Cheap and Easy Way to Disinfect

I must admit that I have a bit of a germ phobia. The idea of teeny tiny little bacteria growing all over my kitchen and bathroom makes me cringe. Disinfecting is the key for me, especially in those areas. I used to always use name brand chemical products almost on a daily basis. I found that every time I went to stock up on them, I was spending a fortune and it hurt, it hurt real badly. So I searched high and low for alternatives. I tried the usually suggested white distilled vinegar. I found that it works well with certain things, which I’ll discuss more about later, but it just didn’t disinfect well enough for me. One day while watching an episode of Dr. OZ, I came across an ingenious way to disinfect. Peroxide! That’s right, just straight old, brown bottled peroxide. Come to find out from friends and family in the medical field, most hospitals, doctors offices, and surgery centers use peroxide to disinfect all the time because of its effectiveness in killing all types of bacteria and viruses on surfaces. So, the next day I went out and got a fresh reusable, spray bottle and a single bottle of peroxide. The total cost was under $3.00. The bottle of peroxide itself was about $0.98.  Keep in mind the spray bottle is a onetime investment (ok, maybe an annual investment). You can’t get better than that, when a leading chemical brand can run over $5 for a similar size in ounces. I was so excited to get home and try it, and yes I do realize that makes me a bit of a home nerd. I knew if it worked, it would save me $20-$30 a month or more.

The first place I tried it on was around the kitchen sink. That area always seems to stay filthy with all the activity that goes on around it. To make my test even better, the sink had just been cleaned earlier that day with one of the other disinfectant products that we had (brand name). Now, if you are not familiar with peroxide, it bubbles up into foam when there are a lot of bacteria for it to kill. I sprayed around the back perimeter of the sink, which appeared to be the cleanest part. A few seconds later it began to foam up. I was surprised, considering it had been cleaned not long before. I was even more surprised at how much it continued to bubble up. I had at least inch or two of foam. I couldn’t believe it! I was completely disgusted and happy all at the same time. Happy, it was killing it and I could actually see it working and disgusted that even using these other products, there was still this much for the peroxide to work on. I continued on and cleaned the entire kitchen area. It worked great removing grime and grease from the stove, cleaning the faucet fixtures and making them nice and shiny, cleaning the microwave, you name it I cleaned it. The beauty of it all was no lingering smell at all. It actually just smelled clean. I added a little lemon juice in the sink, because I personally like a citrus smell in the kitchen. It must totally be a marketing related quirk, the idea that the smell of citrus means clean. The real test was coming back the next day and wiping down the sink again, 24 hours later. There was not nearly as much foam, although I could still see that it was cleaning well. A sigh of relief that I found something that actually worked and I could literally see the results unfold before my very eyes. This is a beautiful thing for someone who is germ phobic. Thanks to Dr. Oz I became a firm believer in the beauty of peroxide as a disinfectant cleanser.

After doing a little more research I found that it has a lot of other great uses.

1. Disinfectant
2. Disinfects toys, and other baby items
3. Makes dishes cleaner, by adding a cap full to your dishwasher detergent, will keep your dishes from being spotty.
4. Makes whites brighter, by adding a tablespoon to each average size load, can be used in place of bleach.
5. Removes stains on whites, as a spot treatment (including coffee, grease, and blood)
6. Works great for mopping floors, with a few drops of lemon juice added.
7. Run it through your humidifiers to clean out thoroughly, by filling the tank with a bottle of peroxide and let it run until empty.  It is completely non-toxic.

My co-worker just did #7 on the list and was surprised at how much goo was falling out of the humidifier that she cleans, according to the directions every few days. Most importantly it is very inexpensive, eco-friendly, and safe for the home and those who live in it.

*Side note: In order to maintain its strength you should only pour into the spray bottle what you anticipate using that day. The dark bottle maintains its compounds that make it such an effective cleanser.

All items posted here are solely the opinion of the writer based on personal use and experience.