Hydrogen Peroxide

Today I wanted to talk to you all about a product that many of us have used for years but may not be totally aware of all of the uses for.  That product is hydrogen peroxide and it is fabulous.  Many of you already know that hydrogen peroxide is used to clean wounds but did you also know that you can use it all around your house.

When we lived in England we had a terrible mold problem in base housing.  At that time I was not aware of how to properly clean it so I used Clorox bleach.  Needless to say, the mold came back with a vengeance.  I should have used Hydrogen peroxide to kill the deadly mold spores and I would not be suffering from severe asthma right now. 

Aside form cleaning walls of mold it can be used to clean and disinfect countertops, refrigerator shelves, toilet seats and floors.  The big thing I use it for is cleaning my fruits and vegetables.  AS a mother I want to make sure that my children eat healthy but if the fruits and veggies are dirty, what is the point? 
Recently I decided that the reason most people do not eat veggies and fruits regularly is because they are very hard to get to.  You have to open the bag, pick the fruit or veggie, wash it, dry it, and then you can eat it.  What I do now is as soon as I come in from shopping I fill the sink with water and hydrogen peroxide.  I put all the fruits and veggies in there and l let them sit for about 15 minutes.  Once I have done that I rinse them off so there is no residue and then I place them on a tray covered in paper towels to allow them to dry.  By the time I have unloaded the car and put away the rest of the groceries, the fruits and veggies are dry and ready to be put away. 

Now I have fresh clean fruits and veggies that my kids can just grab from the refrigerator and go.  Now, some people may not believe me but since I started this a month ago, I run out of fruit every week and the kids are begging to get more.  Also, some people say that strawberries should not be cleaned this but not only do the strawberries survive, they last longer.  Hydrogen peroxide is the best thing I have come across in a long time to clean my fruits and veggies and make them last longer.

Stains, if have hard to remove stains like blood all you have to do is treat it with hydrogen peroxide wash it and the stain will be gone.  It also makes your white clothes whiter, especially t-shirts that might have sweat stains under the arms.  Hydrogen peroxide is truly amazing.

Also, anyone who is thinking of making their hair a little lighter or get the new ambre look can definitely use hydrogen peroxide for that.  This very simple, inexpensive, and useful product should not be taken for granted.  Hydrogen peroxide has so many uses that many people are not aware of I wanted to make sure that at least a few of them are made known and easily accessible.

One last piece of information.  Hydrogen peroxide can cause tissue death if left on an open wound in high doses.  It can also cause a bleaching effect if used in large amounts with colored clothing.  Please be sure to do your own research on hydrogen peroxide and make your own informed decision on how to use it. 

GRAPESEED OIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Grapeseed Oil, are you using thus stuff?  I have just done some research and I have to say that Grapeseed Oil seems to be a very good alternative to vegetable and canola oil.  I implore you to do your own research but I am going to list a few of the great benefits of Grapeseed Oil. 

BENEFITS OF GRAPESEED OIL

1.)  NO CHOLESTEROL
2.)  NATURALLY OCCURING ANTIOXIDENTS
3.)  WILL NOT SOLIDIFY WHEN REFRIGERATED
4.)  LOWER IN SATURATED FAT THAN OTHER OILS
5.)  CONTAINS LINOLEIC ACID THAT HELPS INCREASES HDL AND DECREASES LDL
6.)  LESS SATURATED FAT THAN VEGETABLE OIL
7.)  CAN BE SUBSTITUTED FOR VEGETABLE OIL IN ANY RECIPE
8.)  HIGHER SMOKE POINT (485 DEGREES) WHICH ALLOWS YOU TO USE IT AT HIGHER HEATS WITHOUT THE RISK OF SPLASHING OR SPLATTERING WHEN COOKING/FRYING
9.)  GREAT FOR SALAD DRESSINGS, SAUCES AND MARINADES

As you can see there a lot of benefits to using this oil.  I love that it has a higher smoke point than Olive Oil.  I love Olive Oil, don't get me wrong, but when you need a healthy oil to use for frying or sautéing Grapeseed Oil is an amazing choice. 

So please do your research and consider Grapeseed Oil the next time you have a dressing to make or you want to fry some chicken in a healthier way. 

As always, please leave me some feedback regarding your experiences with Grapeseed Oil.

TIDE PODS

Tide, Tide, Tide, oh how I love Tide.  Let me say that when I first saw these "pods"  I was very skeptical.  I thought "how can this little blob filled with goo clean my clothing like the liquid can? How does is know when to pop open?  Does it work in cold water?  Is it guaranteed to pop in the wash each time?"  I asked myself all of these questions, but at the end of the day I had to try them.

Let me just say that Tide never disappoints.  The pods work very well.  My clothes are just as clean as with the liquid and they smell awesome.  Also, I found that if you have an item of clothing that has a bad stain (this worked for me on several different occasions), just wrap the item around the pod and add another pod to the wash.  The stain will be gone, gone, gone.  Though I still but liquid tide for my whites because as you know (or maybe not), adding washing detergent at the wrong time when using bleach, weakens the effects of the bleach.  I also add an oxy-clean pod to all of my white loads but I will review that later this week.

In short, Tide pods work GREAT.  Be sure to keep them out of reach of children and create a system for using them so that you do not forget if you have added one to the wash.  Not that using one or more will damage your clothing or washer, it will just save you from wasting these wonderful pods. 

If anyone has any great stories about Tide pods, or any negative stories about the pods, please share them with me and my followers.

DOWNY UNSTOPPABLES

I know many of you have seen or even used the Downy Unstoppables by now but I wanted to give my opinion on them.  I tested them against regular dryer sheets to determine if they really lived up to their claim of leaving laundry smelling for more than 12 days.

First let me say I love anything new that has to do with laundry and cleaning so I had to try them as soon as they came out. I have been using them consistently for the past 8-9 months and while I like the scent, I have to say that I find that they do not do all that is promised.

I have run my own "test" if you will, to see if they do indeed keep laundry smelling fresh for as long as they claim.  I washed a set of towels, some T-shirts, and some socks and used the unstoppables.  I put them away and did not use them for a 10 days.  Once the week was up, I took the items out and had my husband conduct a smell test to see if they still had that fresh from the dryer smell and they did not.  I also felt as though the items did not smell as though they were fresh from the dryer.  They did not smell stale or old, they just did not BURST with freshness of the unstoppables.

Next, I used the downy dryer sheets and repeated the test using the same items I used when testing the unstoppables.  I used 2 dryer sheets in each load of laundry, and I put them away, for 10 days, and let my husband conduct his smell test.  According to him, all of the items still had that fresh from they dryer smell.  I have to agree as I did my own smell test as well.

Any good scientist knows that you cannot run a test once and rely on those results so I repeated the test 3 more.  Each time the results were the same, the dryer sheets won.  While I love the scent of the unstoppables, they do not live up to their claims of creating a scent that lasts for more than 12 days. 

I still use the remaining unstoppables that I have, but I also use dryer sheets in order to ensure that my clothing, bedding, and towels will have and maintain a fresh smell.