White curtains look absolutely stunning – as long as they stay white, that is. After a while, they may start to turn a bit off-color, and the last thing you want is to have formerly white, yellow curtains gracing your living room when guests are over. But don’t fret, because there’s an easy solution to this problem.
Toss the curtains in the wash with a cup of hydrogen peroxide for whitening all over. Alternatively, you can also grab your spray bottle full of equal parts water and peroxide and spritz down the curtains if there are just some spots you’d like to whiten.
Kill Fungus
It shouldn’t come as any surprise after reading all about how hydrogen peroxide kills bad germs and bacteria, that it can also work to get rid of nail fungus. Fungus under your toenails can be embarrassing, especially during the warmer months when you want to wear open-toed shoes. Luckily, hydrogen peroxide works like a charm in this case.
Fill up an old bucket or Tupperware with a mixture of 3% hydrogen peroxide and water (one-part to one-part works well.) Soak your feet in the liquid for 30 minutes, rinse in the bathtub and pat dry. A lot of the advice you’ll see floating around may tell you to use 35% hydrogen peroxide, but don’t. It will be much too concentrated and can lead to adverse reactions.
Sanitize Kitchenware
Dishes can be a tricky thing to keep clean. You use them every day to put your food on and ingest the things that come off of them. You use your cutting boards to chop meat, and then vegetables later on. Without keeping everything sanitized, you’re risking getting sick from cross-contamination. You can spray your cutting board and knives with a bleach spray and then wash them with regular dish soap, but that can be pretty harsh.
If you prefer a more natural (and affordable) alternative, you guessed it; it’s time to grab the hydrogen peroxide. Mix one-part peroxide to one-part water in a spray bottle and use it to spray down kitchenware before you wash it regularly. Let the solution sink in for a few moments before washing off. Then, use your dish soap and sponge and rinse with clean water.
Keep Shower Curtains Clean
Hydrogen peroxide is good for all types of curtains, including the one you have hanging in your shower. The bottom of a plastic shower curtain can start to get discolored, or moldy after a certain amount of time. Since you’ve probably got a bottle of peroxide under your sink anyway, here’s another trick for using it in the bathroom.
Keep a spray bottle full of hydrogen peroxide mixed with water (equal parts) next to your shower, or somewhere else that’s convenient. After every shower, spritz the inside of your shower curtain and the walls to kill and prevent bacteria growth and mold. You don’t even need to rinse, since the steam next time you hop in will handle all of that. Plus, the longer the solution is left to sit, the better.
Kill and Prevent Germs on Grocery Bags
Using reusable shopping bags is a great way to do your part to protect the environment. But after you use your bags for a little while, they may start to stink. Or, something may come open during transport and you’ll need clean the bags and make sure they’re good to go for future use.
You can clean the bags in a couple of different ways, depending on how dirty they are and/or how much time you’re willing to spend on them. You can use your one-part water to one-part peroxide spray bottle and spot clean the inside of the bags by spritzing and using a clean rag to wipe clean. Or, you can soak your bags in the bathtub for about 15 minutes or in the same solution, rinse them clean in cool water and hang them up to dry.