Why hydrogen peroxide should be in every home: 20 facts 

Why hydrogen peroxide should be in every home

Hydrogen peroxide, an inorganic chemical compound made up of 2 hydrogens, and two oxygen atoms is a powerful oxidation agent that enables its primary use as a disinfectant. You can use hydrogen peroxide solution to effectively kill all kinds of bacteria, fungi, and viruses. Here’s a look at some of the practical uses of hydrogen peroxide.

1. Wound Disinfection

Prepare a 3% Hydrogen peroxide solution and use it to disinfect open wounds on the skin, like lacerations or cuts, before stitching and dressing. The antiseptic creates foam in contact with enzyme catalase. Catalase is produced by damaged cells, particularly blood cells. When the foam appears on the almost healed wound when treated with hydrogen peroxide, it indicates bacterial infection of the damage.

2. Making a Bath

To make a detoxifying bath, add 1 liter of 3% hydrogen peroxide to your warm bathwater. Then, soak in it for about 30 minutes to flush out toxins from your skin and body.

3. Curing Fungi on Your Feet

In a 50:50 ratio, dissolve hydrogen peroxide in water and submerse your feet daily before bedtime. It’s imperative to keep your feet dry to avoid recurrence of the fungal infection.

Read Also: 20 Signs to Fix Candida Imbalance

4. Ear Wax Removal

With time, cerumen, or ear wax, can build up in the external auditory canal, thereby inhibiting sound passage to the tympanic membrane. In such a situation, use 3% hydrogen peroxide solution to dissolve the cerumen. After applying a few drops of the resolution, you’ll feel crackles in your ear. These emanate from the dissolving cerumen.

PERSONAL CARE

5. Mouthwash

To make an effective and inexpensive mouthwash, take one capful of 3% hydrogen peroxide, hold it in your mouth for about 10 minutes daily, and then spit it out. This way, you’ll keep canker sores at bay, and your teeth will be whiter.

6. Toothpaste

Mix baking soda and 3% hydrogen peroxide to make toothpaste.

7. Toothbrush

You can also dig your toothbrush in 3% hydrogen peroxide before brushing. Then, to keep the toothbrush germ-free, soak it in hydrogen peroxide as well.

8. Tooth Ache

Hydrogen peroxide may not be a pain killer, but it can effectively treat the pathogen that is causing the infection due to its antifungal, antiviral, and anti-bacterial properties.

If you have an annoying toothache and a dentist isn’t within your immediate reach, put a capful of 3% Hydrogen peroxide in your mouth. Hold it for 10 minutes a couple of times daily. The pain will eventually diminish.

9. Tooth whitening

You don’t need professional whitening; simply use 3% hydrogen peroxide, and your teeth will become white after some time.

10. Douche

With two cupfuls of 3% Hydrogen peroxide dissolved in warm distilled water 1-2 times a week, you can eliminate even persistent yeast infections.

11. Colonic or enema

Add 1 cup of 3% hydrogen peroxide to 5 gallons of warm water to cure the colonic. For an enema, mix one tablespoon of the compound with a quart of warm distilled water.

12. Hair lightening

To lighten your hair:

1. Dilute 3% hydrogen peroxide with water at a 50:50 ratio.
2. After a shower, spray this solution on your wet hair and comb it through.
3. Don’t expect immediate change as it lightens the hair gradually.

13. Contact lenses

Due to its capacity to disintegrate the proteins that accumulate on the lens from your eye’s immune response, hydrogen peroxide can be used as a contact lens cleaning solution.

SANITIZING / DISINFECTANT / CLEANING

14. In the dishwasher

To disinfect the dishwasher, add 2 ounces of 3% Hydrogen peroxide to your usual washing formula.

15. Kitchen/ Household surfaces

Put some hydrogen peroxide on the dishrag when you wipe to kill germs and leave your counters and tabletops smelling fresh. You can as well spray it on the surfaces.

16. Humidifiers/Steamers

Use 1 pint of 3% hydrogen peroxide and 1 gallon of water in a steamer or humidifier to clear the air.

17. Washing/laundry

Instead of using the conventional bleaching agents, you can use hydrogen peroxide to keep garments white while preventing them from wearing out faster.

18. Laundry / Stain Removing

For stain removal, use some 3% Hydrogen peroxide, but not long after a spill. However, it can remove blood stains that are as old as two days.

FOOD PREPARATION

19. Food preparation/decontamination

Hydrogen peroxide is non-toxic. Thus, you can use it to clean food preparation and cooking areas.

20. Vegetable soak

Add a 1/4 cap of 3% hydrogen peroxide to a sink full of cold water. For light-skinned vegetables like lettuce, soak for 20 minutes, and 30 minutes for a thicker skinned vegetable like cucumber. Then, dry and refrigerate. This procedure helps to destroy microorganisms and neutralize chemicals. It also prolongs freshness.

21. Meat sanitizing

You can use hydrogen peroxide to rinse off meat before cooking.

22. Leftover tossed salad

To keep your leftover salads, spray them with a solution of 1 tablespoon of 5% hydrogen peroxide and 1/2 cup of water. Then, dry, cover, and refrigerate.

24. Sprouting seeds

Dilute 1 ounce of 3% Hydrogen peroxide with 1 pint of water, then douse the seeds overnight. You need to add an equal amount of hydrogen peroxide each time you rinse the seeds.