It's interesting what we inherit both by direct exposure when we are young and through observation when we ourselves take to trying out various types of solutions to ordinary tasks. I am 76 years old, and my mother taught me that the simple lemon has many uses, both as an astringent and as an antiseptic. In fact, it shares many similar properties in that way with vinegar.

So there is nothing new about the use of lemon juice as a cleaning agent. My mother used to use diluted lemon juice as a very effective rinse after shampooing hair. I find it works in a far superior way to the chemical-laden commercial products. It leaves the hair silky-smooth and shining.

With lemon juice or vinegar and a small amount of a gentle-action liquid detergent and water a good shampoo results. Equal parts liquid detergent and water, and a much smaller amount of vinegar/lemon juice does the trick. And no rinse is required, hair turns out sparkling clean, and there is, in fact, a shining sparkle evident afterward, the hair strands squeaky clean.

I use an old spray-bottle left over from emptying a commercial spray product for cleaning bathrooms to fill it when required with a good-quality liquid dishwater detergent to one-eighth-full, add vinegar to the half-way mark of the bottle, then fill the remainder with plain water. This results in an effective cleaning solution for kitchen and bathroom.

When I am preparing a piecrust dough, after mixing the flour/salt with butter/margarine, I use a tablespoon of lemon juice sprinkled over, before adding a scant amount of cold water to produce a kneadable, rolling-pin dough. Alternately, vinegar can be used in place of the lemon, to produce an excellent end product.