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Compounds and Cleaning · Compound · Oxidizing disinfectant

Hydrogen Peroxide

An oxidizing disinfectant for skin, surfaces, and gear that breaks down to water and oxygen. Use it around wounds, not in them. The household strength is three percent, and it is slow: it has to stay wet to work.

1 TO 3 YEARS; TEST ITHandle with careWorks without power

Quick facts

Household
3% solution
Form
Clear liquid
Hazard class
Irritant; keep from eyes
Shelf life
1 to 3 years; test it
Storage
Original dark bottle
What to avoid
  • Light
  • heat
  • metal

See everything hydrogen peroxide must never touch

What it's good for

Around wounds

Clean skin, not the wound

Surfaces

Slow: keep it wet 10 min

Mouth rinse

Diluted, short courses

Garden & fodder

Pots, gnats, sprouting grain

Water with a spare oxygen atom it readily sheds; it oxidizes germs as it breaks down, leaving only water and oxygen.

Good to know

The fizz is not the point. Hydrogen peroxide is water carrying one extra oxygen atom it is always trying to shed. Blood and living tissue carry an enzyme, catalase, that rips peroxide apart on contact, and the bubbling you see is just oxygen escaping as the peroxide is destroyed. Those bubbles are not what kills germs: the peroxide itself does that, oxidizing cell walls and DNA before it breaks down. So fizzing means the peroxide is being used up, not that it is winning, which is also why a wound that foams is not a wound getting cleaner.

Handling and safety

Household is 3%

The 3% brown-bottle strength is what these recipes use.

Keep it wet to work

It is slow. Leave surfaces visibly wet 10 minutes; a quick wipe does little.

Never mix it with vinegar

Together they make peracetic acid, corrosive to eyes and lungs, and a capped bottle can burst.

Test the fizz

Pour a little on raw potato or yeast. It will not fizz on clean steel, so that is no test.

Recipes for hydrogen peroxide

Questions this answers

Tap a question for the short answer.

What is hydrogen peroxide used for?

It is an oxidizing disinfectant for skin, surfaces, and gear. Use the 3% household strength to clean skin around wounds, not in them, to disinfect surfaces left visibly wet for 10 minutes, as a diluted short-course mouth rinse, and in the garden for pots, gnats, and sprouting grain.

How long does hydrogen peroxide last in storage?

Expect 1 to 3 years, and test it rather than trusting the date. Pour a little on raw potato or yeast: if it fizzes, it still works. It will not fizz on clean steel, so that tells you nothing.

How do I store hydrogen peroxide?

Keep it in its original dark bottle, away from light, heat, and metal. Never mix it with vinegar, since together they form corrosive peracetic acid and a capped bottle can burst.

Keep going

Read nextDegrease, descale, disinfect: match the cleaner to the jobCleaning comes down to three jobs: cut grease, dissolve mineral scale, or kill germs. The compounds for each are not interchangeable.Compounds and Cleaning · Reference

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Medical · Formula Cleaning Around a Wound Hydrogen peroxide is a useful disinfectant, but it does not belong in an open wound. It is an oxidant, and it kills the new cells that rebuild skin just as readily as it kills germs. Use it around a cut, not in it, and flush the wound itself with clean drinking water. Handle with care Hygiene and Sanitation · Formula Surface and Tool Sanitizer Peroxide breaks down into water and oxygen, so it leaves no residue and no fumes. That makes it the disinfectant for enclosed spaces, sickrooms, and anyone with asthma, where bleach is a problem. It works, but it works slowly, and it only works on a surface you have already cleaned. Handle with care Compounds and Cleaning · Compound Isopropyl Alcohol Shelf life: Years sealed; weakens opened. Storage: Sealed, away from flame. YEARS SEALED; WEAKENS OPENEDMULTI-USEHazardous Compounds and Cleaning · Formula Surface and Equipment Disinfectant Spray At about 70 percent, ethanol kills most bacteria, viruses, and fungi within seconds by unraveling their proteins and dissolving the membranes around their cells. Hazardous
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