Hydrogen Peroxide To Sanitize Pool?

[tabbikat86]

So I was reading the back of some of my pool chemicals containers and one stated that you could not use the chemical if you used hydrogen peroxide to sanitize the pool. I tried googling the topic but only found out that people use it because it is less toxic and that it doesnt have adverse effects with the chemicals already in the pool. Does anyone know how to use this method and/or know the pros and cons associated with this method. I have a 18 x 4 ft easy set intex pool with a 2000 gph filter pump that uses the b filters. I currently am on the aqua chem 4 step system (balance (which includes the alk increaser, ph up and down, calcium increaser), chlorinate (which i used the 1 in tablets, but im considering switching to the 3 in tablets...or the new dual layer 3 in plus tablets), shock (i mainly use the shock plus but have recently had to use shock plus xtra blue...contains algaecide) and algaecide (mainly use the 20% kind but just bout the expensive algaecide plus which contains copper b/c it says results in 24 hrs). Thanks for all the help!

[quantumchromodynamics]

Forget about hydrogen peroxide.

With a vinyl liner, you do not need calcium increaser. Therefore, do not use that.

I recommend that you not use anything containing copper.

[waterbear]

So I was reading the back of some of my pool chemicals containers and one stated that you could not use the chemical if you used hydrogen peroxide to sanitize the pool. I tried googling the topic but only found out that people use it because it is less toxic and that it doesnt have adverse effects with the chemicals already in the pool. Does anyone know how to use this method and/or know the pros and cons associated with this method. I have a 18 x 4 ft easy set intex pool with a 2000 gph filter pump that uses the b filters. I currently am on the aqua chem 4 step system (balance (which includes the alk increaser, ph up and down, calcium increaser), chlorinate (which i used the 1 in tablets, but im considering switching to the 3 in tablets...or the new dual layer 3 in plus tablets), shock (i mainly use the shock plus but have recently had to use shock plus xtra blue...contains algaecide) and algaecide (mainly use the 20% kind but just bout the expensive algaecide plus which contains copper b/c it says results in 24 hrs). Thanks for all the help!

Hydrogen peroxide is used as an oxidizer with biguanide (PHMB--Polyhexamethylene biguanide) systems such as Baquacil, SoftSwim, and Revacil. It is not used as a stand alone sanitizer in the U.S and the only EPA approval for its use is with a biguanide sanitizer. The peroxide is NOT the sanitizer, it is merely an oxidizer. The biguanide (PHMB) is the sanitizer

Concentrations high enough to be a primary sanitizer in the water would be irritating to any bathers to say the least!

Peroxide is also not compatible with chlorine as the two tend to destroy each other. It is more compatible with bromine systems but is still not as good a choice as a chlorine based oxidizer or MPS for bromine.

Biguanide systems generally work well for a few years and then succumb to pink slime and white water mold, both bacterial. When this happens often sanitizing the pool with a high dose of chlorine is the only answer after draining and refilling.

Biguanide is the most expensive sanitizer method of the three EPA approved primary sanitizers, chlorine and bromine being the other two. It is also not compatible with either chlorine or bromine.

As far as bromine goes, it is not the best choice for an outdoor pool since it cannot be stabilzied against loss from UV light like chlorine can.

Also, you do not want to use anything containing copper,

Copper stains pools and causes green hair. Period.

[chem geek]

There is a user here on this forum, cramp11, who uses hydrogen peroxide (Peroxysan, I believe) successfully, but it's tricky and you really need to maintain the levels properly. It isn't an EPA-approved sanitizer in the U.S., but it is approved for that use in Australia as shown at the bottom of this link.

There are three popular sanitizing methods on this forum. The first is Dichlor-then-bleach (see this link for more info) which is both inexpensive and has the water last longer than Dichlor-only. The second is Nature2 with MPS for those that want a no-chlorine alternative during soaking, though Nature2 makes this a more expensive method. The third is bromine, usually using bromine tabs with shocking using bleach. Any of these methods is sometimes used with an ozonator.

[tabbikat86]

There is a user here on this forum, cramp11, who uses hydrogen peroxide (Peroxysan, I believe) successfully, but it's tricky and you really need to maintain the levels properly. It isn't an EPA-approved sanitizer in the U.S., but it is approved for that use in Australia as shown at the bottom of this link.

There are three popular sanitizing methods on this forum. The first is Dichlor-then-bleach (see this link for more info) which is both inexpensive and has the water last longer than Dichlor-only. The second is Nature2 with MPS for those that want a no-chlorine alternative during soaking, though Nature2 makes this a more expensive method. The third is bromine, usually using bromine tabs with shocking using bleach. Any of these methods is sometimes used with an ozonator.

Thanks for the links! I had already saved one of them and I think its pretty cool that you replied...I've heard about you from other posts...lol! I use the dichlor tabs...but my stabilizer according to my test strips hasn't gotten high enough yet...my pool has been up for over a month....i thought about buying stabilizer and just putting extra in there so I could switch to using bleach...but i also wonder if my test strips are right...but thanks again.

[tabbikat86]

So I was reading the back of some of my pool chemicals containers and one stated that you could not use the chemical if you used hydrogen peroxide to sanitize the pool. I tried googling the topic but only found out that people use it because it is less toxic and that it doesnt have adverse effects with the chemicals already in the pool. Does anyone know how to use this method and/or know the pros and cons associated with this method. I have a 18 x 4 ft easy set intex pool with a 2000 gph filter pump that uses the b filters. I currently am on the aqua chem 4 step system (balance (which includes the alk increaser, ph up and down, calcium increaser), chlorinate (which i used the 1 in tablets, but im considering switching to the 3 in tablets...or the new dual layer 3 in plus tablets), shock (i mainly use the shock plus but have recently had to use shock plus xtra blue...contains algaecide) and algaecide (mainly use the 20% kind but just bout the expensive algaecide plus which contains copper b/c it says results in 24 hrs). Thanks for all the help!

Hydrogen peroxide is used as an oxidizer with biguanide (PHMB--Polyhexamethylene biguanide) systems such as Baquacil, SoftSwim, and Revacil. It is not used as a stand alone sanitizer in the U.S and the only EPA approval for its use is with a biguanide sanitizer. The peroxide is NOT the sanitizer, it is merely an oxidizer. The biguanide (PHMB) is the sanitizer

Concentrations high enough to be a primary sanitizer in the water would be irritating to any bathers to say the least!

Peroxide is also not compatible with chlorine as the two tend to destroy each other. It is more compatible with bromine systems but is still not as good a choice as a chlorine based oxidizer or MPS for bromine.

Biguanide systems generally work well for a few years and then succumb to pink slime and white water mold, both bacterial. When this happens often sanitizing the pool with a high dose of chlorine is the only answer after draining and refilling.

Biguanide is the most expensive sanitizer method of the three EPA approved primary sanitizers, chlorine and bromine being the other two. It is also not compatible with either chlorine or bromine.

As far as bromine goes, it is not the best choice for an outdoor pool since it cannot be stabilzied against loss from UV light like chlorine can.

Also, you do not want to use anything containing copper,

Copper stains pools and causes green hair. Period.

Thanks for the info on peroxide in pools. I had seen advertisement for these systems you talked about but didnt know that they use peroxide. the 20% algaecide that i was using was a polyquat algaecide...i think but it doesnt tell you that you will have results in 24 hrs and the algaecide plus uses 3.3% copper and 96.7% other ingredients (polymeric polyacrylate and gluconate stabilizing agents) and it did work in 24 hrs...but i have heard about the negatives associated with it...i was just desperate! but thanks again!

[waterbear]

There is a user here on this forum, cramp11, who uses hydrogen peroxide (Peroxysan, I believe) successfully, but it's tricky and you really need to maintain the levels properly. It isn't an EPA-approved sanitizer in the U.S., but it is approved for that use in Australia as shown at the bottom of this link.

There are three popular sanitizing methods on this forum. The first is Dichlor-then-bleach (see this link for more info) which is both inexpensive and has the water last longer than Dichlor-only. The second is Nature2 with MPS for those that want a no-chlorine alternative during soaking, though Nature2 makes this a more expensive method. The third is bromine, usually using bromine tabs with shocking using bleach. Any of these methods is sometimes used with an ozonator.

Richard,

The OP stated that they had a pool and not a spa! In fact, an Intex easy set that holds a bit of 5000 gallons. Even though this pool does use the type B filters the filter is still undersized for a pool this big! The methods you listed are for spas.

Chlorine is probably the best choice for this pool.

[tabbikat86]

There is a user here on this forum, cramp11, who uses hydrogen peroxide (Peroxysan, I believe) successfully, but it's tricky and you really need to maintain the levels properly. It isn't an EPA-approved sanitizer in the U.S., but it is approved for that use in Australia as shown at the bottom of this link.

There are three popular sanitizing methods on this forum. The first is Dichlor-then-bleach (see this link for more info) which is both inexpensive and has the water last longer than Dichlor-only. The second is Nature2 with MPS for those that want a no-chlorine alternative during soaking, though Nature2 makes this a more expensive method. The third is bromine, usually using bromine tabs with shocking using bleach. Any of these methods is sometimes used with an ozonator.

Richard,

The OP stated that they had a pool and not a spa! In fact, an Intex easy set that holds a bit of 5000 gallons. Even though this pool does use the type B filters the filter is still undersized for a pool this big! The methods you listed are for spas.

Chlorine is probably the best choice for this pool.

What kind of filter should I be using? The pool actually came with a 1500 gph pump, and I bought this one of of craigslist...it was only 500 gph more but it realy does seem to work, although it runs 24/7. The sand filters don't really seem worth it to me b/c they don't filter small particles...i was thinking about getting intex's 2500 gph pump or their 4000 gph pump (i really want that pump...my pool holds almost apx. 5500 gallons...the whole pool would almost be filtered in an hour! and it also uses the b filters). I am also not trying to buy something extremely expensive...my pool has a blow up ring around the top...who knows how long it will last.

thanks!

[PaulR]

The Easy Set pools are often seasonal pools, set up in the spring and taken down in the fall. So, there's no year-to-year accumulation of various unpleasant things in the water, such as copper. In that case you might get away with using chems with copper additives; I don't know enough about the accumulation rates and the point at which the copper starts causing problems to be sure one way or the other. It's still probably better to avoid them.

5500 gallons is small enough that dichlor-then-bleach would work okay. You'd want to use 3-4lb dichlor, spread out over about 2 weeks, then switch to bleach.

If you've already upgraded the pump/filter from what came with the pool, then it's likely to be okay.

--paulr

[waterbear]

it was only 500 gph more but it realy does seem to work, although it runs 24/7.

Precisely, You have a decent sized pool (only slighly smaller than my 6500 gal inground and I have a 1.5 HP pump and a 150 sq. ft. cart filter! Your filter is 10 times smaller at 15 sq, ft,) A pump should not have to run 24/7.

The sand filters don't really seem worth it to me b/c they don't filter small particles

Sand filters work very well. They filter down to about 60 microns or smaller. You can use DE or a filter aid to get better filtration with them. Carts filter to about 20 microns. It's not that big of a difference. You can also get a cart filter and pump "skid pack" if you don't want sand but for an Intex a sand filter is way easier since the cart filters that are usually sold for AGPs of your size are generally in the neighborhood of 50 sq. Ft. , still an improvement of what you have. (there are bigger ones available but they get expensive so for the dollar a sand filter is going to be most trouble free and economical.

...i was thinking about getting intex's 2500 gph pump or their 4000 gph pump (i really want that pump...my pool holds almost apx. 5500 gallons...the whole pool would almost be filtered in an hour! and it also uses the b filters). I am also not trying to buy something extremely expensive...my pool has a blow up ring around the top...who knows how long it will last.

thanks!

Hope this is helpful.

[chem geek]

Richard,

The OP stated that they had a pool and not a spa! In fact, an Intex easy set that holds a bit of 5000 gallons. Even though this pool does use the type B filters the filter is still undersized for a pool this big! The methods you listed are for spas.

Chlorine is probably the best choice for this pool.

Whoops! Thanks for catching that for me. Yes, I was referring to alternatives used in spas. For a pool, chlorine is the best choice. Sorry for any confusion, folks.