While lemon essential oil has always been one of my favorite oils to use around the house, I recently realized that I’ve never actually written a specific blog post about it! I’ve written individual blog posts about uses for lavender oil, peppermint oil, and tea tree oil, but never lemon. Until today, that is! :-)
Today I’m (finally!) giving lemon essential oil the individual attention it deserves by sharing 20 brilliant ways to use it. From deodorizing to sanitizing to dissolving greasy messes, there is no shortage of ways that this oil can come in handy around the house!
Related: 20 Practical Reasons To Keep Lavender Oil At The Ready
20 Brilliant Uses For Lemon Essential Oil
1. Sanitize Your Toothbrush
Add a drop of lemon oil to your toothbrush about once a week. It will help sanitize and deodorize your toothbrush, plus help keep your mouth fresh and clean!
2. Treat Nail Fungus
Lemon oil makes a great treatment for fingernail and toenail fungus. Just add a drop or two to the affected nail several times a day as needed.
Related: The 20 Most Useful Things You Can Do With Peppermint Oil
3. Eliminate Food Odors
Are food odors lingering in your kitchen? Just bring a small pot of water to a boil on your stovetop, then add a few drops of lemon essential oil to the simmering water. The lemon-scented steam will freshen the air in no time!
4. Remove Gum From Hair
If someone has gum in their hair, lemon essential oil can be a real lifesaver! Work a few drops of lemon oil into the gum to loosen it from the hair, adding more oil as needed until you’ll able to pull the gum free.
Related: 20 Of The Best Practical Uses For Tea Tree Oil
5. Wash Your Produce
Fill a large bowl with cold water and add 2–3 drops of lemon oil to make a simple and effective produce wash. Swish your fresh produce around in the water to remove dirt and grime.
6. Kill Aphids
Kill aphids and other pesky little bugs on contact with a simple oil spray. Fill a big glass spray bottle with water and add 3-5 drops of lemon essential oil, then shake to combine. Shake well before each use.
7. Personalize A Letter
Add a dab of lemon oil to the envelope the next time you send a letter or card in the mail. The recipient will love the little personal touch!
8. Make Your Dishes Sparkle
Add a drop of lemon oil to your dish soap or your dishwasher detergent each time you wash the dishes. Your dishes will come out sparkling clean and smelling fresh!
9. Clean Your Hands
A drop of lemon oil will help clean and sanitize your hands if you happen to find yourself without hand sanitizer or soap.
10. Add Some Highlights
Use the photosensitive nature of lemon essential oil to your benefit by using it to highlight your hair! Just work a drop or two of lemon oil through you hair with a brush or comb before spending time in the sun. (Just be sure to keep the oil well away from your scalp!)
11. Clean Hard Floors
Add 5-10 drops of lemon essential oil and 1/4 cup of white vinegar to a bucket of water. Dip your mop into the solution and use it to clean your hard floors. If your floors are especially dirty, add a few drops of dish soap to help cut through the grime.
12. Treat Calluses & Corns
Lemon essential oil is great for softening and exfoliating areas of tough, dry skin including corns and calluses. Rub a drop of lemon oil onto a corn or callus each day until it disappears.
13. Freshen The Air
Fill a small spray bottle with distilled water and add 6 drops of lemon essential oil. Shake well, then use the spray to freshen the air in your bathroom, kitchen, or any room around the house.
14. Soften Dry Heels
Add a drop of lemon oil to a teaspoon or so of your favorite carrier oil, and massage it into your feet before going to bed. Repeat nightly as needed for softer, more moisturized feet!
15. Erase Greasy Marks
Use 1-2 drops of lemon essential oil to erase oily marks left behind by gum, oil, grease, or crayons. This works well on most hard surfaces!
16. Cheer Up!
Feeling a little blue? Add lemon essential oil to your diffuser and your disposition will be sunnier before you know it!
17. Deodorize Your Fridge
Add a few drops of lemon oil to a fresh box of baking soda and place it in your fridge or freezer. The baking soda will absorb food odors and replace it with the fresh scent of lemon.
18. Breathe Easier
Add a few drops of lemon oil to your humidifier to ease a cough or other cold-related upper respiratory symptoms.
19. Shine & Protect Leather
Add a drop of lemon oil to your cloth whenever you polish or condition leather shoes, bags, jackets, or even sofas. The lemon oil will add shine and help prevent the leather from splitting.
20. Conquer Cold Sores
Apply a drop of lemon oil to a cold sores to help promote healing. The antiviral properties of lemon oil may help fight the virus that can cause cold sores.
What is your favorite use for lemon essential oil?
Will it get turmeric stains off of the kitchen counter top?
Yes it should.
An added tip, if you reuse jars for decorations, storage, or bulk shopping lemon essential oil takes the sticky label residue right off! Remove the label from the jar, spread a few drops of lemon essential oil around the jar so all the residue is covered, and leave for 15-30 minutes. The residue will come right off with a cloth, paper towel, or even your nails.
If you are having trouble removing the label fill the jar with boiling water past the label line and leave for 5 mins :)
Great tip, Paula! Thanks for sharing! :-)
I’m not fond of the idea of using an essential oil in my garden. You can plat a small clump of chives near the plant you wish to protect. Not only is this an organic way of repelling aphids, you can also use the chives in cooking. Besides, what about the other ESSENTIAL pest controls – beneficial insects like ladybugs? Can you promise me that this (non)essential oil won’t kill any beneficial insects? What about honeybees?
Soapy water works just fine
If you have pets be sure to research which EOs are toxic for them. That said, thanks for all the great ideas, I love lemon oil.
My favorite use for lemon oil is for runny noses and nose drip. I just use a little carrier oil on a swab and rub it on the sides of my nose. This usually helps me most if the time. It’s also great to use with lavender and peppermint oil when my seasonal allergies are bad. I usually use this in my diffuser. I think lemon oil is one of my favorite oils.
Does the swab go on the inside of the nose or the outside?
Love love love oil posts. I’ve become quite obsessed. How about cinnamon leaf? I’m waiting for my order of it to be delivered. And I never properly thanked you.. One day I clicked on one of your oil links and it brought me to Eden Gardens, which I have now become obsessed with. I was having trouble finding a brand that was affordable and actually genuine. Now every payday I order one for my collection. So thank you, without you I probably would have given up on oils.
Suzy, are you aware that Jillee has her own line of essential oils and that they are very reasonably priced?