Homesteader Depot

Tag: sanitation

  • Household Uses for Hydrogen Peroxide

    Household Uses for Hydrogen Peroxide

    Every knows that hydrogen peroxide can be used as an antiseptic to treat wounds, but hydrogen peroxide can be used for more than just wound care.  Here is a brief list of other ways you can use this cheap, versatile, and safe product.

     

    Oral Care

    H202 (hydrogen peroxide) can be diluted with an equal amount of water and be used as a mouthwash to kill gingivitis and help with toothaches.  A bonus is that it will help whiten your teeth.  Don’t go overboard with this, though, using it too regularly can damage tooth enamel.

    Laundry Boost

    Do you remember the infomercials that sold cleaning products that used oxygen to lift stains?  H2O2 works similarly.  Just treat tough stains with it directly and wash them as usual, or add it to your load with the regular detergent for an added boost.

    Antifungal

    If you are living off grid then you are probably going to be wearing clothing more than once, maybe more than twice.  This could lead to fungal infections in your skin such as athlete’s feet, ring worm, and dandruff.  Along with changing out your clothing more frequently, as your resources allow, H2O2 can be diluted with equal parts water and rubbed on affected areas to kill the fungus.

    Sprouting

    Keeping your beans, grains, or seeds from molding while sprouting them can be difficult.  One way is to add an ounce of H2O2 to the water every day when you change it out.

    Shower Cleaner

    When less diluted, or even straight out of the bottle if necessary, H2O2 can help kill mold in the shower than lead to health issues.  It is much easier on the lungs of the person doing the cleaning, or those in the area, than bleach.  If you plan on using it in a spray bottle, make sure you use one that blocks out light, or that you put in the bottle just before use, as light will break down H2O2 and decrease its effectiveness.

     

    Hydrogen peroxide has been around for a long time, and has proven itself.  Keep yourself stocked up, since with so many uses you will be going through it quickly.

    If you liked this, you might also enjoy…

    Natural Healing Techniques Doctors Don’t Want You to Know…

    The Weight-Reducing Magic of Yoga…

    The Ultimate Woodworking Course..

     

  • How to Kill Microbes

    How often do you think about microbes and other types of infectious pathogens? If you are learning to survive and trying to be more self-sufficient, then you might think about this more than the average person. Still, you may not understand how to deal with these types of infectious pathogens and microbes properly. In many cases, utilizing things such as antibiotics and antimicrobials will work to deal with microbes.

    In fact, you can find quite a few items in the store, including a variety of name brand cleaners, that have antimicrobial properties. Of course, if you only rely on these commercial products, you won’t know how to be self-sufficient if that time ever comes when you need to be. Fortunately, there are a number of very simple methods to help kill microbes, which will help to prevent disease and improve health of you and your family. Let’s look at a few of the different methods you can use.

    Fresh Air

    Experiments have shown that it is possible to kill bacteria simply by exposing it to fresh air. By exposing pathogenic bacteria to fresh air for about two hours, it has the potential to kill most of the bacteria. These are relatively old methods, but they are tried-and-true and still work today.

    Of course, they are not the only methods used to deal with microbes. Let’s look at some of the other simple and effective ways that you can reduce the number of potentially dangerous microbes in your home right now.

    Cleaning the Sponges and Towels

    Chances are you have quite a few sponges and towels around the kitchen, and these can be a haven for bacteria. Namely, because they can stay wet and they are porous, which means there are plenty of places that bacteria can hide and grow. With your sponges, you could put them in a pool of water and put in the microwave for two minutes. You could also boil water and then pour it over the sponges while they are sitting in the same. You can wash the towels in hot water, or you can boil them as you can the sponges.

    Keep Everything as Clean as Possible

    You should strive to keep all areas of the home as clean as possible. This is true in a day-to-day situation in home or while you are camping, as well as any survival situation. By keeping things clean, you significantly reduce the chance of infection.

    People

    Microbes tend to gather on people and spread from person-to-person quite easily. The human hand is quite dirty, so washing hands with soap and water and then drying them with a clean towel can help reduce the number of microbes being spread to the home significantly. If you handle any poultry, meat, or eggs, then you should wash your hands immediately after.

    Everybody wants to be happy and healthy. You will find that a little cleanliness will go a long way in making sure you and your family are protected from microbes.

    If you liked this, you’d also like…

    The Secret to Sticking With the Paleo Diet…

    The Ultimate Natural Medicine Course…

    The Little-Known Benefit of Doing Yoga…