One of the most versatile substances in your medicine cabinet is hydrogen peroxide. First used as a bleaching agent, the substance has since been used in industries and households, and has shown significant efficacy in disinfecting surfaces against bacteria, fungi, and viruses.
Its established use doesn’t stop there, though, as there are other uses for hydrogen peroxide that you don’t want to miss out on. Here are 50 unexpected hydrogen peroxide hacks that you’ll definitely want to use.
1) Whiten Fingernails
The same bleaching action that works on teeth and fabrics can also do wonders to whiten your nails. Soak a cotton ball with hydrogen peroxide, and then dab that onto your nails.
Hydrogen peroxide is may help combat yeast infections. One study even showed that it eliminated symptoms in 89 percent of participants when they douched with 30ml every day for a week.
Bear in mind that other studies show douching can actually lead to increased infections since it displaces good bacteria.
Feeling icky from all the germs going around? Give yourself a detox bath by adding a cup and a half of 35% food-grade hydrogen peroxide to the water. And while you’re at it, add some Epsom salt to soothe sore muscles.
According to Dr. Ernst, you should only do this once a month for “detoxification and oxygenation purposes.”
If you don’t like shoving Q-Tips into your ears, there’s an easy way to clean out that icky ear wax. Tilt your head to the side, then fill your ear with a few drops of hydrogen peroxide. Leave your head tilted for about a minute. When it starts to bubble and feel a little bit itchy, you know it’s working!
If you’re dealing with a really bad ear infection, then for heaven’s sake, visit the doctor! But, if you’re dealing with a case and want to try a natural DIY remedy, putting a few drops of 3% hydrogen peroxide in your ear to kill bacteria might help. Let it sit for a few minutes before draining it out and rinsing it with water.
Let’s be real here, there is no cure for the common cold or the flu once you have it. But, you might be able to decrease your chances of getting it, or at least mitigating the severity of it.
Back in 1928, Dr. Richard Simmons had a theory that the cold virus enters the body through the ear canals. He believed that putting a 3% solution in your ears would help kill off the virus before it took hold.
It’s worth a shot, and many people swear by it, but don’t expect miracles and do not use it as a substitute for medical attention!
Hydrogen peroxide may be a useful antidote against all that crazy itching you get with athlete’s foot. Although the evidence is anecdotal, you may be able to calm or even cure athlete’s foot by applying a solution of equal parts hydrogen peroxide and water to your feet.
Even though most doctors no longer recommend hydrogen peroxide as an antiseptic for wound and skin care healing, people still use swear by it as a mouth mouth sore treatment. If you decide to go that route, mix it with water, swish it around in your mouth, then spit it out.
Brushing your teeth swishing with minty mouthwash won’t always help get rid of bad breath. Hydrogen peroxide, on the other hand, helps get to the root of the problem by killing the germs that cause bad breath.
Make sure to use what’s known as “food grade” hydrogen peroxide when you put anything in your mouth!
Want whiter teeth without having to buy expensive whitening strips? Well, one side benefits of using hydrogen peroxide to kill bad breath germs is whiter teeth! The peroxide acts like a bleaching agent, so don’t be shy about using it as both a mouthwash and tooth brightener.
Again, be sure to only use FOOD GRADE hydrogen peroxide, which can be found online, for anything you take in orally.
If you don’t like using commercial toothpaste and all the unnatural ingredients that come with it, then DIY it! Make a natural paste by mixing together baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, and coconut oil.
Makeup brushes are a haven for bacteria, and you should already be washing them once a week with soap and water. To help disinfect them even further, soak the brushes in a bowl of water that has a teaspoon of 3% hydrogen peroxide added to it.
The pain from a really bad toothache can bring a grown man down to his knees! If pain over the counter pain relievers aren’t doing the trick, try swishing your mouth with hydrogen peroxide. Be sure to hold it in your mouth for a few minutes to help kill the bacteria before you spit it out.
Remember that toothpaste recipe where you mix hydrogen peroxide and baking soda? Well, that same exact paste can also be used as a under your arms to ward of pit stank.
Hydrogen peroxide is known for both its anti-bacterial properties and cleansing properties, so if you’re suffering with acne, you might be able to help speed up the healing process. To use, dampen a cotton ball and apply it to the infected areas of your face. Don’t do this too often, or you may end up killing all the good bacteria, too.
There’s a reason why most people keep hydrogen peroxide in their first aid kit. A 3% solution, which is what you find at the drug store, can aid in cleaning minor cuts.
Some doctors no longer recommend it for wound treatment, as it may complicate healing time, so it’s probably not a good idea to use this on anything other than the tiniest of scrapes.
Hydrogen peroxide has been used for years as a cheap way for women to find their inner Marilyn Monroe. If you’re a bleach bottle blonde and your roots are starting to show, an application of hydrogen peroxide may help to hide those darker roots in-between trips to the salon.
If you lived through the 80’s, you might remember those spray bottles of Sun-In hair lightener. As a brunette, it was a terrible idea and it gave you ugly orange highlights. But it worked pretty well for blondes.
To make a DIY Sun-In spray at home, mix 1/2 cup of water with 1/4 cup of hydrogen peroxide and 1/4 cup of lemon juice, and put it in a spray bottle.
Hard calluses on your feet and fingers are not only unsightly, but sometimes they can be painful. To help soften them up, soak them in a tub of warm water and hydrogen peroxide.
Yes, it sounds counter-intuitive. Although a washing machine cleans things, that doesn’t mean it cleans itself. After a while, it can get dirty inside. To clean it, add a cup of hydrogen peroxide to the detergent compartment and run it on a hot wash cycle.
If you don’t have any glass cleaner on hand, hydrogen peroxide will do the trick. You can use it the exact same way – just spray it on the mirror and wipe it clean with a paper towel or squeegee.
If your toilet bowl is in need of a good spring cleaning, look no further than hydrogen peroxide. To disinfect, pour half a cup into the bowl and let it sit for 20 minutes before brushing and flushing.
Hydrogen peroxide also works great at disinfecting your toilet brush! Get one of those brush holders that has a little bowl-shaped receptacle so that the brush is always sitting in a solution of hydrogen peroxide.
The same bleaching acting of hydrogen peroxide that works for your teeth, your hair, and nails also works for grout! Combine baking soda and peroxide so that it forms a paste, then scrub it on the grout.
The same bubbling action that breaks down wax in your ears can also help break down soap scum and grime on tiles. To clean, mix hydrogen peroxide with baking soda to form a paste. Scrub it on the tiles, cover with plastic wrap, and let it sit overnight before you rinse it off. You won’t believe how clean it looks!
Hydrogen peroxide is known for its mold-inhibiting properties. So if you see mold pop up anywhere in your house, spray hydrogen peroxide on it to kill it for good.
Sometimes hot soap and water isn’t enough to properly clean a cutting board. Bacteria can hide deep down in all those cut marks in the cutting board, especially the cutting board you use for meat. After you wash it, spray it with liberally hydrogen peroxide to disinfect it.
Hydrogen peroxide can be used to clean the inside of your dishwasher, and here’s why you need to do it. In one 2016 study, 83% of dishwasher tested positive for fungi, and 47% had black yeast!
You can make a scented dishwasher cleaning “bomb” with hydrogen peroxide, essential oils, and baking soda following the recipe on this blog here.
Just because there’s always soap on your dish sponge doesn’t mean it’s clean. Every time you swipe the sponge on something, it’s picking up lots of really gross things. Be sure to disinfect it regularly by soaking it in hydrogen peroxide. It’ll help extend the lifetime of the sponge before you have to buy a new one.
No matter how much you soak pots and pans with caked-on food in the sink, sometimes that food debris just won’t budge. No problem – just use a paste of hydrogen peroxide and baking soda to help scrub it away!
There are plenty of ways to clean fruits and veggies when you get home from the market. But, one of the quickest and easiest ways to get the job done is to rinse them in a sink filled with cold water and 1/4 cup of hydrogen peroxide. Give them a second rinsing with just cold water when you’re done.
If your greens are looking a bit wilted, don’t throw them out. Freshen them up by spraying them with a mixture of 1/2 cup of water and 1 tablespoon of hydrogen peroxide. They’ll perk right up just in time for dinner.
It’s much easier to maintain a clean shower than it is to scrub it clean from scratch. Be sure to keep a spray bottle filled with hydrogen peroxide nearby so you can spritz it down after every shower.
Guess what, hydrogen peroxide works great at getting rid of those sweaty underarm stains on your favorite tee! Mix one part of dish washing soap with two parts of hydrogen peroxide, then spray it directly onto the stain. Let is soak for 30 minutes before rinsing and running through the washing machine.
To eliminate odors and disinfect your kitty’s box of poopy treasures, dump out the litter and wash the container with soap and hot water. Spray liberally with hydrogen peroxide, then refill with fresh litter. Your cat will thank you!
Nothing ruins a gorgeous backyard pond quicker than an algae bloom. To keep these invaders at bay, experts recommend using 1/2 cup of 3% hydrogen peroxide for every 90 gallons of pond water.
Plants can get their own version of athlete’s foot when they get a fungal infection. To nip it in the bud and keep your plants happy and healthy, spray them with a diluted hydrogen peroxide mixture.
Fill a spray bottle with 1 pint of water and 4 teaspoons of hydrogen peroxide, and use regularly on your plants.
Give your seeds an extra boost early on in life by soaking them them in hydrogen peroxide for 20 minutes before you plant them. It helps soften the seed’s hard outer coating and start the germination process.
It’s great that you’re trying to save the planet by using reusable bags. But, when’s the last time you cleaned them? Spray it with hydrogen peroxide to keep it fresh and clean between uses.
Children’s toys are breeding grounds for all sorts of nasties, which is understandable given all the drool and dirt they’re always producing or getting into. Keep your kids healthy by wiping down their toys, play areas, door knobs and anything else they touch with hydrogen peroxide regularly.
Since it’s always filled with food, we can’t always see how dirty the fridge gets. Be sure to wipe it down or spray it with hydrogen peroxide in-between deep cleanings.
If your floors are looking a little bit dingy, look no further than hydrogen peroxide to make it look sparkly new. All you have to do is mix half a cup of hydrogen peroxide with a gallon of hot water, and then start mopping!
Kid’s lunch boxes are also a breeding ground for yuck. Spritz or clean them regularly with hydrogen peroxide to make sure they don’t catch or spread all the nasties it can collect.
Humidifiers produce steam and moisture, which means they can collect mold if they don’t try completely. To make sure that it keeps pumping pure steam into the air, run it through a cycle with a 3% hydrogen peroxide solution every once in a while. Just fill it with a pint of 3% hydrogen peroxide per every gallon of water.
Shower curtains are another thing that are prone to getting moldy from all the steam its constantly exposed to.
To get rid of soap scum and mildew, toss your shower curtain into the wash with whatever detergent you regularly use. Then add a cup of 3% hydrogen peroxide to the rinse cycle.
Before you try any of these, make sure to use necessary precautions, read directions, consult your physicians, and use the chemical only for its intended purpose. SHARE this with your family and friends to let them know about these hacks!
How to clean the cleaner, 45+ hydrogen peroxide home hacks
Elijah Chan
03.02.21
One of the most versatile substances in your medicine cabinet is hydrogen peroxide. First used as a bleaching agent, the substance has since been used in industries and households, and has shown significant efficacy in disinfecting surfaces against bacteria, fungi, and viruses.
Its established use doesn’t stop there, though, as there are other uses for hydrogen peroxide that you don’t want to miss out on. Here are 50 unexpected hydrogen peroxide hacks that you’ll definitely want to use.
