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    Home » Non Food Recipes

    January 14, 2014

    ThermoFun - Everyday Basics - Lemon Cleaning Concentrate

    Jump to recipe

    thermomixlemoncleaningconcentrate

    We all originally bought our Thermomix machines to make yummy, quick, simple food amazing!

    Then people started posting about making non food items.  Could it be true?!  Yep!  :)

    The Thermomix is an amazing machine for creating all different types of food, but it's also great for creating products we use everyday that no longer have nasty chemicals!

    A great example of this is a recent post on our ThermoFun Club Facebook Group from Corinna.

    Here is what Corinna had to say about using the Lemon Cleaning Concentrate:

    "I find because there are no chemicals I don't have as many dermatitis flare ups. This cleaning concentrate has a pleasant smell too. If I have any cooked on food stuck to the base of the TM bowl I add a tablespoon of concentrate and cover blades with water cook for 5mins and comes up clean.. no scrubbing!!! YAH!! and it's something that I use everywhere in my house from kitchen, laundry to bathroom etc"

    BENEFITS & USES
    • Non-chemical
    • Effective
    • Smells great
    • Cheap
    • Easy to make
    • Use on a damp cloth to clean the oven, hob, fridge, sink & non-wood worktops – rinse and dry thoroughly – if marks appear rinse again and polish with a dry clean cloth.
    • For hand-washing dishes, mix some with your usual washing up liquid for a brilliant degreaser.
    • Excellent for cleaning bathrooms – tiles, toilets, sinks, mirrors.
    • Add 1 tablespoon to the washing machine for a cleaning boost, a pleasant natural fragrance without chemicals, and whiter whites. Add 2 tablespoon for an American-size washing machine.
    • Dilute with an equal amount of coconut oil or olive oil, mix well and use as an excellent hand-wash. No chemicals, no artificial fragrances. It leaves your skin soft too.
    • Use a little on a wet cloth to spot clean fabrics – it has worked to remove curry stains on cotton and poly/cotton for us. Test a hidden area of the fabric first.

    PLEASE NOTE:  Due to the high acidity and the salt combination it is NOT recommended to cook this in your Thermomix bowl. 

    ThermoFun – Everyday Basics – Lemon Cleaning Concentrate

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    ThermoFun – Everyday Basics – Lemon Cleaning Concentrate

    Ingredients

    • 400g to 500g lemons, quartered
    • 300g salt (preferably fine table salt)
    • 300g water
    • 100g vinegar

    Instructions

    1. Place lemon (including skins and pips) into TM bowl and chop 30 sec / speed 10.
    2. Transfer the lemon into a pot and add salt and water and cook for 5 mins on the stove.
    3. Whilst stirring add the vinegar and continue cooking in the pot for another 5 mins.
    4. Pour lemon mixture into TM bowl and blend 1 min / speed 10.
    5. The mixture will resemble a lemon curd. Put into a jar or a heatproof plastic container. Allow to cool before closing the jar with a vinegar-proof lid.
    6. Straight away add enough water to your TM bowl to cover the blades and self-clean 20 sec / speed 8 then rinse and dry.

    Notes

    PLEASE NOTE: Due to the high acidity and the salt combination it is NOT recommended to cook this in your Thermomix bowl.

    © 2023 Copyright, Legal Notice and Disclaimer: Design, photography and text copyright © ThermoFun 2014-2021. Tips and tricks within are the work of the author or nominated parties who have no association with Vorwerk or Thermomix in Australia and therefore are not official, or have the approval of Vorwerk or Thermomix in Australia. None of the recipes that appear here are tested or approved by Thermomix Australia or Vorwerk. Any thoughts expressed on this site are the authors own and are not sponsored by products unless clearly stated. Any nutritional values published on this website are general indications only, for more definitive stats use the panels provided on your products.

    If you've made this cleaner or something similar, why not share your experience and recipe (if not copyright) below.  We could all use a little less chemicals in our home!  :)

     

    For more great tips and recipes on using your thermomix join our free monthly newsletter here:  ThermoFun Newsletter Subscription.

    Click Here for more great recipes in a number of e-cookbooks – containing recipes to suit everyone.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Tilly says

      September 30, 2022 at 2:47 pm

      I make a cleaning solution with a sunlight soap block, a cup of soda ash/washing soda/soda crystals and absolutely love how it cleans. I'm tempted to add 2 pulverised lemons to the solution when I cook the next batch, but I'm worried about chemical reactions, how do you determine what goes together and what is best to not put together?

      Reply
    2. Steve says

      June 11, 2022 at 10:11 am

      I had a bunch of lemons to use up after I had zested them, so I made a batch of this. I had run out of dishwasher tablets so I tried a tablespoon of the lemon cleaner. The results are mostly just as good as commercial dishwasher tablets ! Including on very greasy cooking items. It doesn't do a totally thorough job of burnt on items, probably not abrasive enough.

      Reply
    3. Hannah Brayshaw says

      July 04, 2020 at 1:18 am

      Your reviewer, Corinna, whom you cite above, says she "cooks" the paste in her Thermie for 5 mins to clean it, but you state in red font after the recipe that it would not be'cooked' in the Thermie. Which is correct, please?

      Reply
      • thermofun says

        July 05, 2020 at 6:23 pm

        Hi Hannah, as Corinna only uses a tbsp and approx. 2 cups of water to cover the blades, this would be ok as the acidity and salt proportions would be extremely low compared to making the whole recipe in the TM bowl.

        Reply
    4. Tamika says

      October 10, 2017 at 6:21 pm

      Silly question but does it matter at what temperature we cook it on the stove? Thanks

      Reply
      • thermofun says

        October 12, 2017 at 11:40 am

        Hi Tamika, just have it simmering. :)

        Reply
    5. clare Jelenic says

      July 23, 2017 at 6:52 pm

      What can't you use it on?
      Can you use it on stone bench tops

      Reply
      • thermofun says

        August 15, 2017 at 5:45 pm

        Clare to my knowledge it can be used on everything with no known issues to me!

        Reply
      • Peiling says

        October 05, 2017 at 12:35 pm

        Preferably not on stone benchtops. You shouldn't use anything acidic on them as they are porous and acid is not good for them.

        Reply
    6. Sheila Pybus says

      August 07, 2016 at 3:39 pm

      Can anybody advise on the ratio to use for bench tops, shower screens and tiles, just made my first batch and can't wait to use it

      Reply
    7. Beth says

      May 03, 2016 at 5:13 pm

      what is a "vinegar-proof" lid?

      Reply
      • thermofun says

        May 06, 2016 at 1:32 pm

        Beth, Vinegar-proof means lids that don't have metal that will come in contact with the vinegar. So try and use jars that have a plastic covering on the inside. :)

        Reply
    8. Jayne says

      March 04, 2016 at 11:22 pm

      I love this idea! But I totally detest the smell of vinegar,especially for cleaning (when used on its own). Does the lemon/salt over power the vinegar smell? I would love to make it, but couldn't if I can smell vinegar. Any advice from those who have made it?

      Reply
      • karen bieling says

        March 25, 2016 at 11:57 pm

        i made it today and there is only a great smell of lemons

        Reply
    9. Victoria Bradley says

      October 01, 2015 at 8:41 pm

      Thank you for sharing! I have to try this awesome recipe! I use lemon juice for cleaning my kitchen appliances inside and outside. Also I use lemon peels for making an infusion and for cleaning the windows and mirrors. Lemon peels can be used also for garbage disposal. Greets!

      Reply
    10. Stella says

      August 03, 2015 at 5:28 pm

      I used limes instead of lemons this afternoon. It works well and my whole house smell so nice.

      Just wondering if I want to dilute with water in spray bottle, what is the ratio?

      Thanks

      Reply
    11. Felicia says

      June 12, 2015 at 10:50 pm

      can limes be used instead of lemons?

      Reply
      • thermofun says

        June 15, 2015 at 2:08 pm

        Felicia I haven't tried it with limes but I reckon it would work. Let us know if you try it. :)

        Reply
    12. Lara says

      June 10, 2015 at 5:36 pm

      Made the Lemon concentrate today. House smells amazing. I'm gifting some & keeping some too! Thanks for the great recipe. I was too nervous to cook this in my scanpan so used an old saucepan instead

      Reply
    13. margaret says

      May 20, 2015 at 6:23 pm

      there is a warning not to cook the mixture in the Thermo bowl due to high acidity, yet after cooking the cleaning mixture in pot you instruct to further mix in the thermo bowl. This is a little ambiguous can you please explain further.

      Reply
      • thermofun says

        May 27, 2015 at 12:57 pm

        Margaret because it is not being cooked in the TM only mixed for a minute and then bowl washed immediately as advised in recipe.

        Reply
    14. L says

      May 19, 2015 at 5:13 pm

      Hi
      Would like to try this.
      I notice that you say don't cook in the Thermi but is it okay to do the last stage in the Tm ?
      L

      Reply
      • thermofun says

        May 27, 2015 at 12:59 pm

        Yes it's only in there for a minute to be mixed and then bowl washed out immediately after. :)

        Reply
    15. Siobahn says

      May 19, 2015 at 2:24 pm

      Could you do this with oranges too?

      Reply
      • thermofun says

        May 19, 2015 at 3:46 pm

        To be honest I haven't tried with oranges Siobahn. But only one way to find out! Let us know how it goes. :)

        Reply
    16. Tiffany says

      April 12, 2015 at 3:57 pm

      I just made this and my whole house smells delicious!! Thank you :)

      Just wondering how to use it for general household cleaning like benchtops and bathrooms etc? I i just splodge a blob on or do I dilute it with water in a spray bottle?

      Reply
      • thermofun says

        April 14, 2015 at 3:02 pm

        You can do 'either or' Tiffany! :)

        Reply
    17. lhayne says

      February 22, 2015 at 11:10 am

      I added a squirt to some hot water in my TM bowl and whizzed it on 6 for a few seconds. It cleaned my bowl beautifully!

      Reply
    18. alaina says

      December 22, 2014 at 3:38 pm

      Hi, just wondering if I can do the cooking part in the thermomix to save the extra step of transferring to the stove?

      Reply
      • thermofun says

        December 22, 2014 at 4:01 pm

        Alaina, it is not recommended as there can be some kind of chemical reaction between the lemon, the salt and the vinegar and may damage your bowl. :(

        Reply
    19. lhayne says

      December 13, 2014 at 9:59 am

      It's also great for cleaning stains from chopping boards, and the glass in my shower has never been cleaner. I made up a triple batch to use up the last of the lemons on my tree - I love it!

      Reply
    20. H says

      November 28, 2014 at 1:29 pm

      Wow - my house smells amazing!
      I had lots of lemons to use up so tried this…. can't wait to test it on my bathrooms!

      It made HEAPS so I'm thinking of popping it in little jars for xmas gifts.

      Thanks for the 'recipe'!

      Reply
    21. Rena says

      October 14, 2014 at 10:10 am

      Please let me know if the salt will damaged the cooker top if I use this recipe for cleaning the cooker top?

      Reply
      • thermofun says

        October 16, 2014 at 1:00 pm

        Rena - I really would not know as it depends on what your cooker top is made of. Maybe test on a small unobtrusive part of the cook top before tackling the whole thing?

        Reply
    22. Jacqueline says

      August 10, 2014 at 9:23 pm

      How long does this keep for please?

      Reply
      • thermofun says

        August 12, 2014 at 4:31 pm

        Jacqueline I have some left from my batch I made 6 months ago and it still looks perfect.

        Reply
    23. Trish says

      August 08, 2014 at 5:19 pm

      This is wonderful, makes everything smell so nice as well as cleans, just make sure you don't forget to rinse the measuring cup immediately after making it, otherwise it wont be a clear plastic cup anymore.

      Reply
      • thermofun says

        August 08, 2014 at 5:24 pm

        Yes it does smell lovely doesn't it Trish? :) That's a good tip about the MC too. Thanks :)

        Reply
      • Lorraine says

        June 16, 2016 at 4:17 pm

        Just made it...I decided not to use the MC...didn't want to take any chances...I held a saucer over the top...allowing for any steam to be able to escape...worked perfectly :)

        Reply
    24. Renee says

      February 03, 2014 at 9:41 am

      I will definately be trying this...but I couldnt find the recipe on the UK website you linked?

      Reply
      • thermofun says

        February 03, 2014 at 10:09 am

        Renee, it seems they have moved it! Will update post for you.

        Reply
    25. pasaltmarsh says

      January 27, 2014 at 11:01 am

      I did this and find it very refreshing, still to try it on the oven, but as we are in the process of moving , am using it nearly everywhere and my house smells great. My Thermie loved the afterglow as well

      Reply
      • thermofun says

        January 27, 2014 at 3:29 pm

        Awesome! I bet your house does smell lovely and fresh! Good luck with the move too! :)

        Reply

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