So what exactly is electrolyzed salt water?
As much as it sounds like it, electrolyzed salt water is not what happens when the ocean gets struck by lightning. It’s an industrial technology that uses electricity to change the chemical structure of salt and water into a green cleaner, disinfectant, deodorizer & sanitizer as effective as bleach, but with no toxic chemicals.
The principle underlying this technology is the same as in cooking: combining ingredients under specific conditions (temperature, time, even altitude) creates a new substance that is very different from its component parts. We’ll take a brief moment to thank baking soda for making our cookies edible! Anyway, this principle is why ingredients as basic as salt and water can be converted into a cleaner & disinfectant powerful enough to kill microbes like MRSA, Staph, Salmonella, Norovirus & Influenza A.
How do you create electrolyzed salt water?
When an electrical charge is passed through a salt (NaCl) solution, the sodium separates from the chloride. Chloride is negatively charged and is attracted to the positive side of the electrical charge where it bonds with oxygen and hydrogen from the water. It gets converted from Cl- to HOCl, otherwise known as hypochlorous acid. This is the molecule that’s the same substance your immune system produces to fight infection. As a neutrophil, hypochlorous acid is produced by your white blood cells, and if you happen to be near a sneezing child or co-worker right now, rest assured your body is producing it as you read this! The sodium is positive and is thus attracted to the negative charge, where it also bonds with oxygen and hydrogen and is electrochemically converted to sodium hydroxide or NaOH. Sodium hydroxide is a common detergent used at different concentrations in products ranging from toothpaste to moisturizer to cleaning products. Some electrolyzed salt water applications include a pH adjuster (like vinegar) as well. It’s the pH that determines whether the solution is predominantly bleach (sodium hypochlorite) or instead hypochlorous acid. The pH also determines whether the solution is at the right concentration of hypochlorous acid to meet EPA requirements to be registered as a disinfectant that kills 99.9% of germs.Examples of electrolyzed salt water in the industrial space
Pathosans EAUResearch on Electrolyzed Salt Water:
Hospital use Wound care: Here, here & here Cleaning & disinfecting efficacy: Here, here, here and hereHypochlorous Acid
Because hypochlorous acid is so gentle, it has multiple medical uses and is also used in products like these:- Wound healing (approved by the FDA)
- Eye care (approved by the FDA)
- Veterinary care
- Food preservation (approved by the FDA)
- Organic crop production (approved by USDA)