Chlorine Dioxide as disinfectant?

[quantic_soul]

I read an article in Greenhouse Grower recently that sparked my interest. It is about the possibility of using Chlorine Dioxide as a disinfectant in horticulture settings. The article notes how it is particularly good at removing biofilm from systems and equipment.

I am curious to hear if anyone uses or has anymore information on people using this as a disinfectant in their grow room or any other horticulture setting. Supposedly it is also really good as killing or controlling pathogens as well (ex. Powdery Mildew)

Here is a link to the Greenhouse Grower article
http://www.greenhousegrower.com/production/?storyid=4261&style=1

Here is a USDA summary of a publication titled [FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica][SIZE=-1]Potential Use of Chlorine Dioxide to Control Diseases in Ornamental Plant Production Systems [/SIZE][/FONT]
http://www.ars.usda.gov/research/publications/publications.htm?seq_no_115=226879
(This was found in the comments section of Greenhouse Grower!)

**word of warning**
From my basic memory of organic chemistry I remember Chlorine Dioxide has being very toxic or flammable maybe. Just wanted to put that out there before anyone tries it.

I will edit the warnings and any other updated information as I study this topic further but I wanted to share this article and hear ideas during the process.

 

[Bigwormm]

I believe it’s pretty flammable. I had my first experience with chlorine dioxide gas using the product gard n clean during a reset in the midst of a russet mite infestation. It worked wonders… I also experimented with leaving a small clone in the room while I fumigated and it was fine… lately I have had some powdery mildew issues and have been experimenting with fumigating in my flower room on living plants… so far the results have been uhhhmazing! I am very wary of going overboard with this and so far have not found the line where things are toxic at least to plants… I run a small 4x8x8’high flower room and so far have used 7 grams of chlorine dioxide to 1 oz of water and the plants looked very happy afterwards….just wanted to share my experience…