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Today's ASK Doctor T: Using Hydrogen Peroxide in the Hot Tub

Question: I am a big fan of your restaurant and really find your newsletters informative. I have a hot tub that I'd like to start using hydrogen peroxide in instead of all the harmful chemicals. Can you tell me who to contact regarding the ratio of peroixde per gallon of water and where to get the food grade peroxide. Any information you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

Short Answer: Using Food-Grade Hydrogen Peroxide (food grade H2O2) is an excellent choice, since pure H2O2 dissociates to pure oxygen and water, leaving no toxic residues! Other chemicals (chlorine, bromine) are highly toxic and form carcinogens (cancer-causing compounds) in our tissues once absorbed. They absorb easily through the skin, or inhaled and absorbed through the capillaries in the alveoli of the lungs (since they readily emanate from warm water as chlorine or bromine gases). The advantages of food-grade hydrogen peroxide:

1. It comes at the maximal concentration of 35%, which allows long- term use (it can be highly diluted, making each bottle go a long way!). At this concentration it is very caustic, so don't touch it with bare skin! Once diluted to 6% or below (3% or below for mucous membranes), it is safe to handle.
2. It does not contain any of the toxic substances frequently found in store-brought H2O2 bottles (which are therefore not food-grade).
3. It has a long shelf-life.
4. It has many other uses at the home, kitchen, and yard. We use it at the Ecopolitan Restaurant to soak fruits and vegetables before preparing them in our recipes. This eliminates any pathogenic microbes and oxidizes any residual chemicals that even organic produce may be accidentally exposed to!

To use H2O2 as an antiseptic (antimicrobial) agent in your home- based hot tub, all you need is one ounce of 35% food-grade hydrogen peroxide per 100 gallon of water for every day you use the tub. For all other purposes requiring a lesser (and safer) concentration, we recommend creating a 3% stock solution for daily use while storing the 35% solution in a dark, safe place, away from children's reach and pets. To make a 3% solution of H2O2 from the original 35% solution, just dilute one cup of 35% H2O2 with 11 cups of water. This provides 12 cups of 3% H2O2 solution. You can purchase food-grade hydrogen peroxide at Ecopolitan, (612) 87-GREEN. Just come into the restaurant's store or call our office, (612) 870-2974.

If you have a nutritional or brief medical question you would like Doctor T to answer, please email us and it may be answered in a future newsletter