Chlorine Dioxide - In Layman's Terminology

What is Chlorine Dioxide or ClO₂?

Chlorine Dioxide is a gas that up until very recently has always been dissolved in water and used as either a bleaching agent or a disinfectant for hard surfaces.  Through a new and innovative packaging technology, OdorXit ClO₂, chlorine dioxide gas can be produced for direct usage in a safe and consistent way.

OdorXit ClO₂ safely kills bacteria and a wide range of viruses, including staph and mold and oxidizes smoke residue on car and house windows, walls, leather, paper products (books, record covers, etc) and other items in yours’ and a smokers’ home, a moldy basement, hospitals, or other public buildings.

How Successful is ClO₂?

When using ClO₂ as a gas, as opposed to dissolving it in water, it does a much better job than chlorine:  Chlorine Dioxide:

• Destroys spores, bacteria, virus and other disease and odor causing agents
• Decreases the time necessary for it to be in contact with these disease causing agents
• Dissolves faster and easier than chlorine in water
• Dissolved in water won’t cause rusting, chemical buildup; it reduces long term maintenance costs in toilets, water treatment and manufacturing plants.
• Produces no carcinogenic byproducts like Tri Halo Methane (THM) found in drinking water when cleaned with normal chlorine products.  This has caused researchers to use ClO₂ and NOT chlorine to disinfect drinking water.

In the past, producing ClO₂ gas required large and expensive machinery, but with the introduction of OdorXit ClO₂, no machinery is required.  When the OdorXit ClO₂ packets are exposed to water or humid air they produce low levels of ClO₂ gas.

The Fast Release OdorXit ClO₂ version produces enough gas per hour to raise ClO₂ levels high enough to require that people and pets leave the area being treated during the high level treatment period (usually 24 hours or less). 

The Extended Release OdorXit ClO₂ version produces much smaller amounts of ClO₂ gas per hour for 20 to 30 days.  Used as advised, ClO₂ levels never exceed .01 ppm which is considerably below levels that are considered an irritant or dangerous.

History and Chemistry of ClO₂

While ClO₂ has chlorine in its name, ClO₂ reaction chemistry is fundamentally different from that of chlorine. Chlorine dioxide is a stable free radical and functions via an oxidative rather than a chlorinating reaction.

• ClO₂ is the most versatile disinfectant in terms of its capacity to destroy and kill most pathogenic microorganisms.
• Its oxidative power allows it to disrupt the cell membranes of microorganisms so that nutrients cannot be carried into the cell.  Many commonly used disinfectants are not effective against the cell membrane and instead interrupt the metabolism of the microorganism.  Then the microorganism can develop resistance to the disinfectant.
• ClO₂ kills the microorganism BEFORE it can develop any resistance, killing the microorganism on contact.
• Some oxidizers can be too powerful in their oxidation.  ClO₂ is unique because although it is highly oxidative, it is also highly selective.
• This means that ClO₂ doesn't react with whatever material is present; it selectively oxidizes and destroys certain microorganisms and is not wasted on benign matter.  Due to its oxidizing power, ClO₂ has excellent capability to penetrate biofilms where certain bacteria such as Legionella hide and cannot be killed by most disinfectants including chlorine.

Odor Management

Air quality is just as important today as water quality and has received significant attention in the last few years by consumers as well as regulatory and governmental agencies.  The market is literally flooded with deodorizers emphasizing ”they are the only one that really works”, when in fact, all they do is “mask” the odor with some sort of fragrance.

Odors can be caused by a number of factors and often are associated with bacterial presence, food processing, smoke, and industrial processes.  The List of chemical substances causing odors is very extensive but most odor-causing compounds are derived from the chemical compound of sulfur and nitrogen such as amines, cyanides, hydrogen sulfide, mercaptans, aldehydes and phenols – all poisons at sufficient concentration levels.

OdorXit ClO₂ has the ability to selectively oxidize chemical compounds (add oxygen) and to inhibit or restrain and kill bacteria, viruses and protozoa with the ability to selectively oxidize and kill bacteria.

This combination makes OdorXit ClO₂ a powerful weapon to control odors in confined spaces.  The OdorXit ClO₂ Dry Media design will control odor-causing bacteria, mold, mildew and chemical odors.  This product is based on the production of ClO₂ gas and is capable of producing a controlled concentration of ClO₂ in the air based on specific ratios of relative humidity and temperature and meets the current OSHA permissible exposure limit (PEL) of 0.1 ppm as an 8-hour time-weighed average.

If you have questions, call the odor experts at 1-877-636-7948.