BLULOW (All About Living Green)

As promised in my Basic Ingredients for Blulow Living blog entry, here are a few reasons why it’s good to keep a few bottles of hydrogen peroxide in your home.

1. Cleaning stainless steel sinks: It’s great for leaving a stainless steel sink glistening. It may work as well on porcelain sinks too, but mine is stainless steel so I can only tell you about my experience.When you are disinfecting your kitchen sponge at the end of the day, pour some hydrogen peroxide on the back of your scrubbing sponge. You know the kind with the coarse plastic on the back (not steel wool pads like SOS or Brillo). While scrubbing the sink, you’ll notice the peroxide will foam a little, but that’s good. It’s the disinfecting action. Once you’re through scrubbing, rinse it all off. Your sink will shine.
2. A laundry whitener. Use it instead of bleach to whiten your white clothes. Not being a chemist, I cannot explain the chemical reaction that occurs causing the peroxide to whiten the clothes, but it works.Hydrogen peroxide as a whitener seemed the like the next logical step. After all, I’ve gone as far as making homemade laundry detergent, why not go all the way and use an environmentally friendly bleaching agent.
3. Removes pesticides from fruits and vegetables. Put your veggies in a bowl of gold water and pour about a quarter cup in the bowl of hydrogen peroxide. Let it sit for about 10 or 15 minutes and then wash it off. I’ve also been told that it will be more effective if you follow the hydrogen peroxide washing with a similar procedure using apple cider vinegar. Using both products, one after the other, will purportedly remove 99% of the pesticides.I don’t have chemical proof that it works, but I do it anyway. It can’t hurt anymore than ingesting the pesticides. I do the same thing with meat too. I put the meat in cold water and add a little hydrogen peroxide then thoroughly wash it off.
4. Teeth whitener: Used in conjunction with baking soda, hydrogen peroxide can whiten your teeth and kill germs. Put a little baking soda in a small cup with a capful of hydrogen peroxide. All you need is just enough to make the baking soda pasty enough to stick to your toothbrush. Dip your toothbrush into the paste and brush.No, it does not taste minty sweet and delicious, but it works.While we’re on the subject of teeth, morning breath and germs, when you reach for your mouthwash, use one part mouthwash to one part hydrogen peroxide for extra germ killing power.
5. Cuts and Scrapes: Almost forgot to mention that it’s great for cleaning cuts and scrapes.

These are a few ways that I use hydrogen peroxide. For more ways, check out these sites:

• http://www.h2o2-4u.com/house.html
• http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/h/hydrogen-peroxide.htm

If you are serious about going living blulow, there are certain ingredients that are must haves in your house.

1. Baking Soda (It doesn’t have to be Arm & Hammer. Generic baking soda will do)
2. Borax
3. Distilled White Vinegar
4. Distilled Water
5. Hydrogen Peroxide (H202)
6. Super Washing Soda
7. Ivory Soap is nice to have around also.

You’ll find that there are many uses for the above ingredients and it’s best to have them around. Knowing that you may use them more often as you begin to replace your usual cleaners, pick them up when ever you see them on sale.

If you’ve read my articles on making homemade dish and laundry detergent, you already see how useful it is to have borax and washing soda on hand. Over the next few weeks I’ll be sharing how to incorporate these ingredients in your daily cleaning routine.

Stay tuned…

Disclaimer: The advice I give here is from my own experience coupled with extensive research. Feel free to contact me if you have questions, but by all means, don’t take my word for anything. Try it on your own and do your own research.