Six Alternative Uses for Citrus Peels
Are you one of those people who always winds up throwing the citrus peels in the compost or organic waste pile? Well, you should know that you’re missing out on a whole host of alternative uses that could come in handy one day.
The rinds or peels of lemons and oranges are full of essential oils, antioxidants, and vitamins that are both good for your health and helpful when cleaning your home.
There’s no doubt you’ll want to take advantage of these tips. Are you ready to learn more?
1. Lemon peel to clean stainless steel
One of the most classic uses for citrus peels is in household cleaning. To get sparkling countertops, faucets, and pans people usually spend a lot of money on chemical products that, while effective, can often ruin your hands.
Have you ever just tried using a lemon? Once you’ve used it to squeeze the juice, don’t throw out the rest. Save the peel to cleanse and shine all your cooking utensils that are made of stainless steel. You’ll be amazed by the results!
Discover: 12 Cleaning Tips for Tough Areas
2. Citrus-flavored ice cubes
They’re delicious when you add them to juices or even just plain water to make it taste better. All you need to do is follow these simple steps:
- Clean any remaining fruit pulp from the peel.
- Then cut it into small pieces.
- Places the pieces into your ice cube trays and cover them with water.
Are you going to miss out on this original idea?
3. All-purpose cleaners with citrus peels
You’ve already heard about the benefits of lemon peel as an effective household cleaner. You can both cleanse and eliminate odors in areas of your home where you always seem to have a musty smell.
Pay attention to how you can make an unusual all-purpose cleaning product using citrus peel:
What do you need?
- A clean glass container
- The peel of one lemon and one orange
- 1 cup of white vinegar (200 ml)
- 2 tablespoons of baking soda (20 g)
Preparation
- Once you’ve cleaned the citrus peels, slice them into pieces and add them to the glass container.
- Then, pour in the white vinegar and baking soda. Stir well.
- Cover and leave this mixture to sit for 10 days, away from sunlight.
- After that time, pour the cleaner into a spray bottle. It will come in handy any time you need to clean surfaces and eliminate odors.
We think you mau also enoy reading: 8 Surprising Uses for Baking Soda
4. Orange citrus peels for smelly shoes
To avoid this, all you need to do is put half of an orange peel in each shoe. The effectiveness is thanks to the ability of the peel to absorb odors.
Remember to change the orange peel every other day, or it will eventually start to smell bad by itself.
5. A cough medicine with citrus peels
Have you ever tried making tea with citrus peel and honey to fight a cough? It’s very healing and also easy to prepare.
Citrus fruits store some of their best nutrients in the peel, so it’s a good idea to take advantage of them when you’re fighting a sore throat or cough. Let’s find out how you should make this tea.
Ingredients
- 1/2 of a lemon peel
- 1/2 of an orange peel
- 1 cup of water (200 ml)
- 1 tablespoon of honey (25 g)
Preparation
- Start as usual by heating up the cup of water. Once it reaches a boil, add the lemon and orange peels that you’ve already cleaned and washed.
- Then, add the tablespoon of honey.
- Allow this mixture to simmer for 20 to 25 minutes. After that time, let it steep for an additional five minutes before drinking it slowly. You’ll be amazed at how good you feel once your discomfort is gone!
6. Frozen lemon therapy
Let’s explain how.
What do you need?
- The peel from two lemons
How do you make it?
- It’s so easy. All you need to do is grate the rind of the lemons after you’ve used them to make juice.
- Once you have the grated peel, store it in an airtight container in the freezer.
Whenever you want to try frozen lemon therapy, just add a little grated lemon rind to your salad, your plain yogurt for breakfast, in a bowl of natural fruit…it’s as healthy for you as it is delicious! Try it today!
