Hydrogen Peroxide - What Can You Use it For?

Almost everyone has a bottle of hydrogen peroxide in their medicine cabinet. However, we rarely ever reach for hydrogen peroxide unless we are pouring it on a fresh cut. Hydrogen Peroxide has many other uses too and this article may have you going to the store just to stock up on some hydrogen peroxide!

#1 Uncommon Use for Hydrogen Peroxide - Cleaning and Freshening Kitchen and Bathroom Surfaces

That all purpose spray you may have sitting underneath your sink can be replaced by mixing 3% hydrogen peroxide (the typical peroxide found in the personal care isle of a store) and some water in a spray bottle. Mix about 7 parts peroxide with 3 parts water in a spray bottle and use on your counter tops for a safe and germ killing cleaning. You can also use this peroxide mixture in the bathroom around the toilet, in the shower and around the sink! It leaves the bathroom smelling fresh without harmful chemicals.

#2 Uncommon Use for Hydrogen Peroxide - Clean Fruits and Veggies

You may have seen those spray bottles that claim to clean the pesticide residue off your fruits and veggies, but why invest in one of those when you are just a bottle of peroxide away from doing the same thing with an added benefit! You can fill a clean kitchen sink or large basin up with cold water. Add to the cold water 1/4 cup of hydrogen peroxide and a couple teaspoons of salt. Not only will the peroxide and salt mixture rid pesticides and clean your produce, but it will even prolong the freshness of the fruits and veggies!

# 3 Uncommon Use for Hydrogen Peroxide - Cleansing your Toothbrush

How many millions of bacteria can be found on a toothbrush? It is a scary thought, but one worth mentioning. If you think about it, you brush your teeth whether you are sick or not, but you never wash your toothbrush! A great way to cleanse the toothbrush is by soaking it in a little hydrogen peroxide from time to time. This will also "strip" the brush of particles left behind from toothpaste. Make sure you run the brush under cold water and gently press your thumb over the bristles to remove the loosened gunk off the brush after it has been soaked in the hydrogen peroxide for at least five minutes.

# 4 Uncommon Use for Hydrogen Peroxide - Safely Remove Ear Wax

This is one of my favorite uses of hydrogen peroxide. I use this on my children every other week, and because of it we hardly ever need to use q-tips or other cotton swabs. Putting a 1/2 capful of hydrogen peroxide in each ear and letting it fizz for a while is also helpful in preventing earaches and infections by unclogging lodged water from the ear and allowing it to properly drain. You can learn more about how to properly use hydrogen peroxide to remove ear wax here.

# 5 Uncommon Use for Hydrogen Peroxide - Add Natural Looking Highlights to Your Hair

This is a great use for peroxide! Coloring hair is expensive and requires maintains that in turn becomes expensive as well. If you would like to lighten your hair, peroxide may be just the ingredient you need! Think about it, an .98 cent bottle of peroxide could ultimately give you the lightening locks you've been craving! Can peroxide really do that? Yes, it may take more time, but the gradual use will give you more natural looking highlights and color. Simply mix, in a spray bottle, a mixture of 1 part hydrogen peroxide and one part water. Your good to go! After taking a shower, spritz the solution of peroxide and water over the hair and comb through. You do not need to wash out the peroxide mixture, although you may after about a half hour if you wish. Do this every time you shower and in no time you will have noticeably lighter hair without the trip to the salon, or over priced DIY hair color.

Hydrogen Peroxide has many benefits and uses. The use of hydrogen peroxide is not limited to these five great uses either. There are still many other uncommon uses for hydrogen peroxide that I didn't even mention. Some other uses for hydrogen peroxide include teeth whitening, replacing one cup of bleach with one cup of peroxide instead when washing whites and more! So hopefully you can put that brown bottle of peroxide to use today!

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