Hydrogen peroxide to disinfect, clean, and replace bleach in the house

I use Hydrogen Peroxide to clean the house from time to time.  It removes smells, replaces bleach for disinfecting, and kills mould and mildew.  I find it's excellent for cleaning the laundry machine. It froths up when confronted with germs and tough dirt.  We can buy the mild version for treating wounds, but there's a stronger version for household cleaning that is more reactive to ... whatever it's reacting to.

I buy a big bottle of sevent generation H2O2 and this seems to last about 20 months.



It's also septic safe as I understand it breaks down into water and hydrogen.  I've also used a few drops of this in places I suspected flys of breeding.

At least this is my understanding.  I'm trying to learn more about this cleaning agent.  Is it safe for humans or is it only safe in some situations?  Is it resource heavy to produce?  Is it really grey-water safe?

For a really effective surface disinfectant spray hydrogen peroxide and then spray vinegar. It creates a mild form of Peracetic acid when combined and that is a common disinfectant in food processing plants. It kills a broad spectrum of nasty bacteria and is especially effective in bathrooms, kitchens, etc... It disinfects about as well as bleach but without the horrid bleach smell (though of course there is a vinegar smell).

But NEVER mix them in the same bottle!  Mixing them at home often creates a toxic/corrosive form of peracetic acid which is downright dangerous. Keep them in separate spray bottles (a dark bottle for the peroxide) and spray one, then the other, then wipe off or rinse after a few minutes.   Link on this here: https://brendid.com/green-cleaning-ingredients-you-should-never-mix/

As far as using it on wounds, I sometimes use it once on a fresh wound,  but I wouldn't use it more than once on any given injury. Hydrogen peroxide (and rubbing alcohol) destroys cells which delays healing. That is why it usually burns when applied to open flesh.  Repeated use can delay or even prevent wounds from healing since it destroys the cells that are trying to close the wound.

Another awesome use for hydrogen peroxide is as a hair lightener. Mix it in a bottle with lemon juice (50/50) then spray on hair before you plan to go outside. It will lighten hair VERY quickly, in 4-5 days with just 30-60 minutes of time in the sun it lightens as much as a standard chemical highlighting kit. Hydrogen peroxide also lightens without sunlight, but for faster results sunshine is good. Very cheap, very easy, and no hassle when the dark roots grow out as just spray a little more on and the roots blend in.

Plus it is also excellent for bloody crime scene cleanup! Bleach destroys DNA but if you don't want your walls lighting up like a disco when the police spray luminol on it, use hydrogen peroxide (or an oxyclean type soap) to make locating blood impossible. Luminol actually reacts to the oxygen in blood which is how it finds it, and it contains hydrogen peroxide. But if the spot were doused with hydrogen peroxide ahead of time Luminol won't work. (For informational purposes only).

Lucrecia, I find your post both informative and disturbing😀

According to my dental hygienist, it is also safe to use as a rinse for canker sores and cuts in the mouth from brushing too hard. Although it can make you look like you are rabid...

Tina Hillel wrote:Lucrecia, I find your post both informative and disturbing😀

According to my dental hygienist, it is also safe to use as a rinse for canker sores and cuts in the mouth from brushing too hard. Although it can make you look like you are rabid...

True! I recall my brother-in-law using it for gum disease on advice from the dentist (he had a heart attack a couple of years later which seems to confirm the link between the two -- plus he had been a strict health-obsessed vegetarian for 40 years which goes to show its not just about lifestyle).

I used hydrogen peroxide/lemon for the first time on my hair this summer and was really impressed, it is easy to go light blond within a few days (and possibly fry your hair if you go too light). Plus if people were blonde or blondish as a little kid, it doesn't leave any brassy/red tones.

I bought a 50 gallon 35% food grade peroxide. It is stored where it is kept cool for a slower break down. They say it has a shelf life but I bought it used and I have had it for 2years with great results. Articles also say you should not freeze it.

Yes, food grade is safe at 3% solution. Here is one chart for various sizes to make a 3% solution https://www.using-hydrogen-peroxide.com/peroxide-dilution-chart.html This page also has a link for solutions in the garden.

I use a 5-8% solution for cleaning. Anything above 3% can actually burn. So please wear gloves when mixing, using, handling anything that is above 3%.
Here is a chart that is really good for making other % solutions
https://onlineconversion.vbulletin.net/forum/main-forums/convert-and-calculate/14090-35-h2o2-conversion

I have always used distilled water when making up a solution. If the water is not pure water it actually starts breaking down/using up the peroxide. Not sure the time frame for that but since I have distilled water always on hand I use it.

I use a mixture of half pure (35%) solution mixed with vinegar in my laundry as well. About 1-2 ounces of both. I always have a spray bottle of 5-8% on the table so it is handy. It is well marked so I know what it is.
I also have a different colour bottle, also well marked 3% on the table and this I use many times through the day for sterilizing my hands, tables, counters, pots, and pans or bottles for wine making etc.
Peroxide is very good at cleaning up mold.

It is a product I believe every homesteader should have on hand.

Very dangerous stuff in high concentrations as the germans found out in the 1940s with the ME-163 rocket plane.

I learned about the vinegar/peroxide thing when I had birds, they are very sensitive to cleaning products but that is just fine. It cleans the shower mold, really nasty things, very well.
I also use it to sterilize my ferment/brewing kit.
I wonder what percentage the laundry detergent bleach alternative mentioned above (oxy bleach type stuff) is?

I use hydrogen peroxide + baking soda to clean out slow, hairy bathroom drains.  Add about 2 tablespoons baking soda to the drain, splash hydrogen peroxide into the drain a little at a time until it stop bubbling.  

For cleaning, you can buy hydrogen peroxide at beauty supply store.  It comes in a thick or regular formula and I find the thick is good for vertical surfaces, like shower tile grout.
It's NOT safe for consumption because of additives,  I used to buy it by the gallon at Sally Beauty, but haven't lately because my neighbor is a sales rep for some beauty company and she gave me a case of the  thick that hasn't yet run out.

I also have bought the  food grade 35% from Pure Health,  and I think Azure Standard now carries it.

Sodium percarbonate.  

It's the magic in Oxyclean and the like, but much cheaper for want of marketing packaging and the associated tap dances.  A 55# bag rounds around $100.00, but you could find it cheaper, if you shopped hard.

We used to buy it in the 40# bags for cleaning side walks and such. It works best with hot water.

Mixed with water, it becomes hydrogen peroxide and soda ash (washing soda).  


Also, like Pamela, we used to buy our hydrogen peroxide in the 55 gallon drum, and at 35%. It, too, was food grade.

We used it as a highly dilute orchard spray (e.g., 1gal peroxide in 300 gallons of a what-have-you water mix).  I learned, quickly, mixing it in water with ANY organics (e.g., kelp (foliate feed)) meant I'd be stopping the tractor-sprayer every five minutes and cleaning about 20 nozzles.


Years down the road, my daughter had a cough that persisted. I mixed a cap of the 35% in a gallon of water in an ultrasonic humidifier, then set it near her bed.  Interestingly, the next morning, her cough was gone.  So, if the cough was something viral or bacterial, it didn't much care for the light peroxide-water mix.

Now, years later, many use highly dilute applications of peroxide in nebulizers to fight respiratory infections.  Surprised big pharma hasn't made pretty packages for it and gone for the big bux.

I don’t think this was mentioned yet,

But Peroxide is good for removing most stains… won’t eat holes through your clothes the way Bleach (sodium hypochlorite) can.

Peroxide is very cheap too… no need to get the name brand peroxide stain removers.

Peroxide is also the most effective thing I've found for cleaning blood, menses, and most other bio stains.