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How to Make Homemade Lemon Vinegar for Cleaning

January 7, 2019 by Patti Estep 9 Comments

Homemade lemon vinegar is a great all-purpose cleaner. Adding citrus peels cuts the harsh smell of vinegar replacing it with a fresher scent.

Homemade lemon vinegar in spray bottle

I use a fair amount of lemons when cooking and entertaining. I hate to see the peels or the fruit themselves go to waste so I try to use them in different ways. 

In my mind, there’s nothing like the scent of fresh lemons or any citrus for that matter. 

So today I’m sharing a super simple way to use leftover citrus by making your own homemade lemon vinegar.

Mason jar with lemon and lime rinds and white vinegar

Simply place the peels, (no fruit) into a large mason jar, or any large clean jar, and cover with white vinegar.

I love lemon and lime peels but you could easily use peels from clementines and oranges which you are probably already eating during the winter. Don’t throw them out. Instead, collect them and add them to a jar. Then pour white vinegar over top.

After about a week or so you can pour the scented vinegar into a spray bottle. 

I like to use a mix of 1/2 vinegar to 1/2 water. You could use it straight without added water, or you could mix 1/3 vinegar to 2/3 water if you prefer it a little more diluted.

Why Homemade Lemon Vinegar?

  • White vinegar contains acetic acid and does a great job of cutting through soap residue, and hard water/mineral deposits. It’s strong enough to kill some germs but does not stand up to the big boys like salmonella. 
  • Adding the scent of lemon makes it smell so much better.
  • Chances are you probably already have white vinegar in the pantry for cooking. I love it for pickled vegetables.
  • Even if you don’t an entire gallon of white vinegar costs around $2-3.00.
  • You know exactly what’s in it. No weird chemicals here.

Spray bottle with citrus vinegar and water.

Ways to Use Homemade Lemon Vinegar

  • Cleaning windows and glass
  • Wiping down chrome in kitchen and bathroom fixtures
  • Cleaning the microwave
  • Cleaning kitchen drains.  Add a little baking soda first. Then pour in some vinegar and watch the reaction.
  • Removing deposits on shower heads. Place some in a baggie and immerse a showerhead inside. Attach with a rubber band and leave on for a few hours.
  • Removing glue and sticky labels.

Places to Avoid Using Homemade Lemon Vinegar

  • Stone countertops and floors such as granite, marble, soapstone. I have a great recipe for a countertop cleaner that you can use instead.
  • Wood furniture or floors. 
  • Tile grout.

The next time you are peeling a lemon, orange, lime or other citrus fruit, consider keeping the peels and making your own handy homemade scented vinegar cleaner.

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Spray bottle with homemade lemon vinegar and water

 

 

 

About Patti Estep

Patti is the creator of Hearth and Vine, a home and garden blog filled with projects to inspire your creative side. She loves crafting, gardening, decorating and entertaining at her home in Pennsylvania. When she is not working on a project at home or searching for treasures at nurseries and thrift stores with her girlfriends, you’ll probably find her with family and friends, at a restaurant, or home party enjoying new and different food adventures.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Melissa

    May 20, 2019 at 12:57 am

    Does the spray bottle with vinegar and lemon peels need to be refrigerated? It won’t go bad with the lemon peels in there?

    Reply
    • Patti Estep

      May 20, 2019 at 6:58 am

      Melissa, the couple of pieces that I put in the spray bottle are purely decorative and not needed. That being said they have been in there for several months and look fine. Perhaps all the vinegar is acting as a preservative. If you are worried, leave them out.

      Reply
  2. Jackie

    February 22, 2019 at 1:12 pm

    Your pictures are beautiful. Great ideas too

    Reply
    • Patti Estep

      February 23, 2019 at 6:32 am

      Thank you Jackie. I’m glad you like it.

      Reply
  3. Alicia

    January 13, 2019 at 8:57 pm

    Awesome post Patti. I just got a glass spray bottle and wasn’t sure what to put in iy. This is so simple and natural. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
    • Patti Estep

      January 14, 2019 at 6:55 am

      Thanks Alicia. It’s a good one to have on hand.

      Reply
  4. Carole

    January 07, 2019 at 9:15 pm

    I’ve always just used straight vinegar for the windows and I have to say the smell drives me nuts. Adding the citrus is a prefect solution. Going to start saving my peels this week so I can make a spray bottle of this. Thanks!

    Reply
  5. Krystal

    January 07, 2019 at 1:52 pm

    Vinegar is always a must for cleaning! Especially cages- Apple cider vinegar is perfect for getting odors out of cages.

    Reply
    • Patti Estep

      January 07, 2019 at 2:11 pm

      Thanks Krystal. That’s good to know.

      Reply

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