A TikTok user took to the platform to share an unexpected trick for cleaning your washing machine with just two common household ingredients.
The scoop
TikToker Victoria P. (@purelyvictoria) shared that you can clean your washing machine with just two things that practically everyone has easy access to: lemons and baking soda.
@purelyvictoria Ever wonder how to clean your washing machine? Answer: Lemons and baking soda! 🍋 #washingmachine #deepclean #springcleaning #spring #naturalcleaning #hippie #fresh #dailytips #cleantok #cleanwithme #lemon ♬ BIRDS OF A FEATHER - Billie Eilish
Pour baking soda on both halves of a sliced lemon and toss those halves into your washing machine, then run a normal cycle without detergent or clothes. When it's done, your washing machine will be clean and fresh again.
How it's helping
Lemon juice and baking soda work to clean your machine through a simple chemical reaction. Lemon juice is incredibly acidic and will cut through any residue left in the machine from dirty clothes and the detergent you use. Its acidic properties will help kill any potential mold, and it acts as a natural disinfectant.
The baking soda works in two ways. First, as a base, it reacts with the acid in the lemon juice, helping to remove the built-up grime and residue. But it also functions as a scouring pad, providing a rough surface to remove the loosened gunk from inside the machine to be washed away in the cycle.
On top of being an effective cleaning solution, using lemon and baking soda is safer and less harmful for your pipes and the environment than many commercial cleaning products. Store-bought cleaning products often contain harmful chemicals that can erode your pipes and damage the water table in your area.
On top of that, most cleaning products for laundry machines contain some combination of baking soda and citric acid — the acid found in lemon juice — along with other substances, so you're saving money for what is essentially the same reaction.
What everyone's saying
Commenters on the TikTok post loved the idea.
"Oh wow! I'm going to try this," one wrote.
Another said: "Ooh why didn't I think of this?"
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Saves money 💰 "Lemons are nature's cleaners! They clean everything naturally," a third commenter said.
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