Can you get that scent? It’s the smell of a summer clean approaching at high speed! Making now a great time to bring out all our best tips for getting your house clean from floor to ceiling, and revisiting all the old housework classics to achieve your goals. Hydrogen peroxide may not be as widely used as other similar products (white vinegar, bicarbonate of soda, lemon juice, etc.), but in terms of efficacy, it has nothing to be ashamed of! Today we have the great pleasure of sharing 6 new tips with you, which will have dirt and bacteria running for the hills!
1) Decontaminate spice containers
We often think that the bathroom is the dirtiest room in the house due to the humidity and heat. But even if it isn’t as obvious, the kitchen also harbours a great deal of dirt! It is equally subject to heat and humidity, and while we are cooking, our hands tend to get everywhere. And while chopping raw or cooked meat, we are sure that our germ-filled hands have touched the spice jars to make a few flavour adjustments!
To clean your spice bottles, wipe them with a cloth to remove the largest dirt particles (dried food, congealed spice grains, etc.). Next spray the bottles with your hydrogen peroxide and leave it to work for 5 minutes before rinsing. Keep a few sticky labels to hand, in case the product removes the writing on the bottle.
2) Disinfect a mouth guard
Hydrogen peroxide can be used to disinfect anything that goes in the mouth: gum shields, orthodontic plates, etc. You simply need to leave them soak in the solution overnight, and contrary to mouthwash (whose alcohol isn’t ideal for using on plastic) or cleaning tablets (which often contain an allergen – persulfate, which is dangerous if ingested), hydrogen peroxide is a cheap and more appropriate alternative. Rinse well before the next use.
3) For plastic beakers, straws or baby’s bottles
Hydrogen peroxide is a great solution for disinfecting children’s containers without damaging them. It means you don’t have to add boiling water (which is an easy technique, but not always recommended, as it can damage certain objects). To use it, clean the object as normal and then soak the bottle, beaker or straw in a mixture of equal parts water and hydrogen peroxide. Rinse well and dry with care.
4) Test how clean your laundry is
Did you know that the washing machine is not always 100% effective, and sometimes does no more than spread bacteria around, rather than cleaning everything to perfection? This can happen if you don’t add enough detergent to a large load, for example. To find out whether your clothes are really clean, spray a little 3% hydrogen peroxide onto an item of clothing and wait. If you hear a crackling sound and if it starts to bubble, that means that there are still bacteria and that a second wash may be necessary.
Don’t hesitate to use a detergent containing sodium percarbonate (an adduct of sodium carbonate and hydrogen peroxide) for laundry that is fully clean the first time around.
5) Wash under your nails
We know just how easily this area can become home to bacteria and fungi (even if we prefer not to think too much about it). However, we use our hands to touch a phenomenal number of objects without even thinking about it, and if there are germs under our nails, you can be sure that there are some on the rest of our hands as well. Hydrogen peroxide helps keep your hands nice and clean.
Start with a good clean using soapy water. Scrub your fingertips with an old toothbrush (that has been disinfected with… hydrogen peroxide!) and then spray some hydrogen peroxide under the nails, leaving it to work for 30 minutes. Rinse and repeat if necessary.
6) Disinfect shoes that smell bad
Odours in shoes are linked to fungi, yeast and bacteria – three things that particularly hate hydrogen peroxide! Soak your shoes in hydrogen peroxide and leave them to dry in the fresh air. Don’t hesitate to be generous with the product, and make sure that the shoes are wet to the point of dripping.