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I know some people eat peanut butter sandwiches, but most do not. Most eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. The reason for this is that peanut butter and jelly complement one another and make a better sandwich than peanut butter or jelly by themselves.
The same is true for the chlorine and pH in your pool. Both are critically important to your pool water and work so much better together instead of apart (Like peanut butter and jelly!) An example of this is a salt system on a pool. After one is installed, it is set to a certain output and delivers the same amount of chlorine to your pool day after day (the technical name for a salt system is a chlorine generator.) So far, so good. The problem, though, is chlorine from a salt system effects the pH in your pool, making it go higher than it should. This in turn makes your chlorine less effective, which is not what you want. So it is best to keep the pH where it should be right? Yes, of course. But, how to do that? Most people either hire a pool professional or go at it alone and lower the pH in the water when they test it. This works, but is only a temporary solution because most testing is done weekly, and since your salt system is constantly raising your pH, you will only get acceptable pH levels for 24-48 hours and out of balance water for the other 5-6 days a week. So what do we do? We create an environment where the pH and chlorine in your pool work together to deliver you healthy, balanced, and luxurious water every day of the week, not just one or two. The best way to do that is to automate the pH level with a system like Hayward's Sense and Dispense. This system will help keep pH levels where they should be all the time. This will give you the best possible swim experience and do the best job of keeping the water properly sanitized. This combined with a salt system is the one two punch your pool needs to work effectively. Truly the best way to go. Unless you are one of those few among us who prefer a peanut butter only sandwich.... Robert Flynn Pool Water Experts
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 We recently installed a Hayward HydroRite UVO3 system for a client. The UVO3 is a secondary disinfectant system that uses UV, Ozone and Advanced Oxidants to inactivate chlorine resistant recreational water-borne organisms Crypto (short for Cryptosporidium), Giardia, Shigella, norovirus, and E. coliO157:H7. The UVO3 system, combined with a proper filtration system and an effective primary sanitizer such as a Chlorine Generator(commonly called a salt system), is the final piece of equipment needed to ensure the healthiest possible swimming experience. The primary reason to have a UVO3 installed on your pool is that it kills bacteria that chlorine either cannot or cannot in a short enough time period to ensure a RWI will not effect a swimmers health. Below is a direct copy and paste from the portions of the Centers for Disease Control website regarding RWI's * What are RWIs? Recreational water illnesses (RWIs) are caused by germs spread by swallowing, breathing in mists or aerosols of, or having contact with contaminated water in swimming pools, hot tubs, water parks, water play areas, interactive fountains, lakes, rivers, or oceans. RWIs can also be caused by chemicals in the water or chemicals that evaporate from the water and cause indoor air quality problems. RWIs can be a wide variety of infections, including gastrointestinal, skin, ear, respiratory, eye, neurologic and wound infections. The most commonly reported RWI is diarrhea. Diarrheal illnesses can be caused by germs such as Crypto (short for Cryptosporidium), Giardia, Shigella, norovirus, and E. coliO157:H7. * Why should we be interested in RWIs? Contrary to popular belief, chlorine does not kill all germs instantly. There are germs today that are very tolerant to chlorine and were not known to cause human disease until recently. Once these germs get in the pool, it can take anywhere from minutes to days for chlorine to kill them. Swallowing just a little water that contains these germs can make you sick. In the past two decades, there has been a substantial increase in the number of RWI outbreaks associated with swimming. Crypto, which can stay alive for days even in well-maintained pools, has become the leading cause of swimming pool-related outbreaks of diarrheal illness. From 2004 to 2008, reported Crypto cases increased over 200% (from 3,411 cases in 2004 to 10,500 cases in 2008) 1. Although Crypto is tolerant to chlorine, most germs are not. Keeping chlorine at recommended levels is essential to maintain a healthy pool. However, a 2010 study found that 1 in 8 public pool inspections resulted in pools being closed immediately due to serious code violations such as improper chlorine levels. * Where are RWIs found? RWIs are caused by germs spread through contaminated water in swimming pools, water parks, water play areas, hot tubs, decorative water fountains, oceans, lakes, and rivers. * How are RWIs spread? Diarrheal Illnesses. Swallowing water that has been contaminated with feces containing germs can cause diarrheal illness. Swimmers share the water—and the germs in it—with every person who enters the pool. On average, people have about 0.14 grams of feces on their bottoms 1 which, when rinsed off, can contaminate recreational water. In addition, when someone is ill with diarrhea, their stool can contain millions of germs. This means that just one person with diarrhea can easily contaminate the water in a large pool or water park. Swallowing even a small amount of recreational water that has been contaminated with feces containing germs can make you sick. Remember, chlorine does not kill germs instantly, and some germs, such as Cryptosporidium (or "Crypto"), are extremely chlorine tolerant. In addition, lakes, rivers, and the ocean can be contaminated with germs from sewage spills, animal waste, and water runoff following rainfall. Some common germs can also live for long periods of time in salt water. Other RWIs Many other RWIs (skin, ear, eye, respiratory, neurologic, wound, and other infections) are caused by germs that live naturally in the environment (for example, in water and soil). If disinfectant levels in pools or hot tubs are not maintained at the appropriate levels, these germs can multiply and cause illness when swimmers breathe in mists or aerosols of or have contact with the contaminated water. * Why doesn't chlorine kill RWI germs? Chlorine (in swimming pools and hot tubs) kills the germs that cause RWIs, but the time it takes to kill each germ varies. In pools and hot tubs with the correct pH and disinfectant levels, chlorine will kill most germs that cause RWIs in less than an hour. However, chlorine takes longer to kill some germs, such as Crypto (short for Cryptosporidium). Crypto can survive for days even in a properly disinfected pool. This is why it is so important for swimmers to keep germs out of the water in the first place. * Who is most likely to get ill from an RWI? Children, pregnant women, and people with weakened immune systems (for example, people living with AIDS, individuals who have received an organ transplant, or people receiving certain types of chemotherapy) can suffer from more severe illness if infected. People with weakened immune systems should be aware that recreational water might be contaminated with human or animal feces containing Crypto (short for Cryptosporidium). Crypto can cause a life-threatening infection in persons with weakened immune systems. We feel the addition of a UVO3 system is a great investment to ensure a healthy swimming experience and to provide the piece of mind that your swimming pool water is the healthiest it can be. Please call us to discuss or schedule an install on your pool. Thank you, Robert Flynn Pool Water Experts With the Olympics in Rio starting in two weeks we have heard a lot of talk in the news about the water many athletes will have to compete in. Couple that with a Zika virus exposure in South Florida and more people are requesting information as to the safety of their pool water.
While the water in Rio that everyone is worried about is a natural body such as a bay, and the Zika virus has nothing to do with pool water, we nevertheless decided to publish this blog post to give our customers information they can find reassuring and informative. Residential and Commercial swimming pools are almost always sanitized with chlorine. The chlorine gets delivered to the pool in many forms. Some use liquid chlorine, some granular, 3 inch tablets, or even have the chlorine generated by salt systems. Chlorine is an excellent sanitizer but there are several chlorine resistant pathogenic microorganisms that can be in your pool water, such as: Hepatitus A Cryptosporidium Salmonella Typhi Adenovirus Influenza Virus E. Coli Pseudomonas A. Giardia Bacillus Anthracis Fortunately, 99.99% of these pathogenic microorganisms can be eliminated with the addition of a UV Sterilizer. And when used in conjunction with chlorine or bromine, pathogens such as E. coli, salmonella, staph and streptococcus, giardia, cryptosporidium and many other chlorine and bromine resistant microorganisms are instantly destroyed. How does a UV Sterilizer work? When pool or spa water passes through a UV Sterilization Cell, these pathogenic microorganisms are eliminated, to the extent of 99.99%. This is the same process used to sterilize surgical instruments and to assure water quality in many industrial applications. How long do they last? UV Sterilization cells can last for years. They have no moving parts, come with a three year warranty, and have an average bulb life of 14,000 hours. If I have a salt system, do I need one? A salt system delivers a set amount of chlorine every day, up to one pound. Although they are great sanitizers, they can be inefficient in destroying chlorine resistant pathogenic microorganisms. The addition of a UV Sterilizer delivers the one two punch you should have to be sure you water is the healthiest it can be. How does the UV Sterilizer get installed on my pool? The UV Sterilizer is installed in your pool plumbing lines at the equipment pad. It uses pennies a day of electricity and does not change the composition of the water in terms of balanced water, clarity, and taste. In one short answer, why would I have one installed? To make sure your are doing all you can to keep your family healthy during the summer swim season. Please call us at 609-698-4400 or email us at poolwaterexperts.com to order your UV Sterilizer system. You and your family will be glad you did. Thank you, Robert Flynn Pool Water Experts * Major portions of this blog post were copied and pasted from Alan Schuster at askalanaquestion.com Alan is one of the most respected voices in the Pool Industry and we frequently look to him for information. We have been contacted recently by several our our customers about information relating to a flesh eating amoeba called Naegleria fowleri. These inquires stem from the tragic death of a young woman at the U.S. National Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., on June 19th, 2016.
Below are remarks about this amoeba from Dr. Jennifer Cope, CDC infectious disease physician, relating to the incident . Her remarks are paraphrased from a weather.com webpage. Dr. Jennifer Cope, an infectious disease physician at the CDC, noted that an inadequate water sanitation system at the park (US National Whitewater Center) is the likely reason for the presence of the deadly amoeba. "The park relies on ultraviolet radiation and chlorine to clean the water. Under normal conditions, this would kill Naegleria, but because the parks man-made bodies of water are designed to look natural, they tend collect dirt and debris from the river which can interfere with the sanitation process", according to Cope. "The chlorine reacts with all that debris and is automatically consumed so that it is no longer present to deactivate a pathogen like Naegleria and the same is true about UV light", she said. The question we have been asked repeatedly is "Do I have to worry about this in my swimming pool?" The short answer is NO. The CDC has a general information page dealing with the Naegleria pathogen. One of the questions to the CDC on this page is: Question: "Can I get a Naegleria fowleri infection from a disinfected swimming pool?" Answer: "No. You cannot get a Naegleria fowleri infection from a properly cleaned, maintained, and disinfected swimming pool." We encourage you to visit the CDC GENERAL INFORMATION PAGE and WEBmd to get vital information on Naegleria fowleri . It is important to be properly informed. It is equally important to know the facts and not react on information you may receive that is not accurate. If you have any other questions or concerns about the Naegleria fowleri pathogen please call us at 609-698-4400 or email us at [email protected] Thank you, Robert Flynn Pool Water Experts Plaster pools have special needs as far as water chemistry is concerned and are far less forgiving when the water is out of balance. Below is an excellent read. It is a direct copy and paste from http://www.poolcenter.com/plaster that we thought would provide valuable information to our readers.
Thank you, Robert Flynn Pool Water Experts Plaster Pools Concrete pools are the oldest form of building pools. The process starts with digging a hole in the ground and lining the hole with rebar. Then the drains, skimmers, return lines, and in-floor cleaning system are set into place. After that, the pool is shot with gunite. Then, the tile and coping stones are set in place. Finally, the pool is shot and troweled with plaster. Once the plaster is finished, the company usually starts filling the pool with water. Once the pool is full, the system is started up and balanced with chemicals. This is the time that takes the most work, usually a lot of brushing and backwashing due to dusting from the new plaster. Also called white coat or marcite, plaster is an age old process of finishing many structures. Used underwater, it provides the watertight seal that the more porous gunite or shotcrete beneath it cannot. Plaster finishes provide twenty years of service under ideal conditions, however, ours is rarely an ideal world. The plaster surface is meant to degrade slowly, eventually requiring a fresh coat. Plaster has shading variations? Known as mottling, and distinct from surface stains and deposits, mottling may appear as grayish hued areas. Rarely do I see a plaster job that is white like milk. They're usually white like clouds. Being a natural product, mottling is inherent in any plaster job and should not be considered a defect. There has been much research on the subject in recent years, however no consensus has been reached on the causes and cure of mottling. Plaster is stained? Different from mottling, stains are usually localized and distinct in color from the plaster. Most stains are caused by heavy metal minerals coming out of solutions and depositing themselves on the nearest structure they find. They may also remain suspended in water, providing dramatic new color schemes. Below is a chart listing common metals found in pools, where they came from, and their identifying colors. Plaster has crystalline deposits? Your pool water has precipitated metallic salts out of solution. This will create areas of the pool which are extremely rough and scaly. There are several solutions to remove these deposits, including acid washing, sanding and the use of a calcium deposit dissolving chemical called HydroQuest. If any of the above causes apply to you, your pool should be using a sequestering agent which aids your water balance in preventing the metal from dropping out of solution and staining underwater surfaces. Most stains left by precipitated metals can be removed by one form or another. An acid wash every few years will keep a pool looking nice. Want to increase the life of your plaster? Barring problems in the mixing, application and curing processes, the pool owner, or service company controls its condition and life span. Keeping your water chemistry in balance and most importantly, preventing corrosive water environments of low pH and low alkalinity will reduce wear and tear. Maintain your pH levels at between 7.4 - 7.8.Alkalinity should be kept between 80 - 120 ppm. Lower levels may etch your plaster, which provides a safe harbor for dirt andalgae to grow, isn't attractive and is rough to the touch. Heavy metals cause stains. Metallic salts cause scale. These salts are primarily forms of calcium and magnesium which can deposit on your plaster, pipes and equipment. They may arise from the use of calcium based sanitizers or the fill water may have high calcium hardness levels. Keep your calcium hardness levels between 200 - 400 ppm. A level that is above this may find it easy to precipitate out of solution. This is known as a scaling condition. Conversely, water with low levels of hardness will produce an aggressive condition. In aggressive conditions (soft water), the water will take the calcium it wants directly out of your plaster, resulting in plaster breakdown and bond failure. Pool plaster is pitted or etched? If your plaster has surface irregularities, which may take on a beige hue, you have what's commonly called etching. This etching can be caused by low pH or alkalinity; an acidic condition. It may begin within the plaster, from the original mix on application, or etching may start from the gunite side of the plaster and work itself from the outside in. Pool plaster has large, dark areas? You may be seeing the gunite or shotcrete beneath the plaster beginning to show through. You better start budgeting for that re-plaster. Pool plaster has small cracks? Known as crazing or checking, the tiny, barely visible cracks are usually caused by extreme temperature variations, especially during initial curing. These are not actually cracks, and pose no structural hazard or danger of leaking. Acid washing could remove the crazed layer. Larger cracks should be cut out in a butterfly or dovetail fashion with a 4" or 7" grinder, and filled with a plaster patch mix or a flexible sealant can be used where further movement is suspected. Plaster has delaminated? Known as bond failure, this will occur as areas where the plaster has popped off. Usually seen on re-plaster jobs, where the plaster to plaster bond may never be as strong as the original plaster to concrete bond. This is repaired with a plaster patch. Plaster normally does not delaminate from the gunite; this bond failure can more easily occur, plaster to plaster. Chip away any loose material around the edge of the delaminated area. This will sometimes make the patch much bigger than the hole is to begin with. Chip & chisel to break up and rough up the surface, clean and brush on a bonding additive. Then pour in premixed white Portland cement and marble dust; 2:1. Use bonding additive (like Acryl 60) to mix the plaster with. Trowel smooth with a round ended trowel. Keep the patch from drying too quickly by doing this repair in the evening and covering with moist towels or burlap. Plaster patching: The delaminated area is chipped outwards until good bond is found. The surface is roughened and plastered istroweled in place by hand. Cost depends on the size and location of the patch. Plaster patching material can be purchased at most pool stores. It is a mixture of white Portland cement and marble dust. A bonding additive such as Acryl 60 should be used when applying. Re-plastering: The pool is drained and acid etched several times. Chipping and cutting around all fittings and under the tile allows the new coat to be feathered. A scratch coat is applied first, followed by a finish coat. The pool is filled immediately; the plaster cures underwater. The surface must then be brushed twice daily, with vacuuming and continuous filtering to remove the plaster dust. Cost for a re-plaster is based on surface square footage. Expect $2,500 - $4,000. Once upon a time, plasterers would plaster a pool in any color, as long as it was white. Black or gray plaster is now becoming more common, and other colored additives can produce varied color effects. Any colored plaster will show more mottling than white pools, however. If you plaster in any color other than white, expect streaking and uneven hues. Don't expect flat black color, for example. Pool painting: Before plastering became popular, pool shells were painted. These were low grade paints that barely lasted one season. The annual drain & paint was gladly given up when plaster became popular. The underwater epoxies used today offer a 7 year life span for about half the cost of re-plastering. Paint adheres very well to properly prepped plaster, and offers a wide variety of colors and graphic capabilities. Pool painting is a second class choice to re-plastering. It may be half the cost, but will last only half as long (at best). If you start painting, you keep painting, unless you sandblast it off to allow re-plastering. We tend to discourage our customers from painting a pool. A few dollars saved in the short run will cost more in the long run. Pool painting: The pool is drained and degreased. It is then acid etched and degreased again. After drying, a primer coat is applied, followed by two coats of the chosen color(s). Again with the drying, and the pool is filled. Price will vary according to size and prep factors. Expect $1,900 - $2,800. Pool artwork varies. Want to Re-plaster the pool yourself? I would discourage this. Plastering is nothing short of an art and science. Experienced plasterers know how to get the mix right, with numerous variables that can affect the finished product. They also work in a team of 4 - 6 workers, to get it up before it sets (and cracks). Small patches? OK, but re-plastering the entire pool? I would leave that to plasterers. If YOU prep the pool for plaster, however, you could save 25% or so on the job. What is the procedure for starting up a freshly plastered pool? There are basically two methods, chlorine start, or acid start. I do the acid start which eliminates the brushing and filtering of plaster dust. The idea is to drop the Total Alkalinity level to zero, and then rebuild it with the carbonates that are contained in the plaster dust. Here's how I do it. As the pool is filling, immediately after plastering, add 1 gallon of muriatic acid directly to the water (don't splash it on the bare plaster) per 5,000 gallons of fill water. With a watch, time the amount of time it takes to fill up a 1 gallon or 5 gallon bucket with the hose(s) used to fill up the pool. Do the math to determine how many gallons are added every hour. Divide 5,000 by the number of gallons coming out of your hose(s) per hour, and you will know how long it takes to fill 5,000 gallons from the hoses. When the pool is full, test the Total Alkalinity. It should be zero. Then test the pH, and do a base demand test to determine how much pH increaser to add. Add up to 6 lbs of pH increaser at a time, brushing the pool to distribute fully. Wait a few hours in between 6 lb additions. When all of the pH increaser is added, recheck pH and Total Alkalinity. Add additional increasers if needed. Check Calcium Hardness levels. If below 180 ppm, add Calcium Chloride in dissolved form to bring the levels up. Brush pool after any addition of chemicals. When pH, Alkalinity and Calcium levels are balanced, slowly begin to chlorinate the pool. Do not shock the pool for a week or so. Leave the pool filter (and heater, and pool cleaner) off until the chemistry is balanced. Brush frequently to distribute chemicals added. Have you ever wondered how much water you actually swallow while swimming in a pool? We did too so we decided to find out.
In 2006, the EPA did a pilot study titled "Water ingestion during swimming activities in a pool." What the study revealed was that a non adult would ingest 37 Milliliters of water over a 45 minute period. This converts to 1.6 ounces of water every hour a non-adult is in a swimming pool. If a non adult with access to their swimming pool of that of a friend or relative spends an average of three hours a day in a pool all summer long, they will ingest 480 ounces of pool water per summer. That is 3.75 GALLONS every summer. That is a lot of water. It also is a reminder to have your pool water correctly sanitized and balanced in accordance with the Langelier Saturation Index. Something to think about. Robert Flynn Pool Water Experts Here is some great information about copper in pool water. I did not write this post myself but have it in my files and thought it worthy of sharing.
Thank you, Robert Flynn COPPER IN YOUR POOL WATER First things first: Your pool should have NO copper in it HOW COPPER GETS IN YOUR POOL SOURCE WATER Your source water (well or city water) may have a small amount of copper in it already. If it does, each time makeup water is added due to evaporation, a little more copper is added. Since copper does not biodegrade or go away on its own, it builds up. ALGAECIDES Some algaecides have copper as their active ingredient. The copper in algaecides usually has a special ingredient added to it that prevents it from staining people and vessels. This ingredient is called a chelating agent and copper algaecides that have this ingredient are said to be chelated. However, sunlight, constant high levels of chlorine or bromine, ozone, super chlorination and even non-chlorine shock treatments can oxidize the chelating agent. Once this happens, the copper stain protecting ability is decreased. EQUIPMENT Copper can get into the pool from the equipment. Water that has a low pH actually dissolves a small portion of the copper metal in components such as copper pipes, heat exchangers, heater heat sinks, bronze or brass pump parts such as impellers or volute assemblies, and even metals used in the filters. This is called corrosion. This small amount of copper gets dissolved from the equipment or components and then mixes with the main body of water in the pool or spa. Another related way copper gets into the water is by water velocity through copper pipes and fittings. Water that is moving faster than the recommended velocity through a pipe will erode the pipe. This happens when too large of a pump is used on a system than it was designed for. CHLORINE TABS PLACED IN SKIMMER Copper can also get into the water also from the equipment but for a different reason. A common practice is to chlorinate a pool by placing a trichlor tablet (trichloro-s-triazinetrione) into the pool or spa skimmer. Some pool owners also place bromine tablets in their skimmers. Water flowing over the tablet dissolves a small portion of the tablet and carries it through the equipment and back to the pool or spa. Trichlor tablets have a very low pH of about 2.8 while bromine tablets are about 4.0. If enough of the tablet dissolves, the pH of the water flowing over the tablet acquires a low pH too. We have seen pHs from 3.0 to 7.0 – all of which can cause metal components to dissolve. Please note: Some manufacturers have produced special trichlor tablets and sticks that are designed to placed in the skimmer. These products will not be a problem if used properly. Pumps in residential pools run about 6-8 hours a day. Spas run 2-3 hours. This means that a pump can be off 16-18 hours a day in a pool and more than 20 hours in a spa. When the equipment is not running, the trichlor or bromine tablet in the skimmer continues to dissolve. This causes all of the water in the skimmer and even down the pipe below the skimmer to get a really low pH. When the equipment is turned on for the next filter cycle, this low pH body of water in the skimmer heads straight for the equipment where it dissolves some of metal. CHEMICALS ADDED THROUGH THE SKIMMER Yet another way copper gets into the water is by adding chemicals through the skimmer with the pump running. With some chemicals, this is OK. Check and follow manufacturer’s directions for adding chemicals. However, if acid or acidic chemicals are added, the same corrosion occurs. IONIZER Copper can get into water on purpose by using an ionizer (sometimes called a copper/silver or copper ionizer). However, it is very important when using these devices that you follow all manufacturers’ directions for use. Keep the pH in the recommended range (usually a little lower than NSPI recommended levels). Test the water with a copper test kit and adjust the output to maintain the recommended level of copper (usually 0.2 to 0.5 ppm). Add a sequestering or chelating agent if directed. Ionizers will not cause staining if used properly. WHY IS COPPER BAD FOR THE POOL? Copper does not biodegrade or break down in the water so it just builds up. Eventually, the water can no longer keep the amount of copper dissolved. This is called the saturation point. The saturation point for copper in most pools and spas is about 0.2 ppm or maybe 0.4 ppm depending on pH and alkalinity. Higher levels cause stains. You may remember that calcium and magnesium also reach a saturation point in the water. Once copper reaches its saturation point, copper combines with certain other chemicals present in the water and forms a precipitate. Copper usually combines with sulfates in the water to make copper sulfate (CuSO4) – a blue-green particle. This copper sulfate then attaches to the walls of the pool or spa and a stain is created. This stain can be on the walls or on people. Copper and other metals can also combine with hydroxides, carbonates, phosphates, silicates, and cyanurates to form any number of stains and precipitates which can be almost any color. The copper sulfate bluish-green stains show up on kids first because they spend many hours in the water and second, many kids have blond hair when they are young. The green color shows up on blond or white hair better than on brown, black or red hair. The white part of fingernails is next, then cotton, white bathing suits. HOW DO I KEEP IT OUT? To remove the copper or other metals from the water, use a sequestering or chelating product. These are usually called metal inhibitors or metal removal products. Pool Water Experts test for copper in your pool on every water sample you send us. We then tell you exactly what dose to put in your pool should you have copper. Keeping copper and other metals out of your pool water is one of the most effective preventive maintenance practices you can do for your pool. In early 2014 I was asked to write an article for Pool and Spa News. My article discusses the problems many pool professionals encounter trying to keep pH levels in proper range on Salt Water Systems. The experience was terrific and the staff at Pool and Spa News were great to work with. I would like to especially thank Nathan Traylor for all his help. Please click here to read the complete article
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