What the heck is hydrogen peroxide? The chemical compound often found in medicine cabinets and beneath sinks seems to serve any anti-bacterial purpose you could ever ask for.
And yet, there are still dozens of lesser-known uses for the bleaching agent. You might have been using the stuff to wash your mouth or disinfect wounds, but the truth is, with a little creativity, it can be so much more…
1. Give your dishwasher a boost: Add about 2 ounces of 3-percent hydrogen peroxide to your typical dish-washing detergent to give your dishwasher a little afternoon pick-me-up. (Note: this does not work on human dishwashers).
2. Clean carpet stains: Things get out of control. You spill wine on the carpet. It happens! But if you dab that stain with half a cup of hydrogen peroxide and a teaspoon of dish soap — and then vacuum the spot dry — you can eliminate it completely.
3. Clean bloodstains: Okay, maybe that wine stain wasn’t wine. Maybe it was blood. Don’t worry, man! Be cool! Directly apply some 3-percent hydrogen peroxide and then rinse the stain with cold water. Nobody has to know there was ever a stain.
4. Treat sinus infections: Step one. Mix 1 teaspoon of 3-percent hydrogen peroxide with 20 teaspoons of filtered water. Step two. Squirt this solution up your nose. Step three. Rejoice! You’ve treated your clogged sinuses.
5. Clean mildew: A little splash of 3-percent hydrogen peroxide will banish stubborn mildew to the Shadow Realm. And oh, in this instance, don’t dilute your peroxide. Unleash all the compound’s cleaning power on that fungi.
6. Lighten hair: What’s better than whitened nails? Lightened hair, of course. To do so without adding a butt load of chemicals to your hair, mix half a cup of peroxide with half a cup of water. Treat hair for 20 minutes with the solution for lighter locks.
7. Clean out your ears: A bit of peroxide on the tip of a Q-tip can cut through ear wax. If you’re facing an ear infection, a few drops into your ear canal per day can kill any bacteria gathering in there. Just make sure to drain it out after about 30 seconds.
8. Whiten grout: Everyone loves cleaning the grout between their tiles. To make the experience even more exhilarating, apply a paste of one part hydrogen peroxide to two parts baking soda to any grime; then it’ll just scrub away!
9. Sanitize a cutting board: Maybe you chopped raw meat on your cutting board. Maybe your cat sat on it. In either scenario, you can disinfect it by rubbing vinegar onto the board, then wiping it with a hydrogen peroxide-soaked paper towel.
10. Clean sweat stains: If you’re constantly throwing weights around or crushing cardio machines, your gym shirts probably have ‘pit stains…until you soak them for one hour in a cocktail of one part dish detergent and two parts peroxide.
11. Clean your feet: Try adding some hydrogen peroxide and essential oils to the water next time you soak your feet (or everything). This will take care of any smells and address any skin infections.
12. Clean your toothbrush: If you’ve never closely inspected your toothbrush, please don’t start doing so now. They’re kind of gross and harbor a lot of bacteria. Rinsing them regularly in hydrogen peroxide, though, can clean them up easily.
13. Get rid of house odors: Does your couch smell like the backsides of those normally sitting on it? Does the recliner smell like the ghost of grandpa or cat dander? A few drops of peroxide to odorous decór can freshen up the smell of your home.
14. Remove clothing stains: Stains? Those are for children fresh off a Saturday morning wrestling match out on the lawn. For you, hydrogen peroxide owner, stains are an ancient memory. Mix just three teaspoons with non-gel toothpaste for a stain-blasting cleaning compound.
15. Deodorize fabrics: Nothing sends people running from your home cursing your name quite like musty towels. So do your guests a favor and soak musty towels in a tub with half a cup of hydrogen peroxide. Re-wash them and…bam! No must.
16. Clean glass: Hydrogen peroxide, warm water, and a little bit of soap form a window cleaner that evaporates naturally, and — most importantly — doesn’t leave vision-impeding streaks behind.
Adam Jones / Flickr
17. Clean makeup brushes: A blend of warm water, soap, and hydrogen peroxide will break up any makeup residue leftover on brushes — the perfect solution to keep your skin healthy!
18. Whiten your nails: Soak your fingernails in a solution of hydrogen peroxide and warm water, then scrub your nails with your (now peroxide-rinsed) toothbrush. This eliminates yellow stains left behind by frequent nail polishing!
19. Soften callouses: Walking barefoot can form callouses on your heels and manual labor can make ’em pop up on your palms. Soften any callous for easier removal by soaking it in a solution of warm water and peroxide for 15 minutes. Speaking of feet…
20. Remove algae from aquariums: When algae takes over the fish tank, it’s tempting to toss the entire habitat. But you know better by now! Clean it up with a tiny amount of hydrogen peroxide. Check with the experts for the exact amount — don’t hurt your fish!
There isn’t another product out there that can be put to work quite like hydrogen peroxide. All hail H2O2!
Share these uses for hydrogen peroxide with your friends below.