Open up your medicine cabinet, and right next to the alcohol and bandages, you’re bound to find a brown bottle of good ol’ Hydrogen Peroxide.
You know, the stuff that foams up when Mom poured it over a cut? Well, it turns out there’s more to hydrogen peroxide than just cleaning cuts! Besides being one of the world’s most effective anti-germicidal agents, there are many other common household uses for Hydrogen Peroxide.
Here are just a few:
- Fruit & Vegetable Wash – Pour 1/4 cup into a large bowl of water and wash fruits and vegetables very well. Rinse thoroughly with cool water.
- Sanitize Kitchen & Bath Surfaces – Use a spray bottle with a 50/50 mixture of peroxide and water. Spray down all surfaces to kill harmful bacteria. The FDA has approved the use of peroxide as a sanitizer! Make sure your spray bottle filters out sun light to protect the mixture.
- Whiten Laundry – Substitute bleach with 1 cup of peroxide to your load of whites and they’ll come out whiter and brighter than ever.
- Mouthwash – Make a 50/50 mixture of peroxide and water. Add some mint essential oil to it and use that as your daily mouthwash for a clean, fresh rinse.
- Disinfect Your Toothbrush – Just soak your toothbrush in peroxide to kill bacteria and other bathroom germs.
Fun Fact:
Invented during World War I, Hydrogen Peroxide’s primary use was to clean soldiers’ wounds, and keep hospitals free from dangerous infections.
Do you have other uses for hydrogen peroxide that you’d like to share? Please do!
Peace,
Sarah
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Sarah UmmYusuf
Founder
I believe protecting your family from harmful chemicals doesn't have to be overwhelming. Anyone can do it, one small step at a time. Are you ready to take charge of your family's health?
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Shari
Apr 25, 2016 at 6:33 amMy allergies have gotten worse, and my lungs can’t take the cleaning chemicals anymore. I think the natural way is going to work for me “)
Me
Mar 18, 2014 at 9:15 pmBacking soda and salt made my teeth look gray!
Me
Mar 18, 2014 at 9:15 pmnumerous pustules and wrinkling of the skin.
Me
Mar 18, 2014 at 9:14 pmBacking soda and salt made my teeth look gray!
Brooke
Jun 2, 2013 at 12:13 pmPlease, please do not use hydrogen peroxide in your mouth! I used to use it in a commercial mouth wash and was very happy with the whitening results but my gums and the roof of my mouth began to peal horribly. It continued and I thought I was going to have to have oral surgery on my gums in my early 20s. After hearing that, although it does clean wounds well, it can damage the tissue and prolong healing, I stopped using it in my mouth. My mouth has since healed and improved. I would rather have slightly less than white teeth than gums that wont hold my teeth in my mouth. Just because something is FDA approved does NOT mean it is healthy. I do still use it around the house, as a pretreatment for laundry, etc. but do not let it touch soft tissue.
Me
Mar 18, 2014 at 9:13 pmOH-OH!!! That is samething I have noticed. I did rinse my mouth with peroxide for a whire, but then I noticed that my gum got receeded .. (it was quickly in may be 2 weeks of using straight peroxide that I bought in CVS pharmacy). I thought it happened because I started getting older, but, here you go… Brooke found that peroxide damaging his mucosa (soft tissue) in his mouth too !!!! thanks!
Hester Calldo
Sep 27, 2012 at 6:42 amHallo Sarah,
What is the peroxide strength that you have used for “how many uses…”
Sarah
Sep 28, 2012 at 2:26 amHi Hester, there’s usually just one kind at my drug store. I think it’s 3%
Cindy
Apr 28, 2012 at 11:54 am– When I was a kid my mother used the ‘stuff in the brown bottle’ as a canker sore medicine.
– It was also used to treat an owie before putting on a band-aid when I was a child.
– Add one bottle of peroxide, two tbsp. baking soda and two tbsp. liquid dish soap to a spray bottle. Swirl the liquid to mix it well. Do not shake the bottle or you will cause bubbling. Use this mixture to spray on household odors. Simply saturate the area and let it air dry. Swirl before each use.
Sarah
Apr 28, 2012 at 1:12 pmThanks so much for that awesome tip, Cindy! I’m going to try it and add it to the post 🙂
Georgia Soares
Apr 29, 2012 at 8:26 amI use it to remove blood stains.