What is Chlorine Dioxide?

Opening the foil pouch and depositing the tablet into the water (you never want to add water to a tablet) is the time when you want to act with great care. Chlorine Dioxide generating tablets should NEVER be applied to one's skin, ingested or inhaled as a powder. That all being said, when our package directions are properly followed and the precautionary statements fully understood, opening, adding and dissolving tablets to create a liquid solution for cleaning, deodorizing and sanitizing surfaces, air and water can be a simple and safe process, taking only a minute and without encountering any irritation, discomfort or harm.

Remember these three facts about Chlorine Dioxide and you'll be able to answer this question for yourself:

• Chlorine Dioxide is not hydrolyzed into water, it always remains a gas, and as a gas, and after it has completed its task, will take up residence in the air rather than stay in the water. This alone demonstrates that it is safer than using bleach, peroxide or any metallic or synthetic compound to treat drinking water.
• Chlorine Dioxide is effective at exceptionally low doses. It requires 70-100 times LESS ClO2 than bleach or peroxide to achieve the same results.
• Chlorine Dioxide is what is contained within our white blood cells. At these resident low doses, our bodies use ClO2 to fight off infections of bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites.

At exceptionally high concentrates, yes, Chlorine Dioxide can be harmful:

• Chlorine Dioxide gas - if you can smell it and the scent is uncomfortable, then definitely wear an appropriate respirator or do not enter the air space. Open the windows and air our the space and you will be left with only a clean, fresh scent.
• Chlorine Dioxide liquid - It is the gas in the water that is the point, not the liquid water. If you are on a private septic system, do not pour large amounts (gallons) of a strong, prepared solution down your drain. It will destroy the bacteria that is in your tank, breaking down sewage.
• Chlorine Dioxide generating tablets - Always handle the tablets with care, these will react with even the slightest water from a wet hand and begin the generation process.

While Chlorine Dioxide has been used to bleach wood pulp into paper for nearly a century, it is not really a practical bleach for home use. Unless an article of clothing has been pre-moistened, our tablets have not been known to stain clothing or destroy fabrics like bleach does. Generally speaking, bleach takes color out better than ClO2, but ClO2 destroys microbes MUCH better than bleach.

Definitely, and it has been proven time and time again to be the 'best of the best'. Oxidizers are the best of the disinfectants, and ClO2 is the best of the oxidizers. This is because ClO2 has the lowest corrosive oxidizing strength (it won't destroy surfaces to the degree that bleach, peroxide and ozone will) but it has by far the highest oxidizing potential. This means that it destroys microbes by robbing them of electrons that are essential for metabolism and sustenance. The fact of the matter is that ClO2 has 250% of the oxidizing potential of any of its near competitors: bleach, peroxide and ozone.

Historically, Chlorine Dioxide (which you must keep remembering is a gas at all temperatures over 51^oF) has always been generated on location using massive chambers and three very hazardous liquid precursors. This is now restricted to large industrial applications like paper mills. Now, even hospitals and large hotels are treating their waterlines to reduce the likelihood of waterborne microbial contamination. For personal and small commercial applications, it is far preferable to use simpler 2-part liquids or even better yet, tablets, which can be dropped into water of at least 51oF to generate a cleaning, deodorizing and sanitizing solution within a minute or two.

All ClO2 is created from sodium chlorite, a salt, which is a solid and can be pulverized to a powder. This powder is then blended with other powders (like citric or hydrochloric acid), buffers and ingredients to bring the solution up to the desired pH level for safer handling. Most tablet manufacturers are cutting corners and producing tablets with a pH as low as 1.6-2.0, which is very corrosive. Our tablets have the same pH as some tap waters, at around 6.0-6.5. We don't cut corners, we just produce great tablets. In the future, we hope to even improve on this impressive statistic.