I don’t know about you but I have a hard time waiting. I just get so impatient! On April 17 I posted the start of my DIY Orange Cleaner. You can read about it here.
I crammed as many orange peels into the jar as I could. Then, I just added distilled white vinegar to fill the jar and cover the peels. My post said I would wait 6 weeks….but how about 2 instead?
Here is how the contents of the jar look today (after just 2 weeks).
Definitely not as vibrant orange as it was. It has a definite orange/vinegar smell: neither good nor bad. I was hoping it would have a predominant orange smell but it doesn’t. Using a sieve to catch any “floaters”, I poured the vinegar/orange solution into a measuring cup and had 3/4 cup of solution. I decided to dilute it in a 1:1 ratio with water for 1 1/2 cups of cleaning solution. (note, my peels were crammed in so tightly that only one fell out during the decanting process!)
It’s still pretty orange despite being diluted! Now it’s time to try it out. In my kitchen, the hardest items to clean are those that are greasy/oily. I decided to try this out on my range.
Here are the controls before cleaning…ugh!
I just took a paper towel and dipped it into my new orange cleaning solution. All the grease yuck came off fairly easily. See?
The cleaner left no residue. It was not tacky or slimy. The surface feels nice and clean! Also, the smell dissipated quickly. I haven’t tried this on anything super crazy dirty/greasy but this cleaner does show promise!
Update May 4, 2012, I cleaned my bathroom mirrors with this and it worked AMAZING. No streaking, no tacky feeling, perfectly clean!
DIY Orange Cleaner
Ingredients:
1 clean jar with lid
Orange Peels – Lots
Distilled White Vinegar
Directions:
- Using a knife or kitchen shears, cut your orange peels into strips and place them into your jar. Firmly pack your peels into the jar. It will take quite a few peels.
- Pour distilled white vinegar into your orange peel filled jar. You want to pour enough vinegar to cover all the peels. It will not take a lot of vinegar if you have really packed your jar with orange peels
- (Tightly) Put your lid on your jar
- Let your jar sit for 2 weeks, shaking occassionally
- In 2 weeks, decant the liquid from your jar for a concentrated orange cleaner! Use either diluted or straight depending on how oily/greasy your “dirty” item is.
Possible Options:
You could probably try using lemon, lime, and grape fruit peels as well. All 3 of these citrus fruits have cleaning/grease cutting properties.
4you
Four Marrs and One Venus
Tested and approved huh!?! Nice!! I bet like you said the smell is yummy! Awesome deal I will have to remember this one for sure! Thanks for the results Marilyn!!
Anita Stafford
This is too cool! I’ve got to try it!
Anne @ Domesblissity
I’m glad it worked out for you Marilyn. Amazing results.
Anne xx
Becca @ The Sassy Penguin
YAY! Glad it worked! Would leaving it sit longer have an impact on how it works, I wonder?
I may have to try this.
Christine
I’m going to try it! hehe Funny.. I wouldn’t have been able to wait 6 weeks either!!
Thanks for sharing at The DIY Dreamer.. From Dream To Reality!!
Mel the Crafty Scientist
I’d be super-excited if the orange smell stuck around… yummmm! And I couldn’t have waited either, but I’m totally excited to see you try it on some seriously terrible gross mess. Maybe then I could make myself wait at least a few days, haha! ; )
-Mel the Crafty Scientist
Debra Kapellakis
thank you
Jenny @ The NY Melrose Family
This definitely did the job on your oven. I love that it’s green. Thanks so much for sharing at Whimsy Wednesdays.
Chrissy Taylor
Holy cats! That did a great job cleaning. I love orange scent too! Thanks for sharing!
Rose :: Fine Craft Guild .com
ok. i got to serious try this. it has been on my mind ….
thank you for linking it up at our link party: http://www.finecraftguild.com/party/
a brand new party will open today!