Top 10 Ways to Use It Around the Home: Lemon Essential

Lemon essential oil is one of the most well-known and used of any essential oil. Follow along to learn the top 10 ways to use lemon essential oil around your home.

Somedays, we get fancy with our diffuser blends, while on other days, it is a simple few drops of lemon. As we write this note, we have lemon essential oil going in our diffuser near our desk. The aroma immediately makes me feel uplifted, energized and makes our house smell clean no matter the condition it is in.

It is one of our favorite oils for cleaning and DIY recipes. Spoiler alert: If you don’t already have lemon essential oil, you are going to want it after reading this note! 😉 There are so many ways to use lemon essential oil around your home.

Get our favorite lemon oil!

TOP 10 WAYS TO USE LEMON ESSENTIAL OIL

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MY FAVORITE WAYS TO USE LEMON

1. FRESHEN THE AIR

Its bright, clean scent freshens up a whole room fast. We love diffusing it near our desk, and it is wonderful for making the house smell fresh on cleaning day. You can also add a few drops to a homemade room spray and mist it into the air. One of the easiest ways to use lemon oil is simply to diffuse it!

2. REMOVE STICKY RESIDUE

Lemon oil is our go-to for lifting sticky messes. A drop or two on a cloth takes off sticker residue, price-tag goo, and gummy buildup with almost no scrubbing.

3. SHINE STAINLESS STEEL AND FIXTURES

Add a couple of drops to a soft cloth to buff up stainless steel appliances, faucets, and fixtures. It cuts through smudges and leaves a bright, streak-free shine.

4. FRESHEN THE LAUNDRY

Add a few drops of lemon oil to a wool dryer ball, or stir it into your homemade laundry detergent, to give your clothes and towels a fresh, clean scent without any synthetic fragrance.

5. DEODORIZE THE TRASH AND DISPOSAL

Kitchen starting to smell funky? Drop a little lemon oil into the bottom of your trash can, or run a few drops down the garbage disposal, to freshen things right up.
Amber essential oil bottle with lemons blurred in background.

6. DUST AND POLISH WOOD

Lemon oil is lovely for dusting. Add a few drops to a homemade dusting spray to lift dust and leave wood furniture smelling fresh and clean.

7. FRESHEN CUTTING BOARDS

After a good scrub, wipe a wood cutting board with a damp cloth and a drop of lemon oil to leave it fresh and clean-smelling.

8. BRIGHTEN YOUR DIY PRODUCTS

Lemon adds a bright, cheery scent to all kinds of DIY products. Stir it into homemade soap, candles, or cleaners any time you want a fresh citrus lift.

9. DEGREASER

Another lemon oil benefit is that it can be used as a natural degreaser and one we love to use when doing the dishes. You can also add a few drops of lemon to your shampoo if you have really greasy or oily hair. See our homemade shampoo recipe and our homemade conditioner.

10. CLEANING

It even works well on mirrors. Lemon has cleansing properties making it great for cleaning! Add 10-15 drops of lemon essential oil, 1/4 cup vinegar to a 16-ounce glass spray bottle, and top off with water. This makes the best all-purpose cleaner, and we use it for everything!

Grab our other favorite cleaning recipes.

HOW TO USE LEMON ESSENTIAL OIL

Lemon essential oil can be used aromatically and topically.

AROMATIC USE

ESSENTIAL OIL DIFFUSERS

See the chart below to see how much oil your essential oil diffuser needs: The most popular way to use essential oils aromatically is with a diffuser. Diffusers disperse tiny essential oil molecules into the air, and as you inhale them, they fill the room with a fresh, clean scent. Depending on the room you are diffusing in and the size of the diffuser will determine the number of drops of essential oil you will add to the diffuser.

100mL: 3-5 drops
200mL: 6-10 drops
300mL: 11-15 drops
400mL: 16-20 drops
500mL: 21-25 drops

OTHER WAYS TO USE ESSENTIAL OILS AROMATICALLY

Inhale the essential oil straight from the bottle for a refreshing scent.
Add a few drops to a cotton ball or tissue and breathe in the scent.
Apply lemon essential oil to clothing.
Add a few drops of essential oil to a glass spray bottle, top off with water, and mist into the air for an air freshener.

See these diffuser blends to support mood, our favorite diffuser blends and how to clean a diffuser.

TOPICAL USE

Lemon oil is photosensitive, so after applying, you will want to avoid direct sunlight. The next way you can use lemon essential oil is topically. To avoid any skin sensitivities, it is best to dilute lemon in a carrier oil before applying it to the skin.

You can make a lemon roller bottle or make a salve for easy application.

To make a roller bottle add lemon essential oil to a 10mL roller bottle and top off with a carrier oil. Use this dilution chart to know how many drops of essential oil to use:

Adult: use 15-30 drops of essential oil in a 10mL roller bottle.

Learn more about making roller bottles!

A Few Safety Notes

Lemon is photosensitive, so avoid direct sunlight for a while after using it on your skin. Keep your oils away from your eyes, and store them safely out of reach of children and pets. Essential oils are potent, so always dilute lemon with a carrier oil before applying it to your skin, and do a small patch test first.

So have we convinced you to get lemon oil yet? Are you already a lemon oil fan? What are some of your favorite ways to use it? Share your stories in the comments below; we love hearing from you!