Lemon Oil - Not Just for Furniture

I have had a successful cleaning business for nighclean. It gets smudged and smears easily. There
onto twenty five years. As a result I haveare several good products made specifically to
learned many secrets. As I get closer to retiringclean stainless. However, you will find that these
from my business, I plan to reveal some of thosecleaners are all oil based products. Cleaning
secrets. One such trade secret is the many waysprofessionally, economy was a factor to consider.
Lemon Oil furniture polish can be useful.Also I had to consider how many products I could
First and foremost Lemon Oil on furniture does anfit in my kit. Therefore the fewer products that
excellent job of nourishing & protecting yourwould give the same results the better. I found
low luster furniture. The oil leaves a beautiful shine,that a cloth treated with lemon oil did wonders for
and prevents fine wood finishes from drying out.wiping out smears and smudges on stainless steel
Lemon oil replaces lost moisture in older woodleaving a spot free shine. Even marble surfaces
surfaces and penetrates worn finishes.can be brought to a smudge free brilliant shine
Wood furniture should be polished at annually andwith lemon oil.
lemon oil is a my product of choice. Be sure toOne more use I want to mention is the cleaning
pick a brand of lemon oil that polishes without theof scuff marks on floors. On wood floors use a
use of waxes, silicones, or harmful solvents. Anvery minimal amount on a soft cloth or sponge
added feature of the popular brands is that of aand rub ever so gently to remove stubborn scuff
sunscreen to keep your furniture from fading.marks. On other floors you can use a little more
When polishing with lemon oil, I recommendand rub a little harder. The oil lifts the scuff marks
putting a small amount on a soft, non-abrasivelike magic and then mop as usual.
cloth (old t-shirts make great dust cloths) andWhen I first starting selling on ebay, I would come
applying onto the wood surface. I do notacross some very old musty items that had been
recommend using lemon oil on high gloss veneers.stored in basements and attics.. Spraying a cloth
On heavily soiled surfaces such as painted wood,with a small amount of lemon oil and wiping the
plastic-laminated surfaces, fiberglass shower stallsitems would clean the items and aid in removing
and glass shower doors spray a small amount ofwater stains. This worked well on old vinyl and
lemon oil on the surface before spraying with theleather items, although the color would darken a
all purpose cleaner of choice. The lemon oilbit. I would suggest that you always test an
penetrates deeper and loosens the dirt. Theinconspicuous area first. An added benefit to
combination of oil with your cleaner will result in acleaning these items with lemon oil was the
cleaner surface in half the time.pleasant citrus fragrant that lingered. In extreme
After cleaning shower stalls and doors, rinse wellmildew, a hint of the mildew odor remained.
in order to get rid of excess oil. Dry surface andHowever, in most cases there was always a
wipe with a cloth that has been treated with adefinite improvement.
very small amount of lemon oil to prevent hardI could also salvage many hard covered books by
water stain build-up. The thing to remember is towipe the outside with a cloth that had been
use a very small amount and not to use it on thepre-treated in lemon oil. It would help to remove
tub or shower floors or you will make it slippery.any water stains. Of course you would not
When cleaning offices which have many largeattempt to wipe the pages. If the book had any
leather chairs I would simply wipe the arms andold labels, like book store stickers that had been
top of chairs lightly with a treated cloth and itpartially worn away the lemon would dissolve the
would wipe the dust and leave a nice protectiveglue and remaining label. The oil did darken the
shine. The office chairs get a lot of wear,color of the book cover a little. Again the key
especially on the arms and just a light rub withfactor is to use just a little and not to put the oil
the oil helped to preserve the leather and preventon the book but on the cloth.
splitting. I once cleaned a chiropractor's office andThe important thing to remember when using the
there were many leather tables. Some of themlemon oil is 'less is best'. I always treated a cloth
were starting to split and wiping them with awith the oil and kept it in a plastic baggie. It would
lemon oil treated cloth retarded the splitting..be enough to last through the whole days worth
When cleaning house, lemon oil was invaluable. Myof cleaning, sometimes longer. Today you can
oil treated cloth would quickly wipe away thepurchase lemon oil in pre-moistened wipes if that
beginning signs of tarnish on silver and brassis your preference. I would be careful using such
knickknacks. This served to extend the length ofwipes on surfaces like leather or shower stalls as
time between thorough cleanings. The face of thethere may be too much oil in the wipes. I still
microwaves which would get so greasy fromprefer treating my own clothes. Whichever you
fingerprints would wipe to a clean and brilliant shineuse, lemon oil has many uses in cleaning
with my magical lemon oiled cloth.professionally or for your own personal use.
Stainless steel is another troublesome surface to