A 35% concentration of food grade hydrogen peroxide is most commonly used in swimming pools and spas. Some users prefer a 50% concentration. This concentration is much higher than the 3% concentration used for medical purposes.
To start treatment, shock your pool with hydrogen peroxide by adding 250 ml (1 cup) of hydrogen peroxide for every 1000 liters (250 gallons) of water. If you are currently treating your pool with chlorine, you don't have to wait for the levels to go down, you can start using hydrogen peroxide now.
The level of hydrogen peroxide must be maintained between 50 – 90 ppm. Use the test strips once a week to ensure that this level is maintained. If you notice the level of hydrogen peroxide slipping below 50 ppm, add 1 cup (250ml) of hydrogen peroxide for every 500 gallons (200 liters) of water.
When chlorine reacts with hydrogen peroxide, hydrogen peroxide falls apart into water and oxygen. Chlorine gas hydrolyses into hypochlorous acid (HOCl), which subsequently ionises into hypochlorite ions (OCl). The reaction between hydrogen peroxide and hypochlorite takes place very quickly.
Household bleach, Clorox and liquid chlorine can all be used to sanitize a pool. They are all types of chlorine. Household bleaches such as Clorox usually contain about 5-6% available chlorine, about half that of pool liquid chlorine. Household bleaches often have unwanted fragrances and colors.
Overall, hydrogen peroxide is more expensive than chlorine and works best when iron and sulfur are present in the water supply. Since it works faster than chlorine, no contact tank is required. Additionally, H2O2 is effective at a more comprehensive pH range, meaning that it is more effective on more types of water.
For example, hydrogen peroxide is being used to destroy chlorine in FMC's wastewater from its chloralkali plant. Tests show 100% fish survival after 96 hours in the undiluted hydrogen peroxide-treated effluent.
Unlike chlorine bleach (which is sodium hypochlorite), hydrogen peroxide adds no salts or other chemical residual to the water. After interacting with the water, peroxide breaks down into oxygen and water. However a common concern is the cost. We are often asked “Which is cheaper, chlorine or peroxide?”.
Common unscented household bleach (sodium hypochlorite) works well to shock a pool.
Hydrogen peroxide and peroxyacetic acid are highly soluble in water, and hydrogen peroxide is too unstable in water to determine an absolute half-life. Peroxyacetic acid has half- lives of 48 hours at pH 4 and 7, and 3.6 hours at pH 9.
Hydrogen Peroxide helps to break down chlorine, but works best in pH levels of 7.0 or higher. Use 7 oz. of Aqua Silk Oxidizer (27% hydrogen peroxide formula) per 10,000 gallons of pool water to lower chlorine level by 3.0 ppm. For spas and smaller bodies of water, use 1 oz.
Hydrogen peroxide is a strong oxidizer (moderate oxidizer in lower concentrations), and can be corrosive to the eyes, skin, and respiratory system. This chemical can cause burns to the skin and tissue damage to the eyes.
Advocates suggest that drinking a few drops of hydrogen peroxide diluted in water may help treat a range of illnesses, including diabetes and even some forms of cancer. However, medical professionals warn against the dangers of this practice.
When hydrogen peroxide is injected into water, a large amount of dissolved oxygen is released and a strong oxidizing effect takes place. Odors are eliminated, microorganisms are destroyed, and tannins can be oxidized.
Pool Cleaning
You can use OxiClean's Versatile Stain Remover to clean the tiles surrounding your swimming pool. However, OxiClean does not recommend using this product to clean your swimming pool or using the OxiClean Versatile Stain Remover as a substitute for pool chemical disinfectants.
Typical chemicals used include muriatic acid (an archaic name for hydrochloric acid), sodium bisulfate, carbon dioxide, sulfuric acid, and sodium carbonate. Sodium bicarbonate also works, but it has a greater effect on the total alkalinity of the water than it does on the pH.
Clorox itself recommends using between 100 and 200 ounces of regular-strength bleach per 10,000 gallons of pool water -- one gallon is 128 ounces, and many bottles of bleach are available in one-gallon or half-gallon sizes. Pool professionals tend to recommend more conservative amounts of bleach.
The solution to maintaining a clear pool is to use readily available liquid bleach as your chlorine source. Chlorine bleach, as discussed above, is not bound to a stabilizer, so when you add chlorine bleach to the pool, it will go right to work killing microbes and sanitizing.
If you need to mildly shock a 30,000-gallon pool by raising the free chlorine concentration to 5 ppm, you need 2.5 gallons of bleach. To raise it to 10 ppm, you need 5 gallons.