LogFAQs > #972746561

The old housewives who used to squeeze lemons into water to make homemade cleaning solution before corporations started mass producing it.



Kyuubi4269 posted...

It's citrus, acids break down stuff, lemon juice cuts through grease like vinegar

This. Which is why people will still clean kitchens and stuff with vinegar (or vinegar mixed in water). But that can be kind of acerbic smell-wise and bothers some people, so lemon's a nice replacement.

Presumably the fact that the other major cleaning solution smell is "pine" is related, because pine needles are acidic. So someone somewhere probably figured out if you mix pine needles in water it makes a stronger cleaning fluid as well.



keyblader1985 posted...

Big Lemon, to be specific. Oranges and lines do not share that reputation

To be fair, oranges kind of do. There's a lot of cleaning products these days that smell like orange. Along with orange-scented air fresheners.