Much ado about H2O2

Fig. 1 Hydrogen Peroxide

Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/48726352@N08/8165563252 (Accessed Feb 14, 2017) Reprinted with permission

Hydrogen peroxide, or H₂O₂, is a is light blue powder which turns colourless in solution¹. It has an odor which is slightly sharp, almost like vinegar¹.  Hydrogen peroxide is most commonly found in our medicine cabinets and used to disinfect cuts and scrapes but it can be used in many other ways as well; hydrogen peroxide is commonly used as a hair bleach, used for whitening teeth, removing built up ear wax, and soften calluses and corns².  Hydrogen peroxide is also a wonderful cleaner that can be used in the kitchen, bathroom, and even in the laundry room.   Higher concentrations of hydrogen peroxide can even be found in rocket fuel².  Needless to say, hydrogen peroxide is a very versatile chemical.

With hydrogen peroxide having so many uses it’s obviously a very safe chemical right? Wrong.  In high enough concentrations hydrogen peroxide can irritate the eyes and the respiratory tract³.  It can even eat away at the skin.  Hydrogen peroxide has also been known to cause mutations to bacteria, yeast, and mammals³.  So, if hydrogen peroxide is so dangerous should we immediately get rid of all of it in our homes?  The concentration in the majority of our household products is 3%, which is too low to cause skin damage or genetic mutations but it can be harmful if it comes in contact with our eyes; unless you are planning to dump hydrogen peroxide into your eye sockets there is no need to worry. 

If you still are nervous about using hydrogen peroxide there are many alternatives you can use, depending on what you are using it for.  If the purpose is as a disinfectant for wounds, isopropyl alcohol is a good alternative, bleach can be used as a stain remover or whitener, to obtain a movie star white smile you can use baking soda, and for bleached blond locks, you can smother your hair in lemon juice and go into the sun.  Some of these alternatives work well while others are not worth the time of effort. Personally, I would stick to the magic chemical that does it all.

1.       Wikipedia  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_peroxide (accessed Feb 1, 2018)

2.       Taylor, J. 34 Reasons Why Hydrogen Peroxide Belongs in Every Home  http://www.naturallivingideas.com/hydrogen-peroxide-uses/ (accessed Feb 5, 2018)

3.       Hydrogen Peroxide; MSDS no. H4065 [Online]; Avantor Preformance Materials https://mntl.illinois.edu/facilities/forms/MSDS/h2o2.pdf (accessed Feb 1, 2018)