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Lemon juice disinfectant


Lemon juice as a natural biocide for disinfecting drinking water

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. 1994 Dec;28(4):324-30.

M D'Aquino  1 , S A Teves

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M D'Aquino et al. Bull Pan Am Health Organ. 1994 Dec.

. 1994 Dec;28(4):324-30.

Authors

M D'Aquino  1 , S A Teves

Affiliation

Abstract

The natural biocidal activity of lemon juice was studied in order to explore its possible use as a disinfectant and inhibitor of Vibrio cholerae in drinking water for areas lacking water treatment plants. From January through July 1993, water samples of varying alkalinity and hardness were prepared artificially, and underground and surface water samples were obtained from a number of different rural and urban areas in Argentina's Buenos Aires Province. After measuring the latter samples' hardness and alkalinity, a range of concentrations of lemon juice and other acidifiers were added to each sample, and the resulting pH as well as the samples' ability to destroy V. cholerae were determined. The results show that lemon juice can actively prevent survival of V. cholerae but that such activity is reduced in markedly alkaline water. For example, treatment of underground drinking water, which is characterized as having the greatest degree of alkalinity in our area, will typically destroy V. cholerae if the alkalinity of the water is the equivalent of that produced by 200 mg CaCO3 per liter, if enough lemon juice is added to bring the lemon juice concentration to 2%, and if the lemon juice is allowed to act for 30 minutes. All this points up the need to determine the alkalinity of water from any local source to be treated in the process of assessing the minimum concentration of lemon juice required.

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16 Surprising Uses for Lemon Juice Around Your Home

By

Mary Marlowe Leverette

Mary Marlowe Leverette

Mary Marlowe Leverette is one of the industry's most highly-regarded housekeeping and fabric care experts, sharing her knowledge on efficient housekeeping, laundry, and textile conservation. She is also a Master Gardener with over 40 years' experience; writing for over 20 years.

Learn more about The Spruce's Editorial Process

Updated on 06/22/22

Reviewed by

Rhea Mehta

Reviewed by Rhea Mehta

Rhea Mehta, PhD, is an award-winning healthcare innovator and toxicologist who for the past decade has worked to empower people to lead healthier lives, starting in their homes. Rhea holds a PhD in Toxicology, with over 15 scientific publications, and a certificate in integrative health coaching. 

Learn more about The Spruce's Review Board

Fact checked by

Emily Estep

Fact checked by Emily Estep

Emily Estep is a plant biologist and fact-checker focused on environmental sciences. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and a Master of Science in Plant Biology from Ohio University. Emily has been a proofreader and editor at a variety of online media outlets over the past decade.

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The Spruce / Ana Cadena 

Need to add a shine to your pots and pan, polish your dining room table, or remove a rust stain? Just grab some lemons! Lemon works great for cleaning. The acidic quality and fresh scent can work wonders around the house, and it can work similarly to a bleach. You can even use the rinds to add a little shine and make everything look spic and span. From the kitchen to the laundry room, to every other part of your home, discover all the ways to use lemons outside of cooking.

Tip

To get the most from every lemon, place the uncut lemon on a countertop and roll under your palm to soften slightly. This will help you get every drop of juice.

Article Sources

The Spruce uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

  1. Tomotake, Hiroyuki et al. Antibacterial activity of citrus fruit juices against Vibrio species. Journal of nutritional science and vitaminology vol. 52,2 (2006): 157-60. doi:10.3177/jnsv.52.157

We ask those who claim that lemons and lemon juice (and by extension lime juice and orange juice) cleanse or disinfect.

As more and more moms, kids, schools, doctors, veterinarians and more are concerned about chemical toxins in cleaning products. Claims that some natural products... the ones you probably already have in your fridge... will clean and sanitize your home at the same time are better and safer than anything you could buy. nine0003

But as far as we can tell, these are just complaints. We've written about this before regarding vinegar as a disinfectant, which is not what the scientists say unless you buy industrial strong, undiluted, non-food (you can't use it in cooking) vinegar with a concentration of acetic acid that exceeds the allowed concentration of 5 % for home and domestic use.

So we ask again those who claim that lemons and lemon juice (and by extension lime juice and orange juice) cleanse or disinfect. nine0003

Prove it!

This time, however, our faithful Newtonian "Ask a Scientist" offers no wisdom, but offers the main components of lemon juice so that we can study it in other ways:

So we can get the MSDS value for each of these substances. Over the years of cleaning, we have learned to pay attention to several key pieces of information in the MSDS ( Chemical Safety Data Sheet) which must meet the criteria we have defined.

Health hazard rating 1 or 0; anything above that can pose enough of a risk to pets, children, and our cleaners...who come in daily contact with these natural chemicals.

No carcinogenic effects; the answer "no data" means that the chemical has not yet been studied for its effect on the development of cancer. Only about 150 out of almost 90,000 chemicals registered with the EPA have been tested for carcinogenic effects and reports can be found in the National Toxicology Program.

In the case of lemon juice, the only compound with an acceptable health hazard rating is ascorbic acid, incidentally the only compound recognized by the EPA as having any effect on bacteria and/or yeast. Citric acid (100% solution, not diluted with water) EPA does not note that it has any effect on bacteria, microbes, and especially "superbugs". nine0003

Don't believe me, look at the EPA required MSDS values ​​linked above!

Now try to find the MSDS sheet for lemons or lemon juice. You can not! Because lemons and lemon juice are regulated as food by the FDA; there is no direct study on whether lemon or its juice are actual cleaning or disinfecting solutions because the FDA is not in the business of cleaning and disinfecting. So here's what we need to work on in terms of scientific research and some answers about lemon juice as a disinfectant:

FightBac.org (Fight Bacteria) published a Mythbusters newsletter stating that lemon juice and salt are not disinfectants and recommended using disinfectant to sanitize cutting boards instead. FightBac has partnered with R&D departments across the country to develop the Mythbusters series.

General facts about citric acid define it as low, less than 8% of the total amount of lemon or lime, and do not include disinfectant or microbial activity resulting from the use of citric acid. nine0003

Similarly, lemon health records list "some microbial activity" and list the lemon oil component as an "essential oil", consistent with the high health hazard rating of lemon oil.

A study published in the Journal of Environmental Health compared the effectiveness of several "natural" cleaners with traditional disinfectants and measured the effectiveness against established disinfection criteria. In all tests, lemon juice failed to achieve more than an intermediate efficiency in terms of germ reduction and a low intermediate level in soil removal. nine0003

We can find positive references to citric acid as one of the EPA-registered and scientifically validated disinfectant ingredients in just a few places:

At Tsuyama Central Hospital, scientists investigated various disinfection methods on a battery of 4 microbes, including streptococcus. According to their research published in the Medical Journal of Tsuyama Central Hospital, they found that using the method of sprinkling lemon juice and then wiping with a paper towel after 1 minute resulted in a "4-fold reduction" in bacteria. A 4 log reduction is a scientific term for a microbial kill rate of 99.99%.

Unfortunately, study title, date, etc. are not available, and the journal (from a Japanese hospital) is not available to the public in the US. Regardless, a few points can be made:

99.99% of the four microbes were killed, not all of the microbes, as the blogger seems to suggest in the last sentence.

The reference here does not indicate the concentration of lemon juice, nor the exposure time (how long it must sit undisturbed to achieve disinfection) before wiping

the reference does not specify a method for measuring microbial reduction

All of these are important in any scientific testing of any disinfectant.

The fact is that science has not shown that lemons or lemon juice do not meet either disinfectant standards or the way lemon juice is used to achieve disinfection. So while your home may smell incredible after wiping down every surface with fresh lemon juice, you haven't provided yourself or your family with any cleaning or sanitizing services. nine0003

Lemon juice is not a disinfectant.

If you liked this article, you might also like this article of ours on the next page:

"Occupational and environmental health study shows that nurses who inhale cleaning chemicals are more likely to develop asthma"

If you need high-quality, professional and not expensive general cleaning, please contact us.

We work around the clock. nine0076

Very often we hold various promotions and provide various bonuses and discounts.

We will always agree on a price and you will always be satisfied with our cleaning.

Call now!

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We are available 24/7. Without holidays and weekends

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Publication date: 12/06/19

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Citric acid - an effective household cleaner

Citric acid - an effective household cleaner

Citric acid is used not only in the preparation of various dishes. This simple, cheap and non-toxic product is an excellent cleanser and disinfectant. nine0003

"Nastenka" will tell you how citric acid helps to keep the house clean and tidy.

Cleaning the bathroom

Citric acid is excellent at removing dirt on the surface of ceramic tiles. With its help, you can get rid of limescale or traces of mortar that was used for masonry.

To remove dirt, take an old toothbrush and soak it in lemon juice. Thoroughly wipe the contaminated area, leave the product for 3-4 minutes, rinse with warm water. nine0003

Stainless steel faucets can be easily cleaned with half a lemon. Such a "sponge" will make the steel surface smooth and shiny.

Citric acid will also help get rid of mold. The tool effectively fights the fungus, prevents its occurrence. To prepare a remedy for mold, you need to prepare a paste:

- take table salt and lemon juice;

- mix the ingredients to a paste;

- apply the agent on the surface affected by mold; nine0003

- hold the paste on the surface for 1-2 hours, rinse with cold water.

Citric acid is used to clean the toilet. Lemon juice or diluted powdered acid is used to disinfect and eliminate odors. Acid fights urinary stone, prevents the growth of bacteria.

Acid helps clear blockages. To clean a sink drain, add baking soda followed by lemon juice or dilute acid.

Putting the kitchen in order

A solution of water and citric acid is used to clean shelves, countertops. Such a tool allows you to clean surfaces from greasy deposits and other contaminants. To clean the surface, it is enough to spray it with a solution, and then wipe it with a dry cloth (paper or microfiber).

Citric acid is also used for cleaning plastic dishes and containers.

Learn more