Hydrogen Peroxide Stain Removal Options And Safety

Looking to remove stains using hydrogen peroxide? Here is a guide.

You can’t go through the day without experiencing stains, either on your clothing or in your household.

Stains are annoying, especially those that are hard to erase. You are a part of the hundreds of people who have searched relentlessly for formulas to remove stains totally and efficiently.

How to Remove Stains With Hydrogen Peroxide

Maybe, you discovered a good stain remover or good stain removal methods, maybe you didn’t. But have you heard about the wonders of hydrogen peroxide?

Yes, it is that little man that has been sitting in your first aid box for some time now and was probably applied only on cuts and bruises. There are many like you, who don’t know about the wonders of hydrogen peroxide.

Well, don’t worry this article will enlighten you about all you need to know about hydrogen peroxide as an efficient stain remover.

First of all, let’s understand what hydrogen peroxide is.

What Is Hydrogen Peroxide?

Hydrogen peroxide is a chemical compound which when pure appears pale blue, liquid, and slightly more viscous than water. Its formula is H2O2 and it is composed of two molecules of hydrogen and oxygen.

You can use this chemical compound as a bleaching agent, oxidizer, and as an antiseptic.

Light makes this chemical unstable and leads to its rapid decomposition, this is why bottles of hydrogen peroxide come dark. If by chance you transfer them to a transparent bottle you can cause them to lose their efficiency.

Being a close relative to water with both of them having almost the same chemical formula, this chemical breaks down easily and safely in the water.

Hydrogen peroxide can be used to achieve a lot of cleaning and stain removal goals which would be discussed in the next subheading. But it is also vital to note that using hydrogen peroxide instead of chlorine bleach in bleaching your clothes is one of the best washing choices you can make as hydrogen peroxide is friendlier.

They can last up to six months after being opened and are most effective when they are freshly open.

Uses of Hydrogen Peroxide

It can be used for whitening clothes: You must have that white shirt or t-shirt you love to wear, maybe because it’s simply your favorite or your company or school requires it as a uniform. Overtime white fabrics begin to yellow, especially at the underarms.

This yellowing is a result of body soil/ sweat accumulating on the fabric over time.

Wearing yellowing clothes makes you look less pleasant and to restore the shone of your cloth you can employ the efficient help of hydrogen peroxide.

For better results, you can mix a little amount of this wonder chemical into a solution of baking soda and water.

It can be used to remove stain patches from clothes: Stains occurring on your clothes is a daily likelihood. The most annoying thing is that these stains can pop up at any time, at times even ruining your day. While some stains are easy to do away with, others are what can be classified as stubborn.

Well, the next time a stain threatens your cloth’s beauty apply a small amount of hydrogen peroxide to the stained patch, allow to soak into the fabric for 10 minutes then wash normally.

Hydrogen peroxide is efficient in removing stains from mildew, fruits, blood, vegetable, and dye transfer stains. It should also be noted that before applying hydrogen peroxide to your cloth, test it on a less visible side of your clothing, like the hemline or inside seem, to ensure that it wouldn’t cause any damage to the cloth.

Do this by dipping a ball of cotton into a bottle of hydrogen peroxide and applying it.

It can be used for disinfecting and washing a washing machine: Overtime, your washer would develop an unpleasant odor which is caused by the growth of mold and mildew on detergent and fabric softener residues which collect on the washer drum or the rubber door of the machine.

While this is a normal occurrence, you should never allow it, unless of course, you enjoy unpleasant smells.

To properly clean your washing machine and rid of any odors, add 2 cups of hydrogen peroxide to the empty washer drum and run a hot water cycle. Make sure to clean your washing machine using hydrogen peroxide monthly to prevent future smelly occurrences.

It can be used for clothes brightening: Your colored clothes as you have noticed become dull over time, this is due to sweat or detergent residues trapped in the fiber. You can brighten your clothes by pouring one cup of hydrogen peroxide into the bleach dispenser of your washing machine, which would be circulated during the washing cycle when there is enough water.

If you don’t use a washing machine, you can dilute one cup of 3 percent hydrogen peroxide with two cups of water then dip the clothes into the solution and wash.

It should be noted that concentrated hydrogen peroxide shouldn’t be used in the washing of your clothes, as it can damage them.

It can be used to remove odor from clothes, tennis shoes, and towels: it’s normal for tennis shoes and towels to get stinky with time, due to the accumulation of sweat and water in their fabric. To get rid of this odor, mix one-half cup of hydrogen peroxide in a bowl of water and soak the show or towel for 15 to 30 minutes and then wash.

It can be used to disinfect and clean toilets: Over the years your toilet bowl might begin to yellow, what else can you do to correct this other than using hydrogen peroxide. Hydrogen peroxide is known to efficiently kill all kinds of microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, yeast, and virus. This makes it suitable for disinfecting and cleaning your toilet.

To use it as a toilet cleaner, pour a half cup of 3 percent hydrogen peroxide into your toilet bowl, leave for 20 minutes, and then wash off.

It can be used to whiten old porcelain sink: Just like your toilets, your porcelain sinks can also be whitened using hydrogen peroxide.

To do this, apply baking soda on the sink and scrub for some time after you are done, proceed to scrub the sink again with a sponge soaked in hydrogen peroxide.

It should be noted as a precautionary measure that hydrogen peroxide can cause redness and burning of your skin, so, always ensure to put on a hand glove before using it.

How To Use Hydrogen Peroxide to Remove Stains

 To remove stains efficiently with hydrogen peroxide, follow these steps:

1. Pour warm water on the area where the stain occurred to soften the fabric.
2. Then proceed to apply hydrogen peroxide to the area of the stain
3. Leave the hydrogen peroxide to soak into the fabric for about an hour.
4. At this point, the hydrogen peroxide should have penetrated the fabric and began its work on the stain. Pick up a soft toothbrush or towel and rub over the area of the stain, gently.
5. Rub until you notice the stain begins to come off. A slow scrub is encouraged so as not to cause damage to the fabric.
6. Then pour warm water over the area of the stain. By now, the stain ought to have vanished.
7. Repeat the process if the stain remains.

Other non-stain removal usefulness of hydrogen peroxide include:

• To induce vomiting in animals: Sometimes your pets tend to swallow foreign objects or poisons, you can get it out of them by giving them hydrogen peroxide to make them vomit.
• You can use them to treat fungi infections in your plants. You can achieve this by mixing 4 tablespoons of hydrogen peroxide in a pint of water and spraying it on the affected plant/plants. Do not use it undiluted as it can damage delicate leaves.
• It can also help in quick seed germination. It is suggested that you soak your seeds in 1 to 3 percent hydrogen peroxide before planting and watch as they yield plentifully.

Hydrogen peroxide is indeed wonderful as has been shown above. It works not only as a stain remover but also as an odor dispenser. But people tend to use this chemical improperly which can end up causing damage to their fabric or making the chemical to lose its potency.

Due to this, some precautionary measures are to be taken in the use of hydrogen peroxide.

Precautions When Using Hydrogen Peroxide To Remove Stains

• Don’t mix hydrogen peroxide with household ammonia, chlorine bleach, or vinegar hoping for a better result as this would only disappoint your expectations because when any of these are mixed with hydrogen peroxide they can produce dangerous gases.
• Besides, using a mixture of chlorine bleach and hydrogen peroxide for cloth whitening is just the same as using just chlorine bleach as the sodium hypochlorite property in chlorine bleach causes the immediate break down of hydrogen peroxide into plain water.
• Never get hydrogen peroxide into your eyes, but if you do flush your eyes with plenty of water for 15 minutes or more and then seek medical intervention.
• Store your bottle of hydrogen peroxide away from hot and moist places and always keep the bottles tightly sealed.
• You might be tempted to apply hydrogen peroxide to your skin, maybe to fight a fungi infection or to whiten your skin. This is advised against as it can cause damage to your skin.
• Dispose of bottles of used hydrogen peroxide properly according to the guidelines provided by your area.

Conclusion

To remove stains with hydrogen peroxide, all these measures should be adequately taken. You might have been washing all your life and struggling to get rid of stubborn stains or just keep your fabric in good shape, with hydrogen peroxide this stops.

Now that you know about the efficacy of hydrogen peroxide as a stain remover, enjoy!