of essential oils are antiseptics and bactericides, which means they inhibit the growth of bacteria, obviously a great concern in the home. There is one "Mr. Do It All" also known as Lemon, an antibiotic, antifungal, antiviral and antibacterial. Lemon will tackle with power, not only it smells delightful but compared to many other oils, it falls in the inexpensive spectrum due to its easy distillation, this oil is produced by cold-pressing the peel. Lemon has also proven to be an antidepressant. "After being researched, lemon scent is diffused through the air systems of some Japanese offices and factories to increase worker's concentration, ability to memorize and cut the number of mistakes they make by half" ~Aromatherapy for Dummies.
Lemongrass is by far one of my favorite smells, it is an up-lifting and vibrant smell, refreshing and clean. Lemongrass is an antiseptic, it attacks fungi by preventing mold growth, antibacterial and it is an insect repellent.
Lime is an antibiotic and antiseptic, after having lemon as the mastermind, it is a little hard to step away from it and replace it with lime. However, if you have any stains then lime is your buddy here. Mixing 1/4 of vinegar, 1 tablespoon of baking soda and 4 lime drops, let it sit for 15 minutes then scrub with a tooth brush or scrubbing brush and rinse well.
How about some ready-when-you-need-them kitchen wipes.
Instead of using paper towels to wipe spills or clean off the countertops, store multiple cut-up squares of microfiber cloth in a container (I use a recycled "Cascade" container) filled with a mixture of 1 cup of water, 1 oz. castile or dawn soap, 8 drops lemon essential oil and 6 drops lemongrass essential oil. Note: if you don't want to use microfiber, old cut up T-shirts can be used, it can be washed and returned to the jar for reuse.
Added bonus, throw an used lemon in your garbage disposal, it will clean it and disinfect it as well.
Frequently asked questions
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