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Welcome to Clean Enough, a new kind of cleaning column for busy home cooks who have better things to do than scrub and sanitize around the clock. Every other week, neurodivergent writer and mom Emily Farris shares tips, tools, and products that can help you stay on top of the dirtiest spots in the kitchen while also dispelling a few cleaning myths and cutting down on clutter.
Until last year, when I finally broke down and bought a Bosch, my experience with dishwashers was less than stellar. And while I understand that it’s a privilege to have a dishwasher at all, most of the rental-issue and builder-grade models I used left my dishes “clean” but extremely cloudy. The machine in the house I bought nearly a decade ago was one of the worst, and after trying every combination of detergents and rinse aids under the sun, I was ready to throw in the towel—until I discovered Lemi Shine Dish Detergent Booster in the cleaning aisle at Target.
The label promised to give me something none of the other products I’d tried had: clean dishes by way of a clean dishwasher. Though I was already pretty sure the dishwasher itself was the problem, I hadn’t considered that it might just need a good cleaning.
I followed the instructions—filling the main detergent receptacle with Lemi Shine crystals and running a full, empty cycle—then I used it in my next full cycle. I wasn’t expecting much, but my dishes came out clean. Even my glassware. So I kept using a little Lemi Shine in every load and I managed to get another couple years out of an appliance I otherwise would have had to replace.
The magic ingredient (and also the only ingredient) in Lemi Shine is crystallized citric acid. Citric acid is a food-safe natural compound derived from citrus fruits that’s used for preserving, cooking, and cleaning. As a cleaning agent, it’s perfect for use in the kitchen because it breaks down the mineral deposits that form anywhere you use water. (Citric acid also has some antibacterial properties, but it’s not a true sanitizer.)
Because my city has relatively hard water, I’m all too familiar with mineral deposits. So after having so much luck with my dishwasher, I started finding new uses for this food-safe powder. Here are four other spots in the kitchen I clean with citric acid.
My single-serve coffee maker
Nespresso machines require virtually no maintenance, which is one of the main draws for me. But they do need to be descaled once or twice a year (the frequency will depend on how much you use your machine) and once I realized that Nespresso’s pricey descaling solution is just a citric acid solution, I started to make my own. While recommendations for the proper ratio vary, I found that many baristas and other coffee experts suggest a ratio of 2 tablespoons of citric acid per one liter of water. Now it’s what I use to descale my machine while still following the descaling instructions in the manual.
My countertop ice maker
Per the manual, my nugget ice maker requires regular cleaning with a diluted bleach solution, but because I have pretty hard water, I also need to descale it every once in a while just like I do my Nespresso machine. To do that, I mix the same ratio (2 tablespoons of citric acid per one liter of water) and run it through the cleaning cycle before doing the sanitizing bleach solution and rinsing steps.
The inside of my tea kettle
I’m pretty sure my Le Creuset Demi Kettle will last forever, but after a decade of boiling hard water in it, the inside was starting to look more than a little cloudy. To clear the buildup, I filled the pot and put it on the stove until it boiled, then I removed it from the heat and tossed in a heaping tablespoon of citric acid. I let it soak for about an hour and after a thorough rinsing, the inside looked brand new.
The base of my faucet
No matter how much I try to wipe up the excess water that accumulates around my kitchen sink, I still end up with the occasional mineral deposit at the base of the faucet. It’s usually small and thin, and luckily, it’s super easy to remove with citric acid. I just sprinkle a little on top of the problem spot then spray it with plain water, let it sit for a few minutes, and wipe it away with a wet microfiber cloth.