The clever ways to make the most of citric acid in the home, according to readers

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 barbecue

With 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 drinks

Speaking 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.