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Eco-friendly cleaning with citrus fruits: oranges, lemons, limes, grapefruits

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2 min read

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Citrus fruits are essential when you are doing eco-friendly cleaning. However, some of these fruits are better than others for cleaning and others can be impractical. This depends on the distinguishable features that each of these citrus fruits has.

Lemons

This is the best fruit to use for cleaning. It has a strong acidic pH level of around 2.30. The acidity helps disinfect, and its fibre helps scrub surfaces a bit. It also has a lower sugar content.

Oranges

This fruit isn’t readily suggested for eco-cleaning, but it can do the job if you don’t have anything else. The pH has a lower acidity with a level of 4.35. However, they have a higher sugar content, and the surfaces you clean with it need to be properly rinsed or you can attract bacteria. The sugar also leaves a sticky residue.

Limes

Limes are the next best citrus fruit to clean with. They have a pH around 2.40 and are also just slightly less acidic than lemons. They are still efficient for descaling and breaking down dirt deposits.

Grapefruit

This fruit comes in third after limes for cleaning. It has a pH around 3.38. Its sugar content is higher than lemons or limes, so it can leave a sticky residue. Cleaned surfaces need to be thoroughly rinsed to avoid attracting pests like bacteria that feed on sugar.

So in summary, from strong to weak acidity for citrus fruits, it starts with lemons, limes, grapefruit and oranges. These are the top fruits to use for eco-friendly cleaning. Some less acidic fruits are kumquats and mandarins.

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Pickup and delivery are free. Cleaning is priced by the size of your rug, and you'll see the full price before we start.