If foggy headlights have been bothering you during nighttime drives, the no-cost secret to clearer lights might be hidden in plain sight…in your pantry.
The scoop
TikToker Christina Nomura (@christinanomura) posted a simple two-ingredient cleaning hack for brightening up headlights, using just baking soda and half a lemon per light.
@christinanomura Saw a hack and had to test it out. It worked! 👍🏽 Cleaned both lights within 5 minutes #headlights #headlightscleaning #headlightsrestoration #headlightshack #carhacks #quickhacks ♬ Time After Time - Paratone
In her video, she shows the half lemon, which she's dusted with a heavy sprinkling of baking soda. She then rubs the lemon like a sponge back and forth across the headlight. Dirt and grime quickly wash away, leaving the light sparkling and free of fogginess or cloudiness.
"Saw a hack and had to test it out," Christina wrote. "I was skeptical at first, [but] it worked for me. … Cleaned both lights within 5 minutes."
"Love this idea!" one person said.
How it's helping
The combination of lemon juice, an acid, and baking soda, a base, is a popular mixture when it comes to natural cleaning products. The acid and the base combine to create the familiar bubbling, frothing mixture that is so effective at lifting grime.
Even on their own, these two ingredients pack a punch when it comes to cleaning. Lemon's citric acid content naturally kills germs and removes mold; the oil in the peels also cuts through even stubborn grease, according to CNET. You can use lemon juice to wash stubborn limescale off faucets, polish brass, clean stains out of everything from plastic to fabric, and more.
And baking soda is a gentle abrasive, dissolving stains and organic compounds such as dirt without leaving a scratch, per LiveScience.
For all these reasons, Reader's Digest recently suggested using the combination of baking soda and vinegar — another acid — to clean everything from the fridge to carpet, the bathroom, laundry, and more. (You can substitute lemon for many of these, but keep in mind that citric acid is a natural bleaching agent, so make sure to test a small surface first.)
What people are saying
Viewers were excited by the crystal-clear headlights and eager to test the hack themselves. "I have to try this," one person commented.
Others had already tested out the idea and found it to be just as effective as Christina had demonstrated. "It worked! Thank you!" one person said enthusiastically.
"So helpful," another agreed.
If you're inspired by the idea of natural cleaning products, make sure to check out similar hacks for cleaning your stovetop, dirty dish towels, and counters the toxin-free way.
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