After a towel’s been used for a few days, bacteria can start to form – especially when it just sits around your bathroom and stays damp. While it may not make sense to use a new bath towel every day, you should at least rotate yours out 2-3 times per week to make sure you’re washing them as much as they need to be.
As an added bonus to keep the towels at their best, try adding a solution of ½ cup vinegar and a ½ cup peroxide to the wash next time you throw them in. Not only will it help to kill all of the germs and bacteria on the material, but it will also always deodorize to keep them smelling fresh.
Kill Odor in Shoes
In every man or woman’s life, there comes a time when he or she must say goodbye to a favorite pair of shoes. Why? Oh, perhaps you’ve worn them so much there are actual holes in the soles, in which case that goodbye is final. Or, maybe you’ve worn them so much the odor coming from within is enough to take out a room full of people. Luckily, there are ways to freshen up those shoes so you can continue wearing them.
Spray hydrogen peroxide directly from a bottle all over the inside of your shoe to kill the bacteria. Add a coating of baking soda over the entire insole, and, if it’s really bad, a couple of spritzes of peppermint or lavender oil. Let sit in a cool and dry area overnight. In the morning, turn the shoes over and dump them out over a trash can. Use a paper towel to wipe out the inside and soak up any remaining moisture. Repeat as often as necessary to keep the smell at bay.
Lift Blood Stains
Bloodstains are a common, but unfortunate, reality in life as a human. They’re especially frequent in a house with children, but adults can experience them at any given moment, too. For instance, remember that time you sliced your hand open trying to help out with dinner at the in-laws place on Thanksgiving in 06’? Most likely, your mother-in-law ran off to grab a bottle of hydrogen peroxide after the incident, both for your cut and the clean towel you had to use to stop the bleeding.
To remove blood stains from clothes (yes, even white ones,) pour the hydrogen peroxide directly onto the stain and let it sit for several minutes. Rinse the area and repeat as many times as necessary to completely erase the discoloration. Then, when you throw your whites in the washer, add a cup of peroxide to the wash to further whiten and brighten the affected clothing, towels, or sheets, etc.
Purify Your Air
This next hack can be accomplished without spending as much money as you may think and can really be a lifesaver any time of year, but especially around flu season. The air around your home is most likely full of all kinds of germs, from you, your children, your pets, and all of the coughing, sneezing, high-fiving, and everything else that goes on inside of your walls. You can find reasonably priced air humidifiers, but even more affordable, you can find oil diffusers that also act as humidifiers.
Grab an essential oil diffuser/humidifier and load it up with water but leave a little bit of room before the fill line. Then, add about 5-10 drops of hydrogen peroxide and 4-5 drops of your favorite essential oil and press start. The essential oil will help to make all of the rooms in your house smell amazing, and the hydrogen peroxide will help to kill any germs and bacteria that may be floating around.
Kill an Ear Infection
This is the main thing we used hydrogen peroxide for around our house growing up. Hydrogen peroxide, while not the most pleasant thing to use, is a simple and affordable solution to some types of ear infections in both children and adults. If using on a child, mix one-part peroxide to one-part water and use an eyedropper to pull up some liquid and drop a few drops into their ears. Let it sit for 15-30 seconds before having them tilt their head to release the fluid.
Alternatively, you can use a cotton ball to soak the mixture up from the container after combining and squeeze it to release into the ear canal. If you’ve ever used hydrogen peroxide in your ears before, you know that it creates a bubbling and fizzing which both feels and sounds strange while it’s happening, but it does help to relieve the infection. Blot the outside of the ear dry with a clean tissue or towel after you’re done using the solution.