A Healthy Pool Means A Healthy You

Pseudononas aeruginosa (inflammation of the follicle) is one of the most common causes of most bacteria rashes in pools and spas.  This bacteria can be found in most moist environments, like soil, plants, humidifiers and even the insoles of athletic shoes.  It’s carried into the pool from any one of these sources.  A moist pool raft that laid in the grass all night will carry bacteria into the pool.  So be careful where you store you pool toys.

This is why it’s extremely important to maintain a safe sanitizing level, in your pool, and compensate for its demand.  Most people think a properly maintained sanitized pool should kill this bacteria on contact.  But that is not necessarily true if your sanitizer falls below its normal range, even just for a day .  In fact the bacteria could encounter no sanitizer and hook up with organic matter in the pool and grow out of control, or if it can’t find enough nutrients it could enter the biofilm and wait patiently.

Once the sanitizer drops below critical level and the bacteria is freely swimming around the pool it will contact the skin of a person and enter the dilated pores.  The bacteria find its way to a warm habitat rich with nutrients and will begin to reproduce. The immune system will take over and fight this bacteria.  The rash ranges from a small dot to oozing sores.  It could take up to two days to produce a rash and in most cases will heal itself within two weeks without antibiotic.

Rashes are not the only symptom caused by this bacteria.  Others include headache, fever, muscle aches, red and burning eyes, general fatigue, and most common ear aches (swimmers ear).

Another rash you need to keep an eye on is one that is caused by Staphylococcus aureus.  It can cause dermal infections, including boils and carbuncles.  In severe cases it can enter the blood stream and cause blood poisoning.  (toxic shock syndrome)

One particular type of Staph, Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus or MRSA,  which has been rapidly growing over the years is becoming a health threat in many public settings and is found in pools and spas.  Any skin infection that does not heal itself or worsens within two weeks should seek medical attention.  With better monitoring and reporting of all pool and spa rashes we will be able to state definitely  if Staphylococcus aureus is truly a major health threat within the swimming pool industry.

It only takes six hours of unprotected water for bacterium to multiply to infectious levels.

And it only take one minute to check the chlorine or bromine level to see if its safe to swim.

And it only takes 15 minutes to kill all bacteria in the water to a safe level.

Would you take that chance?

Enzymes…Natural vs Man-made

As society shifts its weight towards Eco-friendly products, so is the swimming pool industry.  Natural enzymes have been around for quite some time, but it’s only the past several years that they have become more popular as consumers educate themselves on what is available to them in helping to maintain their pool.

The question is natural verses man-made enzymes.  Although man-made enzymes  still come from the natural world, the difference is how they are produced.  While there are many out there I’ve attached myself to Natural Chemistry.

Natural Chemistry being an all natural enzyme is formed by fermentation, which basically is extracting energy of an organic compound and using the substances that originate from that cell, along with by-products, resulting in a wide array of natural balanced enzymes that can fight off a broad spectrum of organic contaminants.   Whereas man-made manufactured enzymes are made with few by-products and are less balanced, therefore, interfering with the effectiveness and reliability of the product.

Manufactured enzymes tend to have high concentrations with few classes of enzymes, while natural enzymes are the opposite.  Because of the broad spectrum from being produced by fermentation, natural enzymes go a long way.

Why do we use enzymes to maintain our pool?  We talked about the build up of organic matter in the previous post and how coming to break-point chlorination burns up that matter.  Enzymes attack this organic matter and using an enzyme on a weekly maintenance program will help keep the organic matter from building up.  Hence, allowing chlorine to perform its maximum job without the interference of organic matter.

I can’t stress enough how important preventative maintenance is when maintaining a healthy and safe well balanced swimming pool for you, your family, and your friends to enjoy on a hot summer day.

Safety is always first.

Shocking or Super Chlorinating your Pool?

The two can be confusing at times.  Some people don’t know when shocking or super chlorinating is needed; I understand and sometimes interchange the two myself.  Even though the two are very similar in all reality they are completely different.  I like to use the technical term break point chlorination when needed as not to confuse any customers. There is a lot to water chemistry and can become quite confusing.

Super chlorinating your pool is a term used to simply boost the chlorine level after a heavy bather load, and yes that means your dog, too.  One dog in your pool is like having 50 people swimming for the day.  The sign of algae, even the smallest amount would require you to shock your pool. You can find info on how to treat algae here If there has been rain all day or for some reason your chlorine level falls below normal.  I like to call that preventive maintenance.  These are just a few things in my opinion that could lead to more costly problems than to simply boost the chlorine lever by adding a couple of pounds of chlorine.

Don’t get confused when purchasing an item for either shocking ( break point chlorination ) or super chlorinating, because while each one does a different job the ingredient is the same, chlorine.   ( I’ll get into the different types of chlorine another day )

Shocking or break point chlorination is a whole different story and its job is completely different. You must consider the different forms of chlorine in your pool, before you can determine whether you need to reach break point chlorination.  It’s extremely important once you figure this out, that the right amount of chlorine is used or oxidation will not occur and you will create a much bigger problem.

Free chlorine –  This reading is what is left after the chlorine does its job and must remain at a residual of 1-3 ppm at all times.  Free chlorine is the sanitizing agent that keeps the pool free of any micro-organisms that could be present in your pool, causing you to become sick.  It also acts as a good oxidizer.

Total chlorine – The total chlorine is the sum of the free and combined chlorine.

Combined chlorine – This reading is the difference between the total and free chlorine reading.  It is considered the “bad” chlorine that has been used up by oxidizing organic matter.  Remember I said that free available chlorine acts as an oxidizer.  The best way to figure this out is to use a DPD test kit or you can bring a water sample to your local pool dealer.

How do we get combined chlorine and what is it?

Combined chlorine or chloramine is a chlorine by-product that is formed due to insufficient free chlorine. When the free chlorine is over powered by organic contaminants it can’t oxidize the pool water by keeping this matter in solution.    This will cause a strong ammonia like chlorine odor that most people think is too much chlorine, when in fact it’s not enough chlorine in your pool.  It will cause your eyes and nose to burn, and your skin to itch.   When this happens your sanitizer will become inefficient leaving your pool susceptible to many things like algae or a build up of micro-organisms.   It can also be the cause of a cloudy pool.  I could get into the technical chemical terms, but since this blog is basically meant for simplicity, I’ll stick to the basics.

How do you correct this problem?

You must reach break-point chlorination, which is 10 times the amount of the combined chlorine.  So if the reading is 1 ppm, then you need to add enough chlorine to reach 10 ppm.  Remember the combined chlorine is the difference between the total and free available chlorine.  Once break-point is accomplished all organic matter will oxidize or burn up, your pool will become crystal clear, and your free available chlorine will properly start doing its job.

Again I can’t stress enough how important it is to add the right amount of chlorine to reach break-point, if you don’t oxidation will not occur and could make matters worse.

Please if you have any questions feel free to ask.

How Ph effects swimming pool water

Let’s talk about ph in a swimming pool. Most people know that 7.4 to 7.8 is the proper range, but what most people don’t know are the effects of being out of that range does to the pool and to the people swimming in it.

I’m here to give you a little insight on exactly what those effects are in a swimming pool.

What is ph? Ph is a concentration of hydrogen ions in a solution, on a scale of 0 – 14, with 0 being acidic and 14 being alkaline and 7 being neutral. When pool water falls out of ph range many things could happen.

If the range is too low chlorine will dissipate quickly leaving you always having to add chlorine. Your pool will become corrosive, acting as an acid. It will dissolve metals, etch the plaster, and cause black and brown staining on the walls because of the metals absorbed into the water. It will cause skin and eye irritation, and vinyl liners will become wrinkled.

When your pool water becomes too high in ph, scale deposits will form on the walls and in the equipment. Your pool will become cloudy. Be careful using clarifiers, most are high in ph and will make matters worse. I would recommend Clear by Natural Chemistry, where the ph is neutral. Your eyes and skin will become irritated and the chlorine will lose its effectiveness and not do its job properly.

While every aspect of owning a swimming pool is crucial, the most cost-effective and efficient way to maintain a pool is to keep it well-balanced at all times.  Chlorine is the most important chemical, because that is your sanitizer and keeps the pool clear of  infectious bacteria.  Ph is just as important as it directly affects the people who swim in the pool. How?  Whether your ph is too high where the chlorine isn’t as effective or it’s too low where the chlorine dissipates too quickly, at some point your pool will susceptible to pathogenic bacteria and could cause bathers to become sick.  

It’s never too late to teach your child how to swim

Due to a case-control study in 2010 the American Academy of Pediatrics has changed their guidelines for swim lessons for children under the age of four.  In the past AAP thought there was a lack of scientific evidence that the effects of formal swim lessons, one way or another, would not be beneficial.

This changed when a research study, which anylized a group of children aged 1-4, with professional swim lessons may decrease the potential risk of drowning.

Read more: By Ben Thomas
Pool and Sap News

May 2012 is National Water Safety Month.

Although water safety should be practiced every single hour and every single minute of the day, we like to take one month for awareness and hope that you will continue to follow and educate yourself, on water safety, throughout the swimming season. There is nothing more important than the safety of your child when it comes to being around water, whether it be a swimming pool, no matter the depth, a lake, the ocean, or even a bathtub.  Every step should be taken to ensure the safety of your child.  

Here are a few critical questions I grabbed off this website to see if your water safety measures up to the standards you would want for your child’s safety.

• Is there a fence around the perimeter of your pool or spa?
• Are there self-closing and self-latching gates?
• Are there door, gate or pool alarms in use?
• Does your pool have anti-entrapment drain covers that are compliant with the P&SS Act?
• Are all pool and spa covers in working order?
• Has the public pool or spa you use been inspected to ensure it is compliant with federal, state and local laws?
• Has someone in the family received training in CPR, first aid and emergency response?
• Has everyone learned to swim?

These are extremely important questions and most should be followed by the pool owner.  It takes moments for a child to slip away without notice and moments for a child to be submerged into a pool.  It takes 4-6 minutes without oxygen for a child to become brain damage.

Please take a moment to go down your list and make sure you are doing everything you can to make this swimming season safe for your children.

Peace

Kristina

What Causes Cloudy Pools

When dealing with most pool problems you should always start with the filtration system.  Let’s take cloudy water.  Oftentimes, cloudy pool or spa water is due to poor filtration or lack of sanitizer.  If these possibilities have been ruled out you may be dealing with a different issue such as suspended matter (chloramines) or as I call it organic junk.  This matter comes from swimmer contamination, dirt, algae, suntan lotions and oils, bacteria, minerals, metals, and organic matter.

Everything that is put into your pool or spa water is filtered through your filtration system or evaporated into the air.  Not every particle goes through this process and the ones that don’t are left behind.  Eventually, these particles build up over time to be what we call chloramines.  Chloramines  will cause a foul-smelling chlorine odor, poor disinfection, and eye and skin irritation.  All of this organic junk comes out of solution causing a cloudy pool.

When this happens you want to oxidize using a non chlorine shock or a chlorine shock to a break point that will bring the chloramines back into solution making your pool or spa water sparkling clear.

How do you know what the break point is.

You subtract the total chlorine from the free chlorine and times that by 10, and that is the ppm’s you will need to reach break point, bringing all the suspended particles back into solution.

For example if you total chlorine reading is 4.7 and your free chlorine reading is 2.7 then your combined chlorine reading is 2.0.  If you times that by 10, you get 20 ppm, and that is how high you need to raise your chlorine level to reach break point.

As always whatever product you buy always read the manufacturers directions first.

Shocking Pools and Stains

Be careful when shocking pools with chlorine.  If the water changes color when chlorine is added, it is not the chlorine that has the color, it is the chlorine oxidizing metal in the water.  Metal will typically precipitate out at a high pH.  With high pH chlorine products, like calcium hypo-chlorite or sodium hypo-chlorite, you can precipitate out metals, which can come out on your surface and form a stain. 

Different metals have different colors.  Iron creates a brown stain; copper creates a blue or black stain; and cyanuric acid and copper create a purple stain. 

Once metals cause a stain you can deal with them  with various proprietary products on the market.  These products will lift the metal off the surface quickly, but it should be kept in mind that it will take much longer for the metal to be removed from the water in the filtration system.  You need to keep a sequestering agent in the water so that the metal does not re-deposit on the wall and cause a new stain. 

Pool and In-ground Spa Drain Cover Recall

Thank you for visiting the pool and inground spa drain cover manufacturers’ recall webpage. The following manufacturers, in cooperation with The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), have announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer pool and spa drain covers. Read the CPSC press release here and click here to read the Notice to Associations.   There are approximately 6.2 million residential and public inground pools and inground spas. This recall will affect less than 5 percent of these installations.

Read more from The Association of Pool and Spa Professionals

Why Do My Eyes Burn In Swimming Pool Water

Many people automatically think there is an abundance of chlorine in the water if their eyes begin to burn while they are swimming. This is not the case and can be avoided if the Ph is checked on a regular basis.

Ph is the measure of the amount of hydrogen ions on a scale of 0 to 14, with 7.0 being neutral.  The ideal measurement for pool water is 7.2 to 7.6.  When the Ph falls below 7.2 the water is considered to be acidic.  A low Ph causes chlorine to dissipate too fast, vinyl liners to crack and wrinkle, etching of the plaster, corroding of equipment, and of course, burning of the eyes.

The Ph in swimming pools effects many aspects of the water, which we will discuss in another post.

Peace.