New cleaning with hydrogen peroxide tips

Hydrogen peroxide is right up there with vinegar and baking soda as one of my favorite household cleaners.

Happy Slob reader Jo Ann B. submitted these awesome new (to me!) hydrogen peroxide cleaning tips that I knew you guys would love. If you have a fresh way to use peroxide, then please post a comment with your cleaning tip.

Here's Jo Ann:
"I too love hydrogen peroxide. I add 1 tablespoon to my dawn dish detergent. It is amazing. Dishes come out sparkling clean. And pots I use to fry, no oily residue. I put hydrogen peroxide and water in a spray bottle and clean my glass tables, TV screens etc. I also add it to fantastic for other cleaning jobs. Can't live without it. "

Hydrogen Peroxide Cleaning Tip: Remove Red Wine Stains

I simply love hydrogen peroxide. It's cheap, it's plentiful (available at any drugstore for around a buck or so) and it's a downright powerful little cleaner. Jan B wrote in with a great tip on using it to remove red wine stains.

Jan wrote: "I use peroxide with a dash of Dawn dishwashing soap on red wine spills. But always blot wine spot first with paper towels to remove the excess. Never rub. Then I use a cotton ball with the peroxide and soap and dab until stain is gone."

No Hassle Housecleaning Hint: Just test this in an inconspicuous area of carpeting first, since peroxide also has a serious bleaching effect. And, a big blog of bleached out carpet wouldn't be much better than the wine stain! If you have pale carpet, this should work incredibly well. Thanks Jan, for the idea.

How do you use hydrogen peroxide to clean? Let me know, as I'm working on a new Hydrogen Peroxide Cleaning page on www.happyslob.com.

A Natural AND Cheap Alternative to Dishwasher Detergent

By jove, I think I may have GOT it. Dishwasher detergent is one of those annoying necessities that I could never quite embrace using. But, I'm finally pleased with the results of two ingredients that seem to be getting my dishes good and clean, minus the chemicals.

I pour regular table salt (or I've also used baking soda) into the detergent openings in the dishwasher door, and then pour about a tablespoon of hydrogen peroxide over the salt until it's a bit sludgy and slushy. Close the door and give it a whirl.

I really want to know what you discover from using this! Do you like it as much as dishwasher detergent? I'm still working on improving this all the time, so please do share if you tweak it and like the results even more.

~Christina~

Beyond Bleach to Disinfect...and no, It's Not Vinegar!

Ha, I'll bet you thought I'd suggest vinegar! (I do have a bit of a vinegar dependency issue...but we'll deal with that another day.) Today, the disinfectant of choice is hydrogen peroxide. AKA: My favorite new cleaning necessity.

Maybe you're the sort of person who grew up cleaning with bleach. You might have fond memories of Mom scrubbing the bathtub with scouring pads and bleach, her yellow rubber gloves tightly snapped on. Those bright yellow gloves meant business. And darn it, that cleaning business included heavy doses of chlorine bleach! Those fumes lingered in the air for days...ahhh, the memories.

But...since then a lot of us have decided that we're not so fond of cleaning with bleach. Mom (and Grandma, too) might deny that any other cleaner can clean as effectively, and can kill just as many germs. So, maybe we should keep this news of a 'new' bleach-y type cleaner all to ourselves.

Ta da! It's simply that bottle of 3% hydrogen peroxide that you keep stored in the medicine chest for small scratches and assorted boo boos . This stuff is also an amazing, powerful disinfectant agent. And, if you're not so fond of the vinegar (which I've already admitted having a powerful bond with) then you'll like the very UN-vinegar-ish odor of hydrogen peroxide. Basically, peroxide has no odor. I smelled it today to make sure, and I can confirm 100% that it is practically odorless.

So, to whip up a natural cleaning and disinfectant cleaner, take a clean spray bottle (not one that has stored other chemicals - you just never know if there will be weird reactions) and:

• Fill about one half full with 3% hydrogen peroxide
• Fill the rest of the way with tap water or distilled water, if you so choose.
• Give the bottle a wee shake-up for good measure...
• And then clean to your heart's content! It's especially fantastic in those areas where germs like to gather - like the kitchen and bathroom.

More hydrogen peroxide tips to come...and if you have one to share, just post a comment or email me. Another quick one is to use hydrogen peroxide (just the 3% pharmacy stuff, not the ultra-powerful industrial strength 35% which is actually seriously heavy duty stuff) full strength on stains - really great on grout stains. (Just pour some on an oversized cotton pad or cotton ball and smoosh it right on the stain and let it sit a while. If you're worried about possible bleaching, just do a test spot somewhere inconspicuous first.)

Happy cleaning to you! (Yes, that is possible...You crazy cynics, you.)

Christina

Wow - So you CAN Make Homemade Oxy Clean

Two clever readers had ideas on making homemade Oxy Clean...basically it all revolves around using hydrogen peroxide - or H202 - to clean. Here are their emails:

Robbyn wrote:
"Hi,I don't know about making an Oxyclean equivelent in the powder form, but I have read that hydrogen peroxide is similiar to Oxy Clean and can be used in the same ways. I have tried it in laundry, and some homeade cleaning solutions with great results. Also, at our grocery store, you can buy an offbrand product for $1 that seems to work just as well."

And R.B. wrote:
"homemade oxyclean:
mix WELL. 2 parts hot but not boiling water
1 part washing soda (dissolve in water)
1 part hydrogen peroxide (add to mixture)"


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As for cleaning with hydrogen peroxide, I was already a fan. It's fantastic at safely removing stains - really good for cleaning grout, and I love how it makes my dishwasher, fridge and other white appliances sparkle and look good as new. Try dousing a sponge or cotton ball with the stuff and then leave it on grout lines that are looking gunky...it really will 'bleach' it away better than bleach!