Why you should be adding LEMON to your dishwasher 

Why you should be adding used LEMON halves to your dishwasher for perfectly sparkling plates and cutlery

  • An Australian mum has shared her secret to a clean dishwasher and dishes 
  • On TikTok Chantel Mila revealed she places half a used lemon in the dishwasher 
  • The citric acid in the lemon cleans limescale and deodorises the appliance 
  • It also leaves the dishes looking immaculately white and sparkling clean 
  • Others online dubbed the cleaning hack as ‘genius’ and ‘great’  


A mum has revealed the secret to sparkling clean dishes and dishwasher every time is using half a used lemon.  

Chantel Mila, who’s known for sharing cleaning hacks on TikTok, shared the ‘genius’ tip with her 438,000 online followers.

In her latest video the Melbourne mum-of-two placed the lemon on the top tray of the dishwasher among the dirty dishes and turned the appliance on a regular cycle.

The citric acid in the lemon cleans limescale and deodorises the dishwasher while also leaving the dishes looking sparkling clean.

In a video Chantel Mila placed the lemon on the top tray of the dishwasher among the dirty dishes and turned the appliance on a regular cycle

A clever Australia mum who’s known for sharing cleaning hacks on TikTok has revealed how to the secret to sparkling clean dishes and dishwasher using a lemon

‘This is a tip to help minimise kitchen waste, I used lemons (squeezed and seeds removed) but you can also use lemon juice,’ Chantel wrote in the comments.

‘Don’t throw away the secret to your shiny dishes.’ 

Chantel warned only used, seedless lemon slices should be used because the seeds can get stuck in the pipes of the dishwasher machine, leading to technical issues.

The clever hack should only be used on occasion and not when using the dishwasher every time, as the acidity is believed to effect the rubber in the appliance.  

The citric acid in the lemon cleans limescale and deodorises the dishwasher while also leaving your dishes sparkling clean

Chantel warned only used, seedless lemon slices should be used because the seeds can get stuck in the pipes of the dishwasher machine, leading to technical issues

The citric acid in the lemon cleans limescale and deodorises the dishwasher while also leaving your dishes sparkling clean

Within 24 hours the video was video was video more than half a million times and many labelled the tip as a ‘great idea’.

‘This is legitimately GENIUS,’ one person wrote, another added: ‘Nice! I’m going to try this!’

‘This is completely TRUE. My wife left half [a lemon] in the hand juicer and I didn’t see it when I put it in, then the inside was immaculate white. Insane,’ a third added.

Chantel said the clever trick would also work well to clean microwaves. 

WHAT CAN I CLEAN USING LEMONS? 

1 – Rust – Lemons can help remove rust and rust stains from metal and fabrics. Simply rub the patch of rust with lemon before wiping away with a cloth.

If the stain is on fabric and can be moved outside to the sunshine when cleaning this will help.

2 – Sweat stains – The annoying yellow marks can be removed with lemon too. Simply rub the effected area with a lemon before letting it sit over night and then pop it in the wash.

3 – Lemon is also a natural bleaching agent – so putting some in the wash with your whites is a great way to have them looking and smelling fresh. 

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk