peroxide in a hot tub

[No P in my ool]

I have a friend who is going to run 200ppm of 35% hydrogen peroxide in his hot tub for sanitation. Is this a good idea? This is all he is going to do. Are there any drawbacks? I tried telling him that peroxide wasn't an approved sanitizer and he countered with some articles that said this method is the best thing since sliced bread. Any feed back will be appreciated.

 

[Guest]

Bottom line is this, to have enought H2O2 in the water to act as a sanitizer would cause bather discomfort to say the least. The use of peroxide is normal with a biguanide based sanitizer such as SoftSoak and BAQUASpa as an oxidizer but many people get confused and think the peroxide is the actual sanitizer and not the biguanide! I am sure that is the case of whoever wrote the article your friend read. I have seen many such articles on the 'net. It's funny but the peroxide levels they usually give are the same levels used for shocking biguanide systems and are far below sanitizing levels (usually 30-60 ppm H2O2, higher levels lead to bather discomfort). Also, the 27% to 35% peroxide used in biguanide systems is actually a rather dangerous chemical to store and use. (just ask any hairdresser who has ever worked with 20 Vol in a salon, which is 6%, and gotten it on their skin! Ask them how long it took for the white, burning skin to return to normal! I speak from personal experience here as someone who has been a licensed cosmetologist and barber for over 30 years and who has worked with as strong as 100 volume wig peroxide!) The peroxide we are talking about is MUCH stronger, more like something in the neighborhood of 100-130 volume! It's used in rocket fuel at this strength.
200ppm H2O2 is NOT going to be a comfortable soak and might even be injurious!

Also, H2O2 is NOT an EPA approved sanitizer (for some obvious reasons as stated above).

Then again, you can't change someones mind. Just don't go into the tub yourself!

 

[No P in my ool]

Thanks Waterbear. I am going to try and change his mind. I won't be getting in his tub anytime soon.

 

[spishex]

Agreed. Baquacil/Softswim shock is more painful than muriatic acid when it gets on you.

The articles I've read have justified it by saying person-to-person transmission is a non-issue and you just have to be worried about bacteria growing after people get out. What a load. And trying to go between the supposed "Sanitizing" level of peroxide and a comfortable one would be impractical since there's no telling how fast it would be consumed.