From cleaning your bathrooms to getting pesky stains out to giving your bongs an entirely new feel, hydrogen peroxide is being sold in bulk quantities at the moment.
The thing is, where do you store this much hydrogen peroxide, considering its corrosive and acidic nature? Well, refrigerating or freezing it can be an easy go-to solution for your storage issues.
With the average refrigerator being able to maintain temperatures between 0° to -17.78°C, 3% hydrogen peroxide can easily be frozen as its freezing point lies between 0° to -15°C. This means that you don’t need any high and mighty, industry-grade deep freezer to store your hydrogen peroxide. It’s just that easy!
Moving forward, we’re going to give you a few reasons why you should freeze your hydrogen peroxide, the changes that will take place, the pros and cons of freezing it, and a conclusion of when and how you should store your hydrogen peroxide via freezing.
Reasons to Freeze Hydrogen Peroxide
I’m sure the first question that popped into everyone’s mind was, what’s the point of freezing hydrogen peroxide in the first place? It’s a common chemical compound found in everyone home’s, so it can’t be that harmful, right?
Wrong. Even after diluting its concentration to 3%, food-grade hydrogen peroxide can be extremely toxic and detrimental to human health if consumed.
1. Minimizes the Chances of Spillage
That brings us to reason number 1, to keep away from the hands of children or even adults. Even at this low concentration, hydrogen peroxide can cause extreme irritation, burning sensation, rashes, inflammations, etc., if it comes into direct contact with the skin.
Keeping it stored away until it’s needed doesn’t just help avoid children accidentally spilling it on themselves. It also minimizes the chances of an adult mistaking it for something else, which could have disastrous consequences.
2. Nullifies Evaporative Loss
The second reason is due to the expiration of hydrogen peroxide. Usually, a sealed bottle of hydrogen peroxide can last up to 3 years. This is more than enough time to use one bottle fully. The issue arises once you open it.
After opening a bottle of hydrogen peroxide, its contents are only viable until six months. Once the viability time has finished, the hydrogen peroxide will lose its effectiveness.
If you’re wondering why this happens, it is because hydrogen peroxide is an unstable compound. It dissolves into oxygen and water rapidly upon exposure to air. This can also result in explosive occurrences. The rate of composition drops to 1/4th of what it normally is inside a refrigerator.
It should be noted that although it will be useless, it will not be harmful aside from the common negative impacts of coming in contact with hydrogen peroxide.
3. Better Storage
The last, and probably most common reason, is definitely to avoid storage issues. Hydrogen peroxide is liquid at room temperature. This can be dangerous as if the bottle is not properly closed and is knocked down, it will release the toxic chemical everywhere.
Once it is frozen and in solid form, you can easily place it anywhere without worrying about it spilling over. Another benefit is that solid items can be stored anywhere, whereas liquid products must be stored separately at a safe distance to nullify their effects on other food items.
These are just some of the reasons why freezing hydrogen peroxide is crucial, especially if you purchase it in bulk amounts. It will not only save you storage space but is safer for you and your family members.
Conformational Changes While Freezing
Now, like everything else, hydrogen peroxide undergoes various conformational changes when it goes from liquid to solid-state. This is not new information to most though, as the changes are elementary.
In the liquid state, the density of 3% hydrogen peroxide is lesser compared to the solid-state. This means that hydrogen peroxide in the solid-state is much more compact, making it an ideal storage solution.
Another lesser-known fact about freezing hydrogen peroxide is that when freezing if the concentration of hydrogen peroxide is less than 50% by weight in the solution, the contents will expand.
On the other hand, if the solution contains more than 50% hydrogen peroxide, it is more likely to contract.
This can be an important point to remember, especially if you’re storing it in tight spots or with several loads on top of it. Depending on whether it expands or contracts, it can cause irreversible damage to the contents placed adjacent to it.
Varying Freezing Points of Different Concentrations
An interesting property of hydrogen peroxide is that different concentrations have different freezing points. The higher concentration of hydrogen peroxide in the solution, the lower temperature it requires to freeze.
This is because pure substances have the highest and lowest boiling and freezing points, respectively. The more impurities you add, the higher the dilution rate of hydrogen peroxide, the lower the freezing point it will have.
Something to take note of while freezing your hydrogen peroxide as various concentrations are used in household chores, so knowing which one you’re using is essential.
If you have 35% or higher, chances are you won’t be able to freeze it at home using an average home refrigerator properly. Consequently, food-grade hydrogen peroxide (3% hydrogen peroxide) can easily be stored at any refrigerator as its freezing point lies around 15°C.
Benefits of Freezing Hydrogen Peroxide
Now that you’ve gone through what happens if you freeze hydrogen peroxide let’s move on to the advantages of doing it. There are several pros in freezing your 3% hydrogen peroxide like:
- It drops to a very compact size which can easily be stored anywhere.
- Done properly, freezing different concentrations can help you achieve a new concentration
- A great way to test whether your hydrogen peroxide is the concentration the shopkeeper claimed it to be
- Allows the hydrogen peroxide to decompose at a slower rate and maintain its effectiveness for longer
- Can be kept away from the hands of curious children and voids the chances of being mistaken for any other liquid
- Useful for storing long-term rather than having to use it all at once
Freezing Hydrogen Peroxide to Alter Its Concentration!
A very unique property of hydrogen peroxide is that it can change concentrations if frozen properly.
This requires a certain method but is useful if you cannot find the required concentration according to your needs. Ahead, we’ll explain how to go about this technique and why you should try it.
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How to Change the Concentration of a Known Solution?
To get a higher concentration using 3% hydrogen peroxide solution, you’ll need to first open and drain half the contents into two sterile and clean bottles of the same capacity.
This should give you four bottles with the same amount of 3% hydrogen peroxide solution.
Second, place them in the freezer or fridge for 12-24 hours. Soon, you’ll have frozen contents in each bottle. Turn them upside down (without uncapping them) so any liquid contents not frozen will move towards the head of the bottle.
Next what you’ll want to do is take an empty bottle and place a funnel on top of it. Every hour, take one bottle and uncap it above the funnel. The liquid contents will drip down into the empty bottle.
Keep repeating this continuously until you stop getting any liquid content out of any of the four bottles. This means that whatever’s left in the bottle is majorly just water that was used for dilution purposes.
If you’re wondering how this process works or the mechanics behind it, it’s really simple. Water has a lower freezing point than hydrogen peroxide.
This means that while water will freeze completely, the hydrogen peroxide will remain in the liquid state. When you uncap the bottle to release the liquid, that is your hydrogen peroxide at a higher concentration than what you were using for the method.
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What Concentrations Can Be Made?
You can make a variety of concentrations, all from just 3% hydrogen peroxide solutions!
According to individual reviews, it is possible to receive up to 90% hydrogen peroxide from this technique if done correctly. Depending on your required concentration, keep replicating the method to get better results.
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How Can This Be Useful?
Although food-grade hydrogen peroxide is the most popular concentration, it is not a one-fits-all scenario. Different concentrations are used for different purposes.
This is why if you’re having trouble finding a higher concentration, you can simply purchase a 3% hydrogen peroxide and get a higher concentration from it.
It can also be useful as higher concentrations, especially 35% and above, are very costly in most areas. Even if a little portion is required, you’re required to buy the entire bottle, which is not cost-effective at all. This method should help avoid that expense by making your concentration at home.
Storing Food-Grade Hydrogen Peroxide
Food-grade hydrogen peroxide is found in most households nowadays. As a common occurrence, individuals should be made aware of the proper methods of storing it.
There are many methods to store 3% hydrogen peroxide, one of them being freezing it until needed.
The best way to slow down hydrogen peroxide decomposition is to keep it away from sunlight. Its decomposition rate drops significantly if stored in dark places.
Hydrogen peroxide also breaks down much quicker when introduced to contaminants. Even as a spoon can speed up the breakdown process, it is essential to remember that nothing should contaminate. You should pour the contents inside the bottle rather than the required amount.
A dry, cold environment is ideal for reducing the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide. This can be further enhanced if the seal is air-tight so no air can enter the bottle.
All of these requirements are best met if you properly freeze the 3% hydrogen peroxide compared to any other storage technique. The freezer, or refrigerator, provides a cool, dry place with an absence of light. It also ensures that no contaminants reach the contents of the bottle as things are rarely touched and never opened while inside the freezer.
Use this method to freeze your hydrogen peroxide today and increase its viability drastically.
Should You Store Hydrogen Peroxide By Freezing It?
If you’re still wondering whether freezing hydrogen peroxide is the best way to store it, let me stop you right there.
Freezing is the easiest and most reliable method to use to protect your hydrogen peroxide from losing its effectiveness. If you’ve bought it in bulk but have no intention of using it any time soon, freezing is your best bet to live worry-free in this regard.
Precautions
No matter how diluted the hydrogen peroxide is, be it 3% or 90%, it is still a toxic chemical compound that can easily harm your skin.
Its caustic and acidic properties cause it to produce rashes, irritations, burns, etc. This is why whenever using hydrogen peroxide for anything, always take safety precautions beforehand. Some of them entail:
- Wearing gloves and goggles to avoid direct contact
- Having open ventilation to allow any fumes to escape minimizes the chances of breathing it in
- Keeping all the bottles closed whenever not in use to reduce chances of spills
- Not ingesting the hydrogen peroxide can have detrimental effects on the internal environment
- In the case it comes into direct contact with your skin, rinse it under warm water thoroughly until the burning sensation subsides
- In the case any irritation persists, contact your doctor immediately and seek medical attention
- In the case hydrogen peroxide enters your body in any way, call for medical help and do not try to fix it on your own
The Takeaway
Hydrogen peroxide is nearing a necessity now, considering the vast array of applications it holds. People should always know that the best way to store it is through freezing.
When you do decide to freeze it, it is crucial to understand the process and its consequences to efficiently carry it out. So, order your set of hydrogen peroxide bottles now!
