40 Exceedingly Useful Hydrogen Peroxide Hacks

In my humble opinion, hydrogen peroxide is one of the most useful items you can have in your natural cleaning toolkit. You can use it to disinfect, sanitize, and deodorize hundreds of surfaces and items around your home.

Hydrogen peroxide is also a powerful oxidizer, so it’s also useful for whitening and bleaching things. In this post, you’ll learn over 30 practical ways you can use hydrogen peroxide around the house.

40 Uses for Hydrogen Peroxide Around the House

1. Wash Fresh Produce

Wash your fresh vegetables and fruits with hydrogen peroxide to remove dirt and pesticides. Add 1/4 cup of peroxide to a sink of cold water, then wash your produce in it. After washing, be sure to rinse your produce thoroughly with cool, clean water.

2. Make Homemade Toothpaste

Use baking soda and hydrogen peroxide to make a homemade toothpaste that helps kill bacteria for a healthier mouth. Add a little salt to the mixture to boost your toothpaste’s teeth whitening effects.

3. Sanitize a Load of Dishes

To help sanitize your dishes, add two ounces of hydrogen peroxide to your dishwasher along with your regular detergent. You can add a sanitizing boost to your regular dish soap by pouring two ounces of hydrogen peroxide right into the soap bottle.

Related: Get Your Dishwasher Smelling Brand New in 3 Easy Steps

4. Clean the Inside of Your Appliances

Use hydrogen peroxide to wipe out the inside of your refrigerator and dishwasher. Because it’s non-toxic, it’s a great option for cleaning appliances you use for food storage or to clean your dishes and cutlery.

5. Freshen Your Breath

Get fresher breath by using a diluted hydrogen peroxide solution as a mouthwash, which helps to kill the bacteria that can cause halitosis. Just mix together equal parts hydrogen peroxide and water, then swish it around in your mouth for a minute or so.

6. Sanitize Your Kitchen Sponge

Sanitize a grimy sponge with the help of hydrogen peroxide. Combine equal parts peroxide and warm water in a shallow dish, then soak your sponge(s) in the solution for about 10 minutes. Rinse the sponges thoroughly afterward and let them air dry.

7. Sanitize Your Toothbrush

Soak your toothbrush in hydrogen peroxide between uses to keep it clean and prevent the transfer of germs. This is particularly smart to do when you or someone in your family is sick.

Related: 9 Things in Your Bathroom You Really Should Clean

8. Remove Stubborn Messes from Cookware

Remove baked-on messes from pots and pans by mixing up a paste of hydrogen peroxide and baking soda. Apply the paste generously to the mess you want to remove, then let it sit for a while. Come back later and give it a good scrub, and the baked-on stains will lift right off.

9. Clean Food Prep Surfaces

Clean and sanitize your cutting board and countertop by spraying or wetting them down with peroxide. Let it bubble for a few minutes, then scrub and rinse clean.

10. Clean and Brighten Grout Lines

Have your grout lines seen brighter days? Spray grimy grout liberally with hydrogen peroxide and let it work for a little while, then come back and scrub with an old toothbrush. Repeat the process a few times for best results.

(If your grout is especially grimy, check out my other DIY grout cleaning methods.)

11. Clean Your Toilet Bowl

Clean and sanitize your toilet bowl and leave it sparkling clean! Pour 1/2 cup of hydrogen peroxide into the toilet bowl, let it sit for 20 minutes, then scrub clean with your toilet brush.

12. Brighten Dingy Floors

Brighten dingy floors by adding 1/2 cup of hydrogen peroxide to one gallon of hot water. Use the solution to mop your floors, and they’ll be back to their bright and clean state in no time! (As a bonus, it’s such a mild cleaning solution that you don’t need to rinse it off afterward.)

13. Remove Stains from Fabric

Remove stains from clothing, curtains, and tablecloths by pretreating them with hydrogen peroxide. Let it work on the stain for a little while before tossing the item into your washer.

You can also add 1 cup of hydrogen peroxide to a regular load of whites — it’s a great alternative to bleach for whitening and brightening fabrics!

Related: The Ultimate Stain Remover Spray (for More Than Clothes)

14. Clean Toys and Play Areas

Hydrogen peroxide is a safe option for cleaning toys and kids’ play areas because it won’t irritate lungs like other cleaners can. Spray and wipe down toys, toy boxes, doorknobs, and anything else your kids touch regularly.

15. Keep Houseplants Healthy

The next time you’re spritzing your houseplants, add a splash of hydrogen peroxide to your spray bottle! The added peroxide will help keep your houseplants free of fungus and disease.

16. Sanitize Your Lunch Boxes

Sanitize everyone’s lunch boxes and bags by spraying them with hydrogen peroxide and wiping them clean.

17. Add Natural Highlights to Your Hair

Add natural highlights to your hair with a diluted solution of hydrogen peroxide. Add equal parts peroxide and water to a spray bottle, then spray the solution onto wet hair to create subtle, natural highlights.

18. Make a DIY Detox Bath

According to alternative therapy practitioners, adding half a bottle of hydrogen peroxide to a warm bath can help detoxify the body. Some are skeptical of this claim, but a bath is always a nice way to relax, and the addition of hydrogen peroxide is sure to leave you and your bathtub squeaky clean!

19. Keep Salad Greens Fresh

Spray a solution of 1/2 cup of water and 1 tablespoon of hydrogen peroxide onto salad greens and other leafy greens before covering and refrigerating them. This will prevent wilting and keep your greens fresh longer!

20. Treat Pimples and Blemishes

Dab hydrogen peroxide onto pimples or breakouts to help clear skin.

21. Feed Sprouting Seeds

Hydrogen peroxide can help to sprout seeds for new plantings. Spritz the seeds with hydrogen peroxide every time you need to re-moisten them. Once your plants are big enough to put in the ground, you can use a solution of one ounce of hydrogen peroxide and one quart of water to help improve your plants’ root systems.

22. Whiten Yellowed Linens

You can use hydrogen peroxide to restore yellowed lace and linens to their formerly white state. Fill your sink with cold water, add two cups of hydrogen peroxide, then add your yellowed linens. Let them soak for at least an hour, then rinse in cold water and hang them to dry.

Related: How to Restore Your Stained and Yellowed Linens

23. Remove Ear Wax Buildup

Use hydrogen peroxide along with olive oil (or almond oil) to remove a buildup of ear wax. Add a couple of drops of oil to the affected ear, followed by a couple of drops of peroxide. Rest there for a few minutes, then tilt your head to the other side to remove the cleaning solution and wax.

24. Clean Your Humidifier

To clean your humidifier and eliminate bacteria that may be lurking inside, add one pint of hydrogen peroxide to one gallon of water and pour it into the tank of your humidifier. Let it sit for an hour or so before rinsing and drying.

25. Keep Your Feet Healthy

Hydrogen peroxide makes it easy to keep your feet clean and healthy! Spray a 50/50 mixture of hydrogen peroxide and water around your toes every night and let it dry to help treat foot fungus. Or soak your feet in a diluted peroxide solution to help soften calluses and corns or to disinfect minor cuts.

26. Clean Shower Curtain Liners

Use hydrogen peroxide to help remove mildew and soap scum from your shower curtain liner. Place the liner in your washing machine along with a bath towel and your regular detergent, then add 1 cup of hydrogen peroxide to the rinse cycle.

27. Kill Germs in Your Shower

Spray down your shower walls with hydrogen peroxide to kill bacteria and viruses.

28. Control Fungi in Fish Tanks

Use hydrogen peroxide to control fungi present in aquariums. As long as you use it sparingly, it won’t hurt your fish.

29. Clean and Freshen Musty Towels

Use peroxide to restore freshness to towels that have taken on a musty smell. Add 1/2 cup of hydrogen peroxide and 1/2 cup of white vinegar to the washing machine, let soak for 15 minutes, then wash as normal.

30. Get Rid of Skunk Smell

To make a de-skunking solution, combine one quart of hydrogen peroxide, 1/4 cup of baking soda, one teaspoon of dish soap, and two quarts of warm water. Apply the solution to the affected person or animal and work it into a lather before rinsing. (Don’t let this mixture sit for too long on fur to avoid it lightening the color!)

31. Help Heal Canker Sores

Use hydrogen peroxide to help heal painful canker sores. Swish a tablespoon of hydrogen peroxide around your mouth for 10 minutes to help disinfect the area and reduce inflammation.

32. Clean Glass and Mirrors

Screw a spray bottle top right onto your bottle of hydrogen peroxide, and use it like you would a bottle of Windex to clean glass and mirrors. It’s surprisingly effective, and doesn’t leave any streaks behind!

33. Remove Blood, Sweat, and Coffee Stains

Treat stains from organic matter like blood, sweat, coffee, and wine by spraying the stain with hydrogen peroxide and rubbing it in. This works best with fresh, wet stains, and remember that peroxide may bleach some dark fabrics. (Test in an inconspicuous spot beforehand to make sure!)

34. Eliminate Mold and Mildew in Your Bathroom

Hydrogen peroxide makes an effective and affordable mold and mildew cleaner! Spray down the surfaces in your bathroom that are affected by mold or mildew, and allow it to sit for several minutes. The gunk should be easy to remove, and the surface will be free of bacteria too!

35. Whiten Yellowed Nails

If you paint your nails a lot, you’ve probably already noticed that your nails can yellow over time. Get rid of the yellow tinge by applying a cotton ball soaked in hydrogen peroxide to each affected nail. Let them sit for a few minutes until the stains disappear. Make sure to apply a lotion or cuticle cream afterward, since hydrogen peroxide can be drying to skin.

36. Induce Vomiting After a Pet Eats Something Toxic

Our pets often seem determined to eat things that are bad for them! If your dog has ingested chocolate or other foods that can be toxic to dogs, it may be necessary to induce vomiting, and you can do that with hydrogen peroxide.

Measure out 1 milliliter (mL) of 3% hydrogen peroxide per pound of your animal’s weight, up to 45mL. Use a turkey baster to feed the peroxide to your pet. This method works for dogs as well as cats, pigs, and even ferrets, but it is NOT recommended for use on rodents, horses, rabbits, or birds.

37. Cleaning Contact Lenses

Hydrogen peroxide-based cleaning solutions for contact lenses, such as Clear Care, are actually more effective at cleaning your contact lenses than traditional multi-purpose solutions. Hydrogen peroxide effectively dissolves lipids and proteins, leaving your contact lenses super clean!

However, the reason these products come with special cases or tablets to add is that the hydrogen peroxide needs to be neutralized through a chemical reaction before you can wear the contacts again. Otherwise, you’ll be in for some very unpleasant eye sensations!

So make sure to follow all of the directions that come with your hydrogen peroxide-based contact cleaner!

38. Clean Your Cooler

After you unload your cooler or ice chest after a trip, it’s always a good idea to clean it out before storing it away again. Pop a spray top on your little brown bottle of hydrogen peroxide and use it to spray down the inside of your coolers and ice chests. Wipe them dry and they’ll be disinfected and ready to either store or use again!

39. Sanitize Reusable Shopping Bags

You can also use hydrogen peroxide to clean your reusable shopping bags. You’ll feel a lot better bringing home fresh produce in a bag you know is clean and sanitary!

Collect all your nonporous reusable bags (usually the ones made of recycled plastics), spray them down, and wipe them clean. Reusable bags that are made of a more fabric-like material can be thrown right into your washing machine.

40. Perform First Aid

There’s a reason you often find peroxide next to other first-aid supplies at the store! Three percent hydrogen peroxide was once the antiseptic of choice for many medical professionals who needed a cheap way to disinfect wounds.

You can still use it for first aid in a pinch, but keep in mind that modern studies have found that too much peroxide can delay the healing of skin cells.

How do you use hydrogen peroxide around the house?

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