Why don't people use Hydrogen Peroxide more?

[Hashishin]

Instead of pasteurization. Peroxide seems easier and supposedly is perfectly safe. Is it less effective? Too expensive?

[Dr_T]

Peroxide kills bacteria, but not mold or spores.
(It works on cobweb mold.)

Pasteurization kills harmful microbes, but allows beneficial ones to survive.
Sterilization kills all life.

So, in short, it won't do what you think it will do.

[suckerfree]

Sterilization kills all life.

most of the time! (knock on wood)

[Dr_T]

"Is an attempt to..."
maybe.

[RockyRaccoon]

bad info deleted

[Dr_T]

If it kills mold, it'll kill mycelium, right?

If it killed mold spores, endospores, bacteria and other contaminants... we'd all be using it, right?

Peroxide is great as a disinfectant for cuts. But as a tool for mycology, it's limited.

(Pure H2O2 is another story- but we aren't talking about that. )

[RockyRaccoon]

incorrect info removed by admin

[Dr_T]

So, your point is.. what?
Use it? Don't use it?

It's great if you have a little wet patch in the bottom of a jar of grain, I'll say that.

[skull]

How is it applied to a little wet spot in a grain jar? FOAF has one of those.

Edit:
The clickie on wet spot answers the cause, FOAF wishes he read it, soaking wasn't long enough

From wet spot clickie:
Wet Spot; Sour Rot - Bacillus sp.

In grain spawn jars, one commonly encounters Bacillus, which sometimes survives the sterilization process as heat resistant endospores. . A dull gray to mucus-like brownish slime characterized by a strong but foul odor variously described as smelling like rotting apples, dirty socks or burnt bacon. Bacillus makes uncolonized grain appear excessively wet, hence the name "Wet Spot". Pallid to whitish ridges along the margins of individual grain kernels characterize this contaminant. Bacillus primarily reproduces through simple cell division. In times of adverse environmental conditions, especially heat, a single hardened spore forms within each parent cell body - bacterial endospores, which can survive high temperatures for prolonged time.
The most practical method for eliminating bacterial endospores involves soaking the grain at room temperature 12 - 24 hours prior to sterilization. Endospores, if viable, will germinate within that time frame and then be susceptible to standard sterilization procedures. And, new endospores won't form in the moist environment of the resting jar of grain.

[RockyRaccoon]

Originally Posted by Dr_T

So, your point is.. what?

that it will kill microbes .

[CoyoteMesc]

My understanding is that spores will not germinate but mycel will still grow.
Thats why some like it for their agar. I used it in dunks before I learned that it evaporated and was pretty much useless after that. It has killed tissue of mine before, but in 3% concentration.

[Dr_T]

What about as a rinse or soak for WBS?
I'm going to be soaking a batch today or tomorrow- I'll invest in a bottle of peroxide.
Recommendations for best use?

Edit- went to the cabinet, there's an unopened bottle of peroxide! Score!

Edit again- Ok, 4lb bag of "Bird Ration". $1.47@ Wal-Mart. Added warm water, scooped out floaters. Rinsed and drained a couple of times. Drained, poured in 16oz peroxide, added water to cover plus an inch. It's fizzing like crazy- don't know if it's doing any good, but it sure looks cool. Covered now, I'll let it stand for an hour or so, then simmer, drain, PC.

7pm- drained out the peroxide water. Nice clean grain I've got- I might just keep doing this. Rinsed, refilled, simmering now.
I've had a bad run of grey-green mold in the last month- and I never, hardly ever get contams. So this may be the help I need.

[hungryjim]

I have recently read, "Psilocibin Mushroom Handbook-Easy Indoor and Outdoor Cultivation", by L.G. Nicholas and Kerry Ogame. I picked it up right over the Border, with an ol' X-Mas gift card. In it, BIG props were given to R. Wayne, -n- his h202 work. I've read his work before, and also others who said that h2O2/agar was B.S.----Who knows? Who has hands-on experience? (.... I've always heard, "When it sounds TOO GOOD to be true, IT probably IS.)----heigh jay

[TVCasualty]

My understanding is that it kills bacteria and spores, but not vegetative fungi (molds or mushroom mycelium). It will kill mold, but only at a concentration that will kill mushroom myc too, so for example it doesn't work for stopping a trich outbreak once it's begun, but having some in the misting water may help prevent one from happening.

I don't think it would work by itself for making WBS clean enough to grow mushrooms since the peroxide is unlikely to penetrate all through the grains and reach every spore, plus there may be microscopic pockets that don't get saturated due to surface tension and entrapped air, and any mold spores located there would survive. Soaking the grain long enough in a strong enough peroxide solution to sterilize it would probably chemically decompose the grain into a slimy mess.

Some members here have tried the various peroxide teks, including the ones published in the "Psilocybin Mushroom Handbook" and they said results were very spotty (can't recall actual threads; they were a few years ago). That is, it might work ok as a shot-in-the-dark way to grow if no other resources are available to you, but there will be a high failure rate. Sometimes it worked though.

[~Hippie3]

Originally Posted by RockyRaccoon

i think it will kill all of these - even if it's just 3% .
(pure H202 will rip through contrete and steel as well) .

incorrect.
get the facts, don't just offer your personal opinion.

[Oblivion]

I dont leave anything to chance. I pasteurize. I use peroxide for 'housekeeping' only.

[~Hippie3]

peroxidated agar is about it's best use, imo.
can clean up dirty prints rather nicely.
a thick swab of spores ensure a few survive to germinate
then the growing mycellia can neutralize any peroxide it encounters.

[Oblivion]

Whats your procedure for peroxidated agar?

[~Hippie3]

follow the yellow link road-
http://forums.mycotopia.net/glossary...ssary&term=313

[Hashishin]

Thanks for the info TV.

[mycowarrier]

Thanks Hip

Would 7 ml of 3% peroxide to One liter of water be too stronge for a misting of substrates with pins? I think your going to say "HELL YES" so what would be a safe ratio?

[~Hippie3]

should not mist pinning substrates anyway...

[RockyRaccoon]

Originally Posted by Hippie3

incorrect.
get the facts, don't just offer your personal opinion.

i hope you won't take this as an argument against you , but i did point out that it would kill these things given enough time to do so . i would quote myself but my posts have been deleted .

if it's true that a mass of mycelium can survive indefinitely submerged in 3% as though it were water , then that fact is definitely news to me .

[~Hippie3]

lol
who made such a claim anyway ?
you're off topic if that's your point.
mycellia would drown in even pure water,
so your analogy is flawed.

it's obvious that you don't really know the deal
so quit while you're ahead
before you embarrass yourself even more.
word to the wise if you have ears to hear.

[Oblivion]

Shit, wish I would have ran across that before trying to clone my laughing gyms. The outcome is uncertain as of this morning. Well, either way, there is always next year. Thanks for the link.

[Hashishin]

Sounds like the consensus is that heat is much more reliable. Anyone add peroxide after heating for extra treatment?

[Dr_T]

Shouldn't need 'extra treatment'. Follow the tek, it'll work.