I have been researching about free-chlorine systems for swimming pools and spa and found that Hydrogen Peroxide has been recommended as a sanitizer and disinfectant for these applications. However, I have found only few suppliers recommending this product.
Has anyone had experience using this product? What are the pros and cons of using it?
Thanks.
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There are only three EPA-approved disinfectants for use in pools: chlorine, bromine, Baquacil/biguanide/PHMB. For spas, Nature2 with MPS is also approved. That's it. So for commercial/public pools you generally can't use anything else since county/state regs pretty much all require an EPA-approved disinfectant. Hydrogen peroxide is approved in Australia by the APVMA as shown in this link for pools (note that it is the oxidizer used for Baquacil/biguanide/PHMB pools as it is in the U.S., but is also approved on its own for a couple of the products) and in this link for spas.
Hydrogen peroxide isn't protected from breakdown from sunlight so that's why it is more commonly found in spas or in some indoor pools (again, in Australia). For residential use in the U.S., it's in the same category as any other non-EPA-approved product. Basically, it does not have the same breadth of disinfecting capability as chlorine, but it's a heck of a lot better (faster and broader) than metal ions which is the other main "non-halogen" system. From a practical point of view, the level of hydrogen peroxide needed to disinfect is close to that at which it is irritating. Chlorine in a pool with CYA is generally less irritating since it is a more selective oxidizer at lower strength (again, when CYA is present).