One of my favorite ways to save money and become more self-sufficient is to discover new uses for everyday basic household items. Hydrogen peroxide is one of those. Everyone probably has a bottle or bottles of it sitting in their house somewhere. If you stock up on basic household items that have many uses, you’ll be less likely to have to run to the store multiple times a week. Being resourceful is a major saver of time and money.
Note: Any time you’ll be using H2O2 on your food or potentially ingesting it, you should look for food grade (not the stuff in the brown bottle).
1. Propagate mushrooms from the store (I’m totally going to try this!!)
2. Clean your sponges. Everyone knows that sponges are a breading ground for bacteria. Create a solution of equal parts water and hydrogen peroxide, and soak your sponge in it for 15 minutes.
3. Get rid of blood stains. Apply hydrogen peroxide directly to the stain (best if it hasn’t dried yet). Let it sit for a few minutes and then rinse with water. You may need to repeat the process, but I’ve used this method several times with great success.
4. Use as a mouthwash. (Note: Swallowing hydrogen peroxide can cause an upset stomach because of the bubbles). Swish around to kill bacteria and help heal canker sores faster.
5. Multipurpose cleaner. Solutions with hydrogen peroxide can be sprayed on your counters, cutting boards, toilets, etc. as a non-toxic disinfectant. Added bonus that it’s safe for septic systems!
6. Use 1 cup of hydrogen peroxide in your laundry to whiten your whites.
7. Treat foot fungus. Mix equal parts hydrogen peroxide and water, and apply to you feet focusing on toes and toenails.
8. Wash your fruits and veggies. Add 1/4 cup of hydrogen peroxide to a sink full of cold water, and then add your produce for a soak to kill bacteria. This will help prolong the life of your produce in the fridge.
10. Toothpaste. You can mix baking soda with enough hydrogen peroxide to make a paste to make your own toothpaste. It can help whiten your teeth and kill bad breath causing bacteria. I’ve heard that doing this frequently can actually bleach your gums (anyone know if that’s true or not?), so I probably would only do this occasionally. But in a pinch…it’ll work! (Update: A reader commented that she’s been using hydrogen peroxide in her homemade toothpaste for years and has never had any bleaching occur…only healthier gums!)
11. Dilute and spray on plants to kill fungus.
12. Adding 2 quarts of hydrogen peroxide to your bath water and then soaking for 30 minutes is said to have detoxifying effects. I’d totally try this one during cold season!
13. Add 1 oz. hydrogen peroxide to 2 cups water to help your seeds garden seeds germinate and improve their root system.
14. Regularly spray your shower curtain with a water and hydrogen peroxide solution to kill and prevent mold and bacteria build-up.
15. Soak your toothbrushes in hydrogen peroxide to kill germs.
17. Treat sinus infections naturally. 1 TBSP of 3 % hydrogen peroxide mixed with 1 cup of non-chlorinated water can be used as a nasal spray. Some suggested increasing the amount of hydrogen peroxide depending on the severity of the infection.
18. Add 2 oz. of hydrogen peroxide to the rinse compartment of your dishwasher.
19. Use 1 pint hydrogen peroxide to 1 gallon of water to clean out your humidifiers.
20. Prevent wilting on your leftover salad. Mix 1 cup of water and 1 oz hydrogen peroxide, and spray on your leftover salad.
22. Lighten wood furniture and remove old stain.
23. Clean your fish tanks with hydrogen peroxide.
24. Dab hydrogen peroxide on pimples to clear up acne.
25. French manicure without sitting in the stuffy salon. Okay. Maybe not a real manicure. But it’ll whiten the tips of your nails anyway. Definitely nice to know when garden season has my nails looking a little rough!
This is a list of some of the awesome sites that I occassionally link my posts at. They’re all great blogs about anything from parenting, simple living, cooking, homesteading (backyard and large scale), gardening, Christian life, frugal living, etc. Check them out!
The Chicken Chick, The Prairie Homestead- Homestead Barn Hop, Strangers and Pilgrims on Earth- The Art of Homemaking, Homestead Bloggers Network- Tasty Tuesday, Backyard Farming Connection, Growing Home- Growing Homemakers, Wildcrafting Wednesday, So Much At Home, Hope in Every Season, Green Thumb Thursday, Home Acre Hop, From the Farm Hop, Farmgirl Friday, Front Porch Friday, Simple Meals Friday, Better Hens and Gardens.
Great ideas – but I have a question. You say to use “food grade” peroxide and not the stuff that comes in the brown bottle. Where do you purchase food grade and what % is it? I know that you can purchase high % peroxide, but that is for sterilization.
Hi there! Sorry it’s taken me so long to respond. For some reason, your comment got put into my spam folder, so I’ve just now seen it. I’ve never needed to purchase food grade hydrogen peroxide (yet), as I’m careful to just not ingest it if I use it to brush my teeth or something like that. I felt it prudent to mention that, though, as it’s the FDA’s recommendation if H2O2 *were* going to be ingested. However, if I were going purchase it, I would probably buy it from Amazon. There are different % available in food grade options. I think it would depend on what you were going to use it for.
Oops! You forgot number 9!
Ashley,
Nice article. Hydrogen peroxide is one of the most used products in my home. I use it for many of the things you listed and even more (if you can believe that! It is so useful). I wanted to say that we only use hydrogen peroxide and baking soda for toothpaste, sometimes I add a few drops of peppermint oil to the soda just for a little kick :)- It does a great job and even after years of use, it has only made our gums healthier, never bleached. Just wanted you to know. Thanks again
Hi Rhonda, thanks so much for sharing your experience with using hydrogen peroxide as toothpaste. Good to know that it hasn’t had any adverse effects on your gums!