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Mouthwash is usually seen as just a way to keep your teeth and breath fresh, but it can actually do a lot more around the house. This little bottle of liquid isn’t just for oral care, it can help with cleaning, deodorizing, and tackling everyday household tasks.
Here are some clever and unexpected ways to put mouthwash to work beyond your bathroom sink.
Clean Household Surfaces

If you’re out of your usual cleaning products, mouthwash can be a dependable alternative. Just moisten a soft cloth with mouthwash and use it to wipe down countertops and glass surfaces.
Protect Your Plant

Mouthwash is an effective way to prevent mildew and fungus gnats that could damage your plants. Protect your plants by spraying a mixture of equal parts mouthwash and water.
Foot Fungal Infection

For mild athlete’s foot or foot fungus, mouthwash can be useful. Just soak a cotton ball in mouthwash and dab it on the affected area.
Make Flowers Last Longer

Add a little mouthwash to the water in the vase to keep your flowers fresh and lasting longer. Mouthwash helps fight off bacteria and slows down the wilting process, ensuring your flowers remain bright and lively for an extended period.
Improve Humidifier’s Performance

If not cleaned regularly or if the water sits too long, humidifiers can turn into hotspots for mold, mildew, and bacteria. To keep the air fresh and improve its quality, try adding a few spoonfuls of mouthwash to the humidifier water.
Freshen Up the Garbage Disposal

To get rid of bad smells from your garbage disposal, pour a little mouthwash down the drain and then run the disposal with hot water.
Deodorize the Garbage Can

Just as mouthwash freshens up a garbage disposal, it can also tackle odors in a trash can. Simply soak a paper towel in Listerine and place it at the bottom of the bin to get rid of any persistent bad smells.
Do Your Laundry

For clothes with strong odors, add a capful of clear mouthwash to your laundry; it helps prevent smells. Also, if your washing machine starts smelling musty, add mouthwash to a load to freshen it up.
Clean Tile Floors

Mouthwash does more than whiten teeth; it’s also great for cleaning tiles. Just mix mouthwash with water and use the solution to scrub. The alcohol in mouthwash not only makes surfaces shine but also disinfects them as you clean.
Related post: How to Clean Your Tile Grout
Disinfect a Wound

It’s worth noting that before its popular use as a mouthwash, it was effectively employed as an antiseptic to prevent surgical infections. Therefore, consider using an alcohol-based mouthwash for skin disinfection when tending to a minor cut or wound.
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