The Benefit Of Washing Your Dishes With Hydrogen Peroxide

If you are looking for a safe and effective way to wash dishes beyond using your regular dishwashing liquid, hydrogen peroxide can be a great option. It might seem like an unusual choice, but it is actually pretty easy to use. Hydrogen peroxide is a common household cleaner that is used for a variety of purposes, and there are many surprising ways to use it in your home. It is a powerful disinfectant that can kill germs and bacteria. Consequently, it is a safe and effective way to wash dishes.

Though loading the dishwasher, adding some soap, and pressing the button is the easiest way to ensure your dishes are cleaned and disinfected, sometimes certain dishes require a little more elbow grease. Over time, they can start to look drab or even discolored. In other instances, your dishware may be extra dirty from a dinner party or holiday. In these cases, hydrogen peroxide may be just what you need.

If your dishes simply have stuck on food, hydrogen peroxide can help lift it off. This is because it works by releasing oxygen molecules — anyone who has ever used it can attest to seeing the little bubbles sprout up when pouring it on a surface or even a wound. These oxygen molecules react with the dirt and grime on dishes, breaking them down and making them easier to remove.

Peroxide also reacts with soap. "When you add peroxide to dish soap, it breaks down into oxygen and water," cleaning expert Bailey Carson Handy tells Apartment Therapy. "The soapy water then traps that oxygen, creating bubbles, making your dish soap extra foamy." Many of us also know how adding hydrogen peroxide to hair can help lighten it. For the same reasons, it can help get dishes sparkling clean. Hydrogen peroxide is a powerful bleaching agent, so using it on your dishes not only helps whiten them, but it helps remove stains too.

There are a few different ways to use hydrogen peroxide to achieve the same results on your dishes. It's best to use 3% concentration which is commonly sold in stores. Add 1-2 ounces to your dishwashing liquid. You can also fill your sink with warm water and add the same amount of hydrogen peroxide to the water along with a few drops of dish soap. Wash your dishes as usual. Rinse thoroughly with clean water.

If your main goal is to sanitize dishes that are particularly germ-ridden or have caked-on food, soak them in a solution of 1 part hydrogen peroxide to 10 parts water for 10 minutes. Another way to wash your dishes is to add baking soda to the hydrogen peroxide solution to boost its cleaning power.

However, if you don't want to manually wash your dishes, you can still use hydrogen peroxide to work its wonders in your dishwasher. When doing a load, add a quarter cup along with your regular dishwashing liquid. To achieve better results long term, you can use hydrogen peroxide to clean the dishwasher. Add one cup to the bottom of an empty dishwasher and run a load. This will remove build-up and disinfect the machine to keep it running optimally.