Early last year when I went on a splurge and bought a ton of Listerine for free at Walgreens, CVS & Target, I found myself with much more than what I could use. I won’t lie, I dislike Listerine. My hubby, on the other hand, loves the stuff. He’ll even pay $7 a bottle for it.
So when he was gone at Army Training in Georgia, I had a plan to use it all – ha! And since I don’t usually buy a ton of bleach, I figured I could use it to mop floors. I usually use Borax, but Borax is also something I use for killing pests outside (as once again, I wont pay for pest control). Mixing Borax with water and spraying in corners around the outside of my house has found to be very helpful for that, and it saves me $30-$40 a month.
I resorted to Listerine to mop my floors in the bathroom & kitchen. Not only do they smell great, they get clean. Simply add a capful of Listerine to a gallon of water and mop vinyl or tile floors. The same product that kills your bad breath and mouth germs also zaps the nasty gunk that you walk on in your house.
Besides being a floor cleaner/mopping agent… you can also use it for other areas of your house:
- Disinfectant – Kills Germs around the house, use in a spray bottle.
- Toilet Cleaner – Use a capful in the toilet, let sit an hour, scrub using a toilet brush & flush.
- Rid Mold & Mildew – Spray mold/mildew with Listerine; let sit, then scrub with a brush.
- Use in a spray bottle to spray in your shower after you are done – it’ll alleviate the build up that accumulates from soap & conditioners.
Personal Uses:
- Splash under your arms as a deodorant – of course, the scent you choose will determine how you smell
- Treat poison ivy, rashes, and bug bites by dabbling on Listerine
- Use it in place of After Shave – it contains essential oils that will leave men smooth
- Take care of a bad dandruff problem by spraying Listerine on the scalp, let it sit for 15 minutes and massage it in. It may take a few times, but it will alleviate your issues without expensive shampoo.
The best Listerine to use is the Original Antiseptic – even more, if you or your husband have very bad calloused feet, or suffer from fungal infections, soak your socks in Listerine and wear them all day in a pair of dry shoes (yese, your shoes will get wet but you can dry them out). My hubs has bad feet from wearing boots for Army duty, so this is one remedy.
I’m all about using things I already have at home to conquer household tasks – I’m definitely not an gal who “loves” to clean, but it has to be done; and it sure is better when you mop & smell “Minty Fresh” in lieu of no scent at all.
Half Listerine half hydrogen peroxide is the same as the expensive Oral B swollen gums mouthwash. Can’t wait to try the Borax to rid my house of crickets.
I really applaud your ingenuity but at the same time I couldn’t help thinking about the fact that we use it in our mouths & yet it’s good for cleaning?! Little bit disturbing, lol
Sheryl, you seriously are awesome! Gonna try the Borax to rid our nasty tick problem!
This is great! I have all these coupons for Listerine and I stopped getting it because I really don’t like it myself and I knew it was just going to pile up on a shelf. But I do like the way it smells clean. I have to do my kitchen floors in the next couple of days and I am definitely doing this! And I’m going to try the other uses you suggest.
I agree with sues2u2 too – the first thing I thought of when I began reading your post was that we put this in our mouths! Yuck! LOL, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to use Listerine for mouthwash again! (we’ll see).
yeah i’m not a fan of mouthwash at all. I mean, my mouth is clean, I just hate swishing stuff & spitting it out. Seems wasteful for some reason!
Does the Borax work on scorpions?
We have a LOT of scorpions :(
I dont have Scorpions. And i’m not sure if it’s because i use this stuff but what I do is a put a c. of Borax in a big plastic jug, and then mix 1/2 c. sugar with it, THEN I put 2 c. water, stir well and pour/spray around the base of the house. kills the nasty cockroaches because they eat it (sweet) and they blow up inside with “gassy” gas and explode — i know it’s mean but I hate those suckers. I have never had a scorpion once and I’m not sure if it’s because I use this stuff but it works dry too, sprinkle the borax powder outside in the cracks of the sidewalk or right outside the garage as the door shuts. Just be cautious if you have kiddos. Or animals.
I used to work for a vets office and we would use Listerine to spray the behinds of dogs after expressing the anal glands. The stuff really worked for that. Disgusting, but true.