An Instagram user is proving that you don't always need to buy expensive cleaning products to have a sparkling clean house. Instead, she made a powerful, all-purpose cleaner with just two ingredients from her kitchen.
The scoop
Lauren Bash (@relauren) is a sustainability and climate activist on social media and often posts tips and tricks on how to live more sustainably.
Her hack for an all-purpose "power cleaner" involves only two ingredients: lemon peels and white vinegar.
Bash recommends leaving a jar in the refrigerator to collect your lemon peels. Once it's filled, add white vinegar almost to the top and let it sit for a few weeks at room temperature.
After some time, simply transfer the liquid to an old spray bottle, and you're all set.
"The acid in lemons makes a powerful cleaner that can get rid of stains, break down bacteria, and neutralize odors," Bash explains.
How it's helping
This hack allows you to get as much use as possible out of a variety of products in your house — from lemon peels to spray bottles.
It's also cheaper than buying all-purpose cleaners at the store. Generally, these cleaners sell for around $3-$5 whereas a gallon of vinegar is under $4. And combined with the lemon peels, it will last a long time.
"Mrs. Meyers WHO!?" Bash asked in her caption.
Plus, DIY cleaners like this are much healthier for your local wildlife and air quality. Most cleaners contain harmful chemicals, like ammonia, which the Environmental Protection Agency considers a volatile organic compound — otherwise known as a highly toxic chemical.
These chemicals can wash into your local waterways affecting plants and animals, and they can create harmful gases inside your home, which also become an outdoor hazard if your windows are open.
Using DIY cleaners like this also results in less garbage — on top of the saved money and helping the environment. It's a win for everyone.
What everyone's saying
Some users were already well on their way to making the recipe. "I have my jar sitting right now!" said one.
Others were excited to try it out. "Looks like something I'm going to have to try," wrote one, and another said, "I'm excited to make this."
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