Club Benefits
Who doesn’t love a fresh-smelling kitchen? But getting rid of lingering odors can be tough, especially potent ones from everyday cooking, such as garlic, fish, raw meat, or even broccoli. And while I’ve used scented candles, plug-ins, and all sorts of room fragrances to eliminate post-cooking smells, they still linger in the air.
That was until I discovered this incredibly easy way to instantly make your entire kitchen smell fresh. What’s more, it uses a common kitchen appliance and a citrus fruit from your fruit bowl. So say goodbye to kitchen odors with this simple dishwasher hack.
Add a lemon to your dishwasher
The hack involves adding a lemon to your dishwasher — yes, you heard right. However, don't put a whole lemon in; it's best to chop it into several chunky pieces before adding them to the appliance.
Essentially, part of a dishwasher's function involves circulating hot water through its small basin, which creates steam. The idea is that once the washing cycle completes, the smell of the lemon will leave a fresh scent in the air the moment you open the door.
In addition, lemons are a natural bleaching agent and will instantly deodorize your smelly dishwasher. So it’s a win-win! Plus, it’s far cheaper than spending a fortune on cleaning products.
Dos and don't of using a lemon in your dishwasher
As with most homemade hacks, there are some things to avoid when using lemons. And before adding lemons to your dishwasher, you’ll need to know how to do it properly if you don’t want to ruin your machine.
Remove all the seeds and any excessively loose pulp from the fruit to prevent clogging the filter.
First of all, remove all the seeds and any excessively loose pulp from the fruit to prevent clogging the filter. Secondly, it's important to get the placement right within the dishwasher. Ideally, the best spots are either the utensil basket or the top rack — it’s always best to avoid the detergent dispenser in case a chunk gets stuck inside.
What’s more, use reasonably-sized chunks and not thin slices to prevent them from slipping through the slots on the rack. And of course, be sure to take the lemon pieces out once the cycle is completed. You don’t want those to be accidentally left in the dishwasher.
And while there has been some debate about the long-term effects of corrosion from the acidity of lemons inside the dishwasher, it's probably best not to use this trick too often. However, some users have suggested that this hack is fine as long as you're also not washing anything sensitive to the juice.
In any case, if you want to quickly get rid of lingering kitchen odors, this will get the job done in no time. Let me know how you get on trying it out in the comments below.
For more top tips, check out these 9 things you didn’t know you could clean with a lemon, and 7 ways you can use lemon juice in your laundry routine.
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