Another peroxide question for you rocket nerds.

Mikey P

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When applying 30 Vol to a spot or stain and it almost immediately foams up can I safely assume that the spill was/is blood?

Will anything else cause H202 to foam?
 

Wandslinger

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I've noticed the same thing prespraying Soapfree boosted with 30 Volume. Since the Soapfree doesn't foam, everytime I go over that looks organic in nature fizzes. I think it attacks the bacteria. Who knows!
 
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Actually ANY stain material that causes rapid decomposition of the peroxide will result in bubbling. The reason why it foams with certain protein matter and blood is because blood and cells contain an enzyme called catalase. Since a cut or scrape contains both blood and damaged cells, there is lots of catalase floating around.

Catalase does this extremely efficiently -- up to 200,000 reactions per second. The bubbles you see in the foam are pure oxygen bubbles being created by the catalase and peroxide decomposition. Try putting a little hydrogen peroxide on a cut potato and it will do the same thing for the same reason -- catalase in the damaged potato cells reacts with the hydrogen peroxide.The presence of proteins both causes rapid decomposition, and foaming, as proteins tend to stabilize the bubbles.
 

DevilDog

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Shawn is right...anything that acts quickly with hydrogen peroxide (or vice versa) will cause rapidly bubbling.

DevilDog
 
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I did, Mikey.


Oxygen disinfects because certain types of bacteria are anaerobic, or "live without oxygen". In fact these types are so intolerant of oxygen, they die when exposed. The catalase in the wound elicits the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide to water and oxygen, and causes the foaming. The bacteria themselves, generally do not.

What people are unaware of is that Hydrogen Peroxide is a fairly "weak" disinfectant, simply because not all pathogenic bacteria are anaerobic. A few types are actually aerobic and survive a dousing with H2O2. That's why doctors and hospitals rarely ever use hydrogen peroxide, and instead use either alcohol or iodine topical.

For household use, H2O2 is a favorite because it doesn't sting, and people are really excited by the bubbles, incorrectly thinking that the bubbles are the bacteria reacting.
 
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Gotta love the editing and searching functions of this board. Can't always trust the brown cow's spelling ability to keep the right word in play.

Good thread Shawn.
 
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Marty, in the spirit of this thread's title, and the peroxide questions, please mix some peroxide, ammonia, and aluminum flakes....
 

Jimmy L

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Does the addition of peroxide in your prespray offer any disinfectant properties?
 
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Jimmy Ladwig! said:
Does the addition of peroxide in your prespray offer any disinfectant properties?

Yes, but for all practical measure, it's insignificant.

You can't make ANY efficacy claims, so from that perspective, there's no point.
 

Jimmy L

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Yeah I knew you that you can't make any claims it does anything but was thinking that it would knock down any odors or kill anything that is funky.
 

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