Coming from the creators of Shogun Fertilisers, Silver Bullet 'Mist' and 'Roots' have already built up a great reputation with everyone who has tried them. Mist is perfect for disinfecting, cleaning and removing bio-films from walls and grow equipment. Roots is a long-lasting solution for keeping root-zones free from pathogens and, in turn, root-rot.
So what makes Silver Bullet so much better than any other hydrogen peroxide product on the market?
Well, commonly, hydrogen peroxide (like Liquid Oxygen) has been used for keeping the root-zone free of infections, and also for cleaning grow rooms in-between each cycle. The problem with hydrogen peroxide solutions is that they are not very stable and lose their effectiveness quite quickly. From the moment a bottle is opened, the hydrogen peroxide is exposed to air and it begins to break down into water and oxygen. This means that hydrogen peroxide on it's own is not very stable or long-lasting.
Silver Bullet contains hydrogen peroxide but it has a very clever trick up it's sleeve... That's because the molecules are bound to silver using a specialised chemical process. Doing this vastly improves the effectiveness and longevity of the biocide. It can be stored for much, much longer without losing its effectiveness, and when you add it to your tank, it will remain potent for around five weeks.
How H202 Works
The chemical formula for hydrogen peroxide is H2O2 – a water molecule (H2O) with an extra oxygen atom attached. This oxygen atom is only loosely bound and the hydrogen peroxide molecule will readily give it up when it comes into contact with passing particles, such as bacteria and spores. This reaction is called oxidation. When something becomes oxidised, like the cell wall of a bacterium, it gets damaged. This is the same process that occurs when your car begins to rust. In the case of a bacterium, the cell wall is ruptured, leading to certain death.
Without this extra oxygen atom, the hydrogen peroxide molecule becomes a simple, stable water molecule. This process continues with all of the hydrogen peroxide molecules in the solution until they have all been used up.
Another complication is that some species of bacteria also have a defense mechanism against hydrogen peroxide. When these bacteria sense hydrogen peroxide nearby, they release a cloud of something catalase. Catalase is an enzyme which neutralises hydrogen peroxide before it can get close enough to damage the bacteria, rendering the use of standard hydrogen peroxide much less effective on those types of bacteria.
Why Does Adding Silver Make Such a Huge Difference?
So, on it's own, peroxide is a great (but short lasting) biocide. Likewise, silver, when applied on its own (often in the form of colloidal silver), is a weak disinfectant and antibacterial agent. However, when the two are combined, their effectiveness increases exponentially.
- Silver makes the hydrogen peroxide active only in the presence of organic material (such as bacteria, mold, spores, biofilm) stablising it and preventing it from breaking down unnecessarily.
- Silver prevents hydrogen peroxide from being neutralised by catalase, which is released as a bacterial defense mechanism.
- Silver incites a much more energetic oxidation reaction, causing greater damage to bacteria, spores, etc.
- Once the spare oxygen atom has done its job, the hydrogen peroxide does not revert back to a water molecule. The silver re-attaches the oxygen atom, so that it remains as a hydrogen peroxide molecule, ready to go off and neutralise other bacteria, etc.
- All of these benefits make Silver Bullet up to twenty times more effective than standard hydrogen peroxide. Silver Bullet Mist and Roots are the new 'wonder' disinfection products!
