7 Ways to Use Hydrogen Peroxide and Baking Soda to Keep Your Home Sparkling Clean
To the long list of things that go together (think: peanut butter and jelly, peas and carrots, Ina and Jeffrey), we’d like to add hydrogen peroxide and baking soda. While mixing chemicals and cleaners can sometimes be dangerous and is generally not advised, these two household staples can be a powerful and effective cleaning combo.
Whether used in tandem or as a potent paste, baking soda and hydrogen peroxide deserve to be the next power couple — of your cleaning arsenal. Here are some of the best ways to use hydrogen peroxide and baking soda around the home:
Note: Always use protective gloves when cleaning with hydrogen peroxide and be sure not to ingest it. A mixture of baking soda and hydrogen peroxide should never be stored in a closed container because a buildup of carbon dioxide can cause the container to leak, explode, or spray when opened. Only make enough paste for one cleaning session at a time.
1. Clean hard water residue off plastic and silicone cooking tools.
If you struggle with the effects of hard water, your cooking utensils could be covered in an unsightly white film of mineral deposits that ordinary dish-washing methods won’t touch. To get your utensils looking good as new, make a paste of baking soda and hydrogen peroxide, spread it over your utensils, and let sit for about half an hour before washing as usual.
2. Clean bathroom faucets.
Bathroom fixtures covered in not only hard water stains, but also a veneer of hairspray and soap scum will shine again after undergoing the baking soda and hydrogen peroxide treatment. Make a paste, spread it over your lackluster fixtures, let sit for a few minutes, and wipe away with a rag. Rinse with a clean, damp rag, and buff dry to a polished sheen.
3. Dissolve baked-on food in pots and pans.
Hate long sessions spent cleaning cooked-on residue from your pots and pans? Rather than expend unnecessary energy scraping and scrubbing your cookware, combine hydrogen peroxide and baking soda and spread over trouble spots before you start the rest of the dishes. Once you turn your attention to the big stuff, burnt-on food should lift right off your pots and pans.
4. Get baking sheets looking good as new.
Baking sheets inevitably end up with a patina (even after just a few uses). While these stains are a point of pride in our kitchen, we realize they need to be cleaned off eventually. Sprinkle the sheet liberally with baking soda, spritz with hydrogen peroxide, and let things sit overnight. By the morning, you’ll be able to easily scrape off the baking soda — and the loosened gunk. (While you’re here, this was the clear winner when we tested five methods for cleaning baking sheets.)
5. Whiten grout.
Dirty grout is everyone’s cleaning nemesis, and it’s not an easy one to defeat. To whiten grubby grout lines, spray them with hydrogen peroxide, let it sit a bit, and then come back and sprinkle with baking soda. Scrub with an old toothbrush or small cleaning brush. Rinse and wipe clean.
6. Remove stains.
Baking soda and hydrogen peroxide make a great stain remover — especially on yellowed whites. Spread a paste of baking soda and hydrogen peroxide on stains, let it sit for half an hour, and launder as usual. (Make sure to take care with darker colors, which could be damaged by hydrogen peroxide. )
7. Shine tubs and tiles.
A paste of hydrogen peroxide and baking soda cuts through soap scum and hard water stains on tubs and tiles. Mix a paste of two thirds baking soda to one third hydrogen peroxide, spread it over affected areas, let it sit for 30 minutes, and then rinse away.
Got any other brilliant uses to add to the list? Leave them in the comments below!