Unexpected Uses For Hydrogen Peroxide
Since hydrogen peroxide fights bacteria as an oxidizing agent, it makes sense that it could be used to oxidize metal as well. This means you can use hydrogen peroxide on metals like brass and copper to quickly make them look rusted for a unique, antique look. To achieve something like what you see on the copper plate below, you can simply combine hydrogen peroxide, white vinegar and salt in a spray bottle and apply it, according to the blogger Mountain Modern Life, who used this trick to make some new horseshoes look ancient.
If you search through online forums of car — and small airplane — enthusiasts, you’ll find many home remedies to cleaning the dead bugs off their rides. One popular one involves dryer sheets but another involves hydrogen peroxide. The chemical apparently eats away at the proteins in the dried-on bug guts, causing them to wipe right off after you’ve sprayed your car with some hydrogen peroxide. The hydrogen peroxide won’t damage your paint — but the acids found in the dead bugs could, if left stuck on for too long!
Once you’re done wiping the insect corpses off your ride, you can bring the brown bottle inside the car for more cleaning. You can find plenty of recipes online for a solution that will clean your car’s upholstery — or your home’s carpet — but we liked one from The Frugal Ginger that had impressive photos of how the car looked before and after using it. They recommended a mixture of hydrogen peroxide, white vinegar, dish soap and warm water in a spray bottle. Another blog said hydrogen peroxide is also excellent for cleaning up soda stains.
Anyone who has a pet that spends a lot of time outside knows that skunks are simply a nasty fact of life. When your dog or cat gets sprayed by one of these striped creatures, hydrogen peroxide can help knock out that awful odor. According to Banfield Pet Hospital, you can make a mixture of hydrogen peroxide, baking soda and dish soap to quickly wash your pet with if you’re unable to get ahold of a store-bought skunk-fighting shampoo. Just note that the American Kennel Club does not recommend getting hydrogen peroxide in your dog’s ears, so keep it out of there.
Another unfortunate fact of life for many dog owners is that they will, inevitably, eat things that could seriously hurt them. If your pup has swallowed something that could be toxic — such as an entire pack of sugar-free gum, in the case of my dog once — you can use hydrogen peroxide to make them throw up. You don’t need to give them much at all to do the trick and it works pretty quickly but always call your veterinarian before trying this. Banfield Pet Hospital recommends carrying hydrogen peroxide in a pet first-aid kit in your car for this exact reason.
Most people who have worn white undershirts have seen these unattractive yellow stains appear on their armpits. It’s believed that these stains are caused by the aluminum that’s used in many deodorants and how it reacts with the properties of sweat, meaning that, ironically, you’d have a better chance of avoiding them if you didn’t wear deodorant at all. But to remove these pesky stains, just mix two parts hydrogen peroxide with one part dish soap and leave it sitting on the stain for an hour.
If chlorine bothers your skin and you’d prefer a more natural solution to keeping your pool clean and clear, hydrogen peroxide can do the trick. For this trick, you’ll need 35% concentrated food-grade hydrogen peroxide, which is much stronger than the stuff you’ve probably got in your cabinet. According to SF Gate, you need to add a cup of hydrogen peroxide for every 250 gallons of water your pool holds to initially shock the water if you’d been previously using chlorine. After that, you’ll want about a cup of hydrogen peroxide per every 500 gallons of volume for regular care.
If you’ve scorched some of your cookware, or simply burnt food onto the surface of it, hydrogen peroxide can be used for a rescue mission. The blogger at Centsable Momma swears by a method of restoring burnt pots to their former glory by using three items you probably already have handy: hydrogen peroxide, baking soda and aluminum foil. She recommends covering the burnt area with baking soda before spraying hydrogen peroxide on it to form a paste. After leaving the paste for several hours, you can scrub it away with some foil!
A paste that involves our favorite substance and some baking soda can also be used to make your tile grout look as good as new. Bob Vila, the home improvement icon himself, recommends a mixture of 1/4 cup of hydrogen peroxide, 1/2 cup of baking soda and 1 teaspoon of liquid dish soap to clean your grout on the cheap. For especially grimy areas, just let the mixture sit for a few minutes before wiping it away.
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