Use Mouthwash for Household Problems

Make your mouthwash work a little harder. You may not realize this but it is useful for quite a few jobs around the house and leaves a lovely fresh scent behind too!

Steps

 * 1)  Clean your computer screen and leave a minty scent (but NOT for LCD screens!). With a white tissue dampened with a mint flavored mouthwash, you can remove smudges and dust from the screen of your monitor. As a screen cleaner, mouthwash is a bargain. Based on a price of just US$2 for 42 ounces - slightly less than 5 cents an ounce - it costs less than a penny to clean your computer screen. Just an important note - this trick works best on glass screens and is not recommended for computer monitors that use LCDs.
 * 2)  Use it in the bathroom beyond your mouth. The plaque-busting ingredients in mouthwash effectively clean toilet bowls and kill bathroom germs. Pour two ounces of mouthwash into the toilet bowl and let the liquid sit for 30 minutes. Follow up with a quick swish with a toilet brush and then flush.
 * 3) Make an odor-eater in the kitchen. Working with garlic and onions can leave your hands with a strong odor long after the food has been cooked. To zap the scent, soak a cotton ball with mouthwash and apply it to your hands. This tip works best when you let the mouthwash dry before rinsing. Likewise, mouthwash or just plain alcohol can also banish underarm odor during a midday emergency.
 * 4)  Turn it into a great laundry aid. A cup of alcohol-based mouthwash is great for killing germs in the laundry, especially if you're washing very soiled items. Add to the regular cycle.
 * 5) Create an anti-fungus treatment. A mixture of mouthwash and water (25 percent mouthwash and 75 percent water) can be sprayed onto plant leaves suffering from mildew and fungus. Use once a week. Meanwhile, mild cases of athlete's foot and toe fungus can be treated with mouthwash. Soak a cotton ball with (sugar free) mouthwash and apply it to the foot several times a day. The athlete's foot may disappear in days, but toe fungus will need professional medical counsel.
 * 6)  Use it as a low-cost skin treatment. The alcohol and bacteria-fighting ingredients contained in most sugar-free mouthwashes are great for freshening up your skin, according to Reader's Digest. Mouthwash is great at removing grime and residue from the face. Rinse with cold water.

Tips

 * Always test an area of skin first before using as a treatment for skin. If you have problem skin, this might make the problems worse.

Things You'll Need

 * Mouthwash of choice
 * Rubbing cloth (where relevant)
 * Cotton Balls (where relevant)

Related Tips and Steps

 * How to Remove Pimples Using Floss and Mouthwash
 * How to Make Peppermint & Tea Tree Mouthwash
 * How to Use Mouthwash Properly
 * How to Clean Hairbrushes and Combs

Sources and Citations

 * Adapted from Sharon Harvey Rosenberg, The Frugal Duchess, Odd Frugal Household Uses for Mouthwash, shared under a creative commons 2.5 licence permitting share and remix with attribution. Thanks Frugal Duchess!