Can I use SpaBalancer Ultrashock without danger?
Answer:
The product consists of sodium chlorite and sodium hypochlorite. In the water, these two chemicals start a process that produces chlorine dioxide. Chlorine dioxide consists of a chlorine atom which is connected to two oxygen atoms. During the reaction in the water, the two oxygen atoms react. The chlorine atom combines with the sodium in the water to form sodium chloride. Sodium chloride is an ordinary table salt. Therefore one can speak here of a chlorine-free disinfection.
Why so cumbersome?
Chlorine dioxide in its pure form is an explosive gas. Therefore it cannot be transported. Chlorine dioxide is soluble in water. But water can only absorb 0.3%. Therefore, water cannot be used as a carrier medium. One would have to pour several litres of it into the whirlpool water. Not very practical. Hence the trick, which permanently forms chlorine dioxide with the help of two types of chlorine in the whirlpool water. In this way, enough chlorine dioxide is formed and it is not dangerous.
The chlorine used is completely used up. If this chlorine, before it has been used up, reacts with dirt and forms the health-endangering chloramines, this is not bad because the chlorine dioxide also oxidizes chloramines and immediately removes them again. And the most dangerous thing about chlorine is not chlorine but chloramines.
What is so great about chlorine dioxide?
1) It does not form toxic waste products during oxidation. In contrast to chlorine.
2) It is selectively effective. It reacts preferentially with sulphur compounds. These are mainly found in pathogenic anaerobic germs that operate without oxygen metabolism. It has difficulties to kill aerobic bacteria. This is important because the skin contains a lot of aerobic bacteria. And these bacteria should not be killed. That brings us to point 3.
3) Chlorine dioxide cannot penetrate the skin cells and therefore cannot destroy them. This is what Japanese researchers have discovered. One has to consider the different effects of chlorine and chlorine dioxide. In the water there is usually a pH value between 7 and 8 and in the skin, especially the lower skin layers, there is a pH value of 5.5. The pH value wants to adjust itself. This creates an osmotic pressure which sucks the water with a high pH value into the skin. And thus also the chlorine and/or the chlorine dioxide into the skin sucks. And here both substances act extremely differently. Chlorine has the greatest effect at very low pH values. Chlorine destroys all bacteria. The aerobic and the anaerobic bacteria. Chlorine destroys the skin cells. And chlorine destroys the fats in the skin. And with this destruction chlorine forms chloramines in the skin which, depending on the type of chloramine, are known to be slightly irritating, harmful to health or carcinogenic. This is why many people have problems with chlorine.
Chlorine dioxide mainly destroys anaerobic "disease-causing" bacteria. It has no effect on skin cells. It has little effect on aerobic bacteria and little effect on fats. We were able to prove this dermatologically by carrying out a test with 27 test persons. Ultrashock has finished like fresh tap water. No reactions whatsoever. This is also the reason why many people with neurodermatitis have no skin problems with the SpaBalancer products and even find it pleasant. And another advantage: the skin does not smell for hours of penetrating chlorine.
4) Ultrashock works 100% at any pH value up to 9.0. At a pH value of 8.0, chlorine has only 30% of the effectiveness of a pH value of 7.0.
5) Ultrashock does not react with the polysaccharides that make up biofilm. With the biofilm bacteria encapsulate themselves to protect themselves from external influences. Biofilm can form within a few days. Because Ultrashock does not react with the biofilm and can easily penetrate the biofilm due to its gaseous character, it can kill the bacteria in the biofilm. This causes the biofilm to dissolve because only living bacteria can form new biofilms. Chlorine, on the other hand, reacts with the biofilm. It cannot penetrate it either. When trying to destroy the biofilm from the outside, it consumes itself and forms chloramines. The bacteria in the biofilm remain alive and immediately form a new biofilm. Biofilm is not removed until chlorine levels exceed 5.0 mg/l.
6) Ultrashock does not contain cyanuric acid.
7) Ultrashock does not form acids in water. Therefore the alkalinity of the water is uninteresting. Which again means that you can lower the pH-value massively in one piece and not like with chlorine in small steps.
Because chlorine forms acids in water, e.g. cyanuric acid and hypochlorous acid, the water can become corrosive very quickly. And it removes plasticizers from plastics. This destroys cushions, nozzles and insulating covers. This does not happen when Ultrashock is used.
This is also the only disadvantage of Ultrashock. Because it is not an acid, it does not automatically lower the pH value, which in the beginning leads to more work when lowering the pH value. (You have to lower the pH-value because otherwise it can lead to lime precipitations) But this is another advantage: the pH-value remains more stable later than with chlorine because (organic) chlorine permanently lowers the pH-value.
8) Ultrashock kills Legionella very well. This is also the reason why the basic material, chlorine dioxide, is approved for the rehabilitation of water pipes in case of Legionella infestation. And water is subject to food law in Germany.
9) Bacteria cannot become resistant to SpaBalancer UltraShock. Ultrashock destroys the DNA of the bacteria. Bacteria can become resistant to chlorine.
10) It works 5 to 30 times stronger than chlorine. Depending on external circumstances.
11) UltraShock is hardly degraded by the heat of the water and is therefore longer effective than chlorine in the water.
12) Ultrashock has deodorizing properties, i.e. odorous and flavoring substances in water, e.g. phenols, algae or their decomposition products, are converted or not produced at all. The water smells fresh and has no chemical smell.
13) UltraShock reliably kills bacteria, viruses, legionella, algae, fungi and mould.
You can combine Ultrashock with chlorine. We use this for intensive basic cleaning of pipelines. We destroy biofilms simultaneously from the outside and the inside. But I don't have dosage instructions for such a combination for permanent use.
We combine Ultrashock with SpaBalancer Basic because both materials complement each other perfectly. Over the past 10 years, we have gained a very reliable knowledge base for these two fabrics and a great deal of practical experience.
