What Is Citric Acid and How You Can Use It at Home

Citric acid is as useful as it is little known. For example, have you ever tried to use it to degrease and clean bathroom fixtures or kitchen utensils? This compound, found in all citrus fruits, is an excellent natural cleaning remedy. In fact, you can use it in your washing machine, but also for cleaning your glasses, your toilet and as a drain cleaner. By learning to use citric acid correctly, you will avoid all those commercial products that are polluting to the environment and toxic to our organism.

Citric acid is as useful as it is little known. For example, have you ever tried to use it to degrease and clean bathroom fixtures or kitchen utensils? This compound, found in all citrus fruits, is an excellent natural cleaning remedy. But that’s not all! By learning to use this acid correctly, you will avoid all those commercial products that are polluting to the environment and toxic to our organism.

The Properties of Citric Acid

Citric acid has numerous properties that make it a versatile product. In fact, it acts as a softener, pH regulator, sanitizer and anti-scale. The only precaution to follow is to avoid to use it on wood, stone and marble. You should also be careful to use it on all surfaces that are sensitive to acidic products. If you want to use it on clothes and fabrics, dilute it first and absolutely avoid pouring it in pure form.

As we said, we can find this acid in citrus fruits, such as lemon, but also in kiwi and strawberries. Today, however, it is mostly produced through the fermentation of yeasts and mushrooms. It has the appearance of a small crystal and comes in different chemical forms.

Citric acid is used by the food industry to make jams and jellies more compact and as a preservative. It is also rich in antioxidants, which fight free radicals, is diuretic and helps to absorb iron. Finally, it has a stabilizing effect on our entire skeletal system and has an antibacterial action.

How to Use It at Home

We can use citric acid for house cleaning, along with other natural ingredients. Here are some ideas:

• Washing machine softener: you only need 50 g of acid and 500 ml of water to get a natural softener for your clothes. If you want to perfume your clothes, add a few drops of essential oil, too;
• Glass cleaning: to make glasses and mirrors shiny, avoid the classic spray products and make a solution with 1 teaspoon of citric acid, 1 teaspoon of ecological dishwashing detergent and 1 litre of distilled water;
• Limescale and rinse aid: if you want to remove limescale, add 150 g of citric acid in 1 litre of water. Mix everything and pour it on the sponge or use a spray container to reach the surface directly. You can use the same product for the washing machine and the dishwasher, like a common rinse aid and limescale remover.
• Toilet cleaner: for a natural sanitizer, dilute 25 g of citric acid in 210 ml of distilled water, then pour 10 ml of ecological detergent and 5 drops of lemon essential oil;
• Drain cleaner: if you have clogged pipes, citric acid together with bicarbonate of soda can be of great help. First prepare a solution with 30 g of citric acid dissolved in 200 ml of water and set it aside. Then pour 100 g of sodium bicarbonate into the tubes and immediately afterwards your DIY liquid.