Hydrogen Peroxide for evap coil cleaning?

[The Digster]

I have a client in the IVF fertility industry who has carried out toxicity tests on all available trade approved evaporator coil cleaners, and has rejected all. They have been advised that 'hydrogen peroxide' is used at other such facilities. My research shows that this can cause chemical reactions with coil coatings causing coil corrosion and odours etc. Is this usable for coil cleaning and at what concentration? Sounds like a load of bosh to me.

[still learning]

all i know about hydrogen peroxide is that the wife uses it to mix with her hair tint .
and it does stink.
i also will be interested at the out come of this thread , i have a doctors surgery, with a smelly coil and tried two types of coil cleaner and the client , tells me it still smells . and will be interested in the dilution for it (h/p)

[chillerman2006]

Hi Digster

Interesting post

done some digging on the net + found over the counter solutions are just 3% & do not appear to be suitable for your needs, may bleach the muck on the coil but not remove them.

Higher concentrates are many & will probaly be quite dangerous indoors without wearing a full b/a kit

higher % have respitory affects & list exposure as low as 1ppm for 8 hours / 2ppm for 15min (& thats if you can stand the smell)

In some mixtures highly flammable & even used as rocket propellent

It would be a good idea to go back to your client & find out exactly what % he is suggesting you use along with an msds data sheet

Also it seems odd he's claiming readily available evap coil cleaner is too toxic as most are bio-degradable and should rinse away quite easily with water

But hey, who knows what even a very minor amount of toxicity would have on the dna of an embrio, apart from your client and others in their line of work

[Gideon Beddows]

Good luck with that!!

Hydrogen Peroxide is the main compound used in home explosives.

Expect a rap on the door at 5 in the morning if you start buying it in any quantities?!!

[The Digster]

The lack of positive feedback sort of confirms my doubts. It`s all about the embryos! However, I think that when the client`s carry out tests, I`m sure that they are swimming stuff in the concentrated form of the sample cleaner. They ignore any advise of dilution procedures etc. Also, MSDS sheets don`t help. these are also based on concentrated samples and scare the hell out of anyone who dares read them.

[Plank!]

Why are people so scared of hydrogen peroxide?

It's used for cleaning drinking water!

Before coming back to refrigeration 5 years ago, I worked for a company installing interactive water faetures/splash pads. We used Huwa-San TR50 (50% hydrogen peroxide solution with trace aluvial silver) to sterilise the water parks before allowing children to use them.
Dilluted to 200ppm it is (so i'm told) perfectly safe to drink.

I don't know where the concept of Hydrogen Peroxide having a smell comes from. In hair products it's normally the ammonia content that smells. Certainly when used to clean water features there is almost no smell at all, the peroxide - to me - smells a little like ozone. Perhaps as the organic material is killed off there may be some smell, but nothing as bad as the smell produced by a dirty evap coil.

The silver content in the huwa-san helps break down the mucus barriers of some organic compounds, allowing the hydrogen peroxide to be more effective at destroying them.

I have suggested to my employers that Huwa-san would be a good way to keep cooling towers free from legionella etc. So far no one has been willing to try it :(


Take a look at this:
http://www.sanecotec.com/Frequently_Asked_Questions.html

[paddyaircon]

use hot water and a good brush? rinse rinse rinse

[chillerman2006]

use hot water and a good brush? rinse rinse rinse

Hi Paddy

'With age comes wisdom'
Just guessing here, were you born the same day you joined :D
Admin can change that for you mate

R's chillerman

[The Digster]

I read a report debating its use for cleaning coils at the National Gallery of Australia and its potential to damage the "treasures". So there IS a history of its use for this application.
I just need some method/concentration guidelines info with regards to safety. I also wouldn`t like to be responsible for damaging fins etc.

[TroyW]

I know that hydrogen peroxide-based solutions have a neutral pH which good for a coil cleaner. I know an acid or a base will etch and damage the metal on the coils which could promote growth. But I would think one of the eco-friendly coil cleaners would work as well. I know I've seen peroxide cleaners but usually they aren't intended or state that they are for cleaning evaporator coils.