Elderflower cordial, rust remover and sink unblocker: The clever uses of citric acid

Recommended Home Elderflower cordial, rust remover and sink unblocker: The clever uses of citric acid Readers reveal how they make the most of this inexpensive household staple Save Comment speech bubble icon Gift this article free Gift article Give full access to this article, free time. You have 15 articles left to gift, this month. Log in or Subscribe Copy link X Icon twitter Facebook Icon facebook WhatsApp Icon whatsapp email Add us as preferred source Share article Log in or Subscribe Copy link X Icon twitter Facebook Icon facebook WhatsApp Icon whatsapp email Rachel Avery Community Editor Published 07 August 2026 7:00am BST Save Comment speech bubble icon Share article Log in or Subscribe Copy link X Icon twitter Facebook Icon facebook WhatsApp Icon whatsapp email Gift this article free Gift article Give full access to this article, free time. You have 15 articles left to gift, this month. Log in or Subscribe Copy link X Icon twitter Facebook Icon facebook WhatsApp Icon whatsapp email Add us as preferred source Readers share their uses for citric acid Rachel Avery Community Editor Published 07 August 2026 7:00am BST Citric acid has long been a favourite for descaling kettles and coffee machines, but its uses extend far beyond banishing limescale. After Sarah-Jane Hoadley shared her top cleaning jobs for citric acid, readers flooded the comments with their own tips. They revealed just how versatile this inexpensive household staple can be, whether that’s using the powdered form, or lemons, in which it occurs naturally.  From removing rust from tools to unblocking sinks and even making homemade elderflower cordial, here’s what our readers had to say.  A cleaner barbecueWith barbecue season well underway, reader Tom Spencer tells us about his top tip. “Cleaning with lemons is all over the internet nowadays,” he says. “I use cut lemons or limes to clean the barbecue grates after scraping with the wire scraper once at a high temperature. It is as simple as rubbing the halved lemon onto the bars. The acid does the rest, and gets any little bits off. Then put olive oil onto some kitchen roll and rub the bars so the food doesn’t stick.” Summer drinksSpeaking of summer, citric acid can also be used in various cocktail, cordial and wine recipes, as detailed by Janet Adams, 74, from Scotland. “I bought the citric acid last year to make elderflower wine. I was somewhat nervous about putting it in, acid after all,” she says. Janet has a host of self-seeded elder trees on the land where she lives. “Last year was the first time I put them to any use.” When making cordial, the flower heads have to be picked on a hot day when the perfume is strong. They do get soaked overnight, but “be careful to allow anything crawly to escape before that”, Janet adds. Make sure to pick the elderflower heads on a hot day, says Janet Adams Credit: Getty Images Janet also offers a word of warning after this particular occurrence. “I heard a bang from the kitchen one evening and thought one of the cats had knocked something off a shelf. “Later that night I found a cork on the kitchen floor. Yes! My elderflower cordial had exploded. After that I left the cork a bit loose.” With the leftover citric acid, Janet will be using it for cleaning her bird feeders, dog and cat bowls and hen feeders. “It’s a natural product so I prefer that.” Rescue rusty toolsWhen it comes to removing rust from tools, Paul Schaffner, 69, from Michigan in the US is an expert. “I have tried every method,” he says. As a volunteer for a charity shop, Paul restores as many as 300 rusty tools every week that have been donated to the shop. An example of Paul Schaffner’s typical weekly task, restoring a heap rusty hammer heads Credit: Paul Schaffner One of his favourite methods uses citric acid. “For every litre of water, add 100 grams of powdered citric acid, 40 grams of sodium carbonate and an arbitrary amount of cheap washing up liquid.” Make sure to add the sodium carbonate slowly, Paul warns, or it will bubble over. Then, “soak the rusty item for an hour or two, or until the steel is a uniform steel-grey, rinse, and brush lightly”. Paul points out that “if you do this work in bulk, cost matters”. So two years ago, he conducted a rough cost comparison between his “citric home-brew alongside two commercial products as well as vinegar of various concentrations, which is another popular method”. Paul comparing his ‘citric home-brew’ in the red container with a commercial chelation method Credit: Paul Schaffner The home-brew wasn’t just effective, it was also the cheapest, costing around 78p per litre, whereas the commercial products and vinegar solutions ranged from roughly £1.18 to £4.90 per litre. Everyday cleaningAs someone who doesn’t like to use harsh chemicals, Kirsty Bourdillon, 55, from the South of France, was “delighted” when her neighbour suggested an effective tip for unblocking sinks. “Sprinkle two tablespoons of citric acid and two tablespoons of bicarbonate of soda over sink plugholes. Add a few drops of water and leave it for 30 minutes.” Like with ovens, “a smelly microwave will benefit from half a lemon in a bowl of water for a couple of minutes”, according to reader Daisy Crocker. “The lemony steam will cut through the grease then you can wipe it off leaving it nice and fresh.” Maggie Jordan says that diluted citric acid works wonders for polishing up stainless steel pans. Stephen Luscombe agrees: “I always do the dishes with leftover lemons from gin and tonics.” “I believe it was my grandmother who showed me this trick,” he says. “She said to never throw away any used lemons. Just apply a little pressure with the lemon and some hot water and they work their magic,” he describes. “Far better than any cleaning product I’ve ever bought, especially for greasy trays and non-stick pans. Maybe a little rinse at the end and away you go. Cheap and effective and gives you a good excuse to pour yourself a gin and tonic.” If you’re looking to remove odours, such as garlic, from your hands, after a long stint cooking in the kitchen, this reader has the answer. L. Sewell advises to “rub your hands with lemon juice, add a drop of glycerine and sugar, then rinse well”. Windows and mouldMike Thomas recommends citric acid for cleaning windows. “It’s cheaper than vinegar,” he says. “It has the same mild acidity to deal with grease and does not leave streaks. It’s odourless too. You can buy a kilo of this stuff for £5.” For mould on double glazing but also tiles, reader Adam Slaughter advises to use lemon juice and distilled malt vinegar in equal parts. “It will remove black mould and stop it returning for at least six months but be careful with specialist tiles as they may damage,” he says. 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