Swimming Pool Secret

[Master Kim]

Tip #1: Just how Easy Is It?

Your swimming pool should take about the same time to maintain as the yard it replaced.

No kidding!

Maintaining a properly installed 18' x 36' vinyl liner swimming pool should take less than 1 hour a week. And your chemical costs shouldn't exceed $35 per month.

Of course, thunderstorms, dust storms, and swimming pool parties will all increase maintenance demands. And, if you are a really, really neat person, it will take you longer to keep the pool clean. But, your pool still really should as easy to care for as the yard it replaces.

So . . . what's the secret? Consistency, chlorine, and commercial tools.

Pools don't forgive. Ever. They don't demand much, but they absolutely will not forgive you if you don't do what they do demand. Taking care of a swimming pool is sort of like taking care of a really, really easy pet -- say, a gold fish. It's not hard, but you can't let it slide either. Ignore your goldfish, and it dies. Ignore your pool and it . . . comes to life! Be consistent -- or be green! Skip a week in midsummer and you'll be able to admire your new pond, complete with frogs! Skip three weeks, and you may need a federal environmental impact study before obtaining a permit to drain that 20 x 40 wetland in your backyard.

Chlorine has a bad rep, mostly undeserved. Certainly, it's the least expensive and most effective swimming pool sanitizer available, so long as you stay with the plan. Only chlorine is a full function pool chemical: sanitizer, oxidizer, and algaecide with a residual that can be stabilized. Every alternative comes up short at one point or another, even bromine and ozone. Certainly, for a some pools and pool owners, the benefits of some of the alternatives may out weigh the problems. But for the vast majority, chlorine is the superior alternative!

And when it comes time to clean, there's no substitute for good tools. $65 for a really good vacuum head or test kit may seem like a lot, till the first time you use it!





Swimming Pool Secret #2

Buy Swimming Pool Chemicals from the Grocery Store!

Virtually all grocery stores have bleach (sodium hypochlorite), baking soda, and borax. Household bleach (5.25%) at $1/gallon is no great bargain -- but it's a functional substitute for any chlorine compound, and easy to get when you are in a hurry.

One gallon of bleach is equal in chlorine content to 2/3 lb. of shock (calcium hypochlorite). Put another way, one gallon will add about 2 ppm chlorine to a 30,000 gallon pool.

And baking soda, at $0.40/lb. is a whole lot cheaper than "Alkalinity Increaser" for $1.10/lb. Both are 100% sodium bicarbonate.

Borax (20 Mule Team brand) is several dollars cheaper than a patented, branded material also containing 100% sodium tetraborate and is a good substitute for "PH-UP" -- especially in spas -- and is at least $0.50/lb. cheaper.



Swimming Pool Chemicals at the Grocery Store

Buy Your Pool Chemicals at the Grocery Store?

Yup! Here's how.

First, a warning! Follow these instructions only if you are using chlorine or bromine chemistry. If you are using a copper/silver system – whether ionizer, Nature2™, or something else, or a baquanide system, such as Baquacil™, SoftSwim™ or whatever, DON'T try this!

Following the instructions below may screw up your pool!

Second, you must understand what chemicals you are replacing:

 Bleach (picture) (sodium hypochlorite) is a chlorine source and can replace calcium hypochlorite (HTH™, etc.), 'tri-chlor' tabs or pucks, 'di-chlor', lithium hypochlorite, and so forth.

 Baking soda (picture) is sodium bicarbonate, and is exactly the same thing as 'Alkalinity Increaser', 'Alk-Up' or whatever. The food grade is ground a little finer than the industrial grade used in pools. But the chemical is identical.

 Borax (picture) is sodium tetraborate pentahydrate (or decahydrate) is the primary ingredient of a patented pool aid and algistat. (see patent here.) The patent is held by a company with multiple lawyers, so we won't mention names. So far as we can tell, if you don't intend to use it as an algistat, you aren't violating the patent. We don't recommend it for that purpose anyhow: it may work, but not well enough that we could ever tell a difference!



It is a good pH buffer, though; that is, once you get your pH adjusted, borax tends to make it stay where it is. Unlike baking soda, which is also a buffer, once you add borax to a pool, it stays there. (The baking soda tends not to, or else to build up to excessive levels, for complicated reasons.)



However, when you first add it, it will raise the pH, A LOT! For this reason, it's a superior chemical for raising pool pH. Use it instead of pH UP (sodium carbonate, soda ash). If you are having problems with your pool akalinity being too high, you should always use borax instead of convential pH increaser.

How much to use?

One gallon of household bleach equals about 3/4 lb HTH™ or other calcium hypochlorite, and will add about 2 ppm of chlorine to a 30,000 gallon (typical 20'x40') pool. It can be poured directly into the skimmer, but watch out for splashback! (Protect your eyes!)

Warning! Don't let bleach, or any other chemical, come into direct contact with trichlor tabs you may have in the skimmers!

One pound of baking soda is identical to one pound of alkalinity increaser; use them at the same rates.

Use 20 Mule Team Borax™ at a starting dose of 1/2 box, per 10,000 gallons of pool water. , but have some acid (pH Minus, or whatever) on hand. Be sure that you do NOT get a box of detergent that contains borax, unless you want an awful mess! Borax, or sodium tetraborate should be the ONLY listed ingredient.

Please note: I consider borax of particular value in pools operated at a higher pH pool (7.6 - 8.0). If you don't know anything about this, you can still use borax as a cheap replacement for soda ash (pH UP). If you want to know more about high pH in swimming pools, you can read the preliminary paper I've posted on the topic, but it's pretty technical.

Final Note

Some folks think it would be nice if there were grocery store versions of all their swimming pool chemicals at the grocery store. But, there aren't.

In particular, chlorine stabilizer (cyanuric acid) is available ONLY under pool labels. There's simply no other consumer use for that chemical. I've heard that borax may be available cheaper, but in large quantities, from some agricultural distributors and co-ops, but this is not true in all areas. Copper sulfate, which I do NOT recommend, is commonly available from agricultural sources.

On the other sand, many chemicals, such as algaecides, clarifiers, and the like, which are available only through swimming pool product channels, are products you are usually better off without. Clarifiers can occasionally be helpful if you have a sand or cartridge filter, but do NOT overdose. There is one, and ONLY one algaecide I commonly recommend: polyquat (picture). The rest of the anti-algae products have serious side effects on your pool chemistry, and should be used with caution, and only when there's no alternative.



Swimming Pool Secret #3

Still Adding Calcium to Your Liner Swimming Pool? Why?

Because your dealer sells it to you, that's why!

If you like contributing to your dealer's vacation fund, stop reading now. If you keep reading, you're likely to discover just how useless adding calcium to a liner pool is!

"Calcium increaser" -- actually, calcium chloride -- is added to maintain calcium carbonate saturation levels, as measured by the Langlier saturation index, which is an empirical index calculated from the pH, temperature, ionic solution strength, and total alkalinity and calcium hardness levels. Using this index is subject to considerable debate among chemists about its applicability to open systems such . . .

Wait, let's try that again.

Concrete pools are almost always lined with a mixture of marble dust and white cement. Marble dust is pure calcium carbonate, AKA, limestone. Water dissolves limestone, if it has a chance.

Naturally, if you've spent thousands of dollars adding limestone to the sides of your pool you'd like to see it stay there, so you add calcium to the water, so it won't grab the expensive calcium you've got on the pool walls. But, if you don't have any limestone or marble dust on your pool wall, you don't need to protect it!

'Nuff said!

Guess what? This information applies to fiberglass pools just as much as it does to vinyl liner pools. (But not to fiberglass coated pools!) One thing to remember, though: low calcium doesn't hurt pool liners, but low pH does. To be safe, make sure you keep the pH in your vinyl pool above 7.2!

For you engineers, there is some evidence calcium protects metal equipment made of steel or iron. But, there is little evidence that this is so for copper or brass components found in pools built in the last 15 years. Of course, you don't want to operate at an acid pH, either.



Swimming Pool Secret #4:

Be your Own Dealer — Test your Swimming Pool Yourself!

Often, dealer pool water testing isn't as accurate as the testing you can do yourself!

(It's worse than I had thought: see the note below.)

The reason?

Chlorine, chloramines, pH, and alkalinity levels in your swimming pool water can change significantly between pool and store. Plus, the complex test apparatus some dealers have is more subject to operator errors than a simple home pool kit -- especially when that operator is an briefly trained college student home for the summer. Swimming pool test strips, which have begun to be widely used, are too imprecise for the job, even when used correctly.

Test it yourself and save all those trips to your pool dealer! And, avoid all those "Oh, this might (but usually won't) help" chemical purchases.

Decent chlorine and pH test kits are less than $10. And for around $65 or so, you can perform ALL the swimming pool water tests that you might ever need! (testkit info)

By the way, don't be too impressed with the 'water analysis' computers many dealers have. The computer does NOT test your water. The college student, or whoever, does all the testing, and simply types the results into the computer. Worse, in many cases, the computer program is mismatched with the testing method, and will virtually always recommend chemical addition, even when your swimming pool is fine!

It's worth keeping in mind that swimming pool water analysis programs were developed for the marketing departments of swimming pool chemical companies! (And you wondered why you always get a printout recommending that you add more pool chemicals!)



Swimming Pool Secret #5

Save Time, Trouble AND Money: Buy Generic Swimming Pool Chemicals!

Shh-h! Don't tell anyone: HTH SockIt is . . . . just HTH! Both are granular calcium hypochlorite. What's the difference? About $2.00 per pound!

Alkalinity increaser is . . . baking soda, available at your grocery store for $0.40 per pound.

60% (or 30% or 10%) polyquat algicide is all made by Buckman Laboratories in Memphis -- no matter what the brand on the bottle. The ONLY difference is the water used to dilute the algicide! (If you want to make sure you are getting the right stuff look for this chemical name: poly[oxyethylene(dimethyliminio)ethylene-(dimethyliminio)ethylene dichloride]. Actually, in the USA, if it's an algicide, and the active ingredient starts with "poly", you've got the right stuff.

Borax is available at your pool store for $2 or more per pound in a plastic pail with a fancy label and a patent number. Or, you can get in in a green cardboard box at the grocery store -- 20 Mule Team brand -- for $0.40 per pound. Either way, you are getting sodium tetraborate, mined and refined by US Borax.

Tri-chlor pucks, sticks, and tablets are almost the same, no matter whose brand you buy: some have 89% available chlorine; the rest are 90%! Some new tri-chlors have fancy names, less chlorine and more borax -- and much higher prices. You can get the same result (higher and more stable pH levels) buying your borax at the grocery store and using regular tri-chlor!

And you know what?

Some of those expensive, artistically labeled 'high end' pool chemicals are not only the same chemicals as the KMart, WalMart or Sam's brands: they are made by the same company, in some of the same plants, from the same raw material, using the same packaging equipment, and the same containers.

But, the labels are different! Surely a different and prettier label is worth an extra buck or two, per pound!

All dry forms of "pH Minus", or "pH Down" or "dry acid" or whatever are sodium bisulfate -- no matter who made the pail!

And, so on. What's the point? If you learn the chemical names for the swimming pool chemicals you use, you can save time, money and trouble. We've seen pump rooms where pool owners had carefully stored sodium dichloroisocyanurate in four containers: one for their spa, one as a 'quick dissolve chlorine shock', another labeled as an algicide, and yet another labeled as a stabilized chlorine. The price per pound varied by $3.00, even though the stuff was all the same!

There is a difference, though.

You'll never find a knowledgeable pool pro at KMart. You might find one in a pool dealer's store. Or, you might not.

But, if you do find someone who knows pools, and is not trying to load the Monsanto's entire 1998 chemical output into your trunk . . . well, then it's worth the extra bucks. Just keep in mind, what's worth money is not what's in the bucket, but what's in the dealer's head . . . and heart.

Skeptical?



You should be. There's enough propaganda in the pool industry to warm the hearts of old East Bloc apparatchiks.



But here are the facts:



Laporte's pool chemical brands include the GLB, Leisure Time, Applied Biochemists, Blue Devil, and Robarb brands



Aqua Clear's brands include SUN®, Prochlor®, Swimfree®, Spa ClearTM, CPC®, ScentsationsTM, and Aqua Clear®.



BioLab, Inc has the Bioguard high end dealer only program brand, including Optimizer and Softswim; the OMNI, Hydrotech, Guardex, Synergy, Snap, and Clear Comfort mid-range swimming pool wholesaler brands; the AQUACHEM and Pool Time mass market discount brands, sold by chains like KMart, Sam's, Home Depot, and the Vantage commercial ozone/bromine brand.



Swimming Pool Secret #6

Timing is Everything -- If You Want an Easy Swimming Pool!

Adding chlorine to your swimming pool in the evening, instead of the morning can reduce cut your chemical costs in half.

Why? At night, chlorine is used up doing useful work in your pool, like oxidizing all that sweat and sun-tan lotion from your pool party. During the day, it mostly is wasted -- lost to UV in the sunlight.

Depending on stabilizer levels, and sunshine, you can lose half of the chlorine in the pool in as little as 30 minutes! Even when your swimming pool is stabilized, you can lose half the sanitizer in your pool in 4 hours. But, at night, all of the chlorine used up, was used up doing something useful to your pool water!

How Monsanto Cyanuric Acid Stabilizes Chlorine in Swimming Pools . . . And Helps Reduce Disinfection Costs, pgs. 7 - 9, Monsanto Technical Bulletin I-291, n.d.



Swimming Pool Secret #7



Tip #7: What's the Truth About Pool Chemical Hazards?

Any responsible parent with small children is concerned about household chemicals in the home. Adding a pool to a home means adding 4 to 10 additional chemicals to the household inventory.

A home pool inevitably results in storing large quantities of the chemical dihydrogen oxide where household members may be exposed to it. Acute overexposure to dihydrogen oxide probably results in more fatalities each year than overexposure to any other single chemical! Of course, dihydrogen oxide is more commonly known as water, and acute overexposure to water is usually called drowning.

My point?

The language of chemical hazards -- mandated by government regulation, and sue-their-pants-off lawyers -- more often confuses than it helps.

Does this mean that pool chemicals are not dangerous? Absolutely not! But often, the hazards which cause the most worry represent the smallest real dangers!

Several simple rules will go far toward protecting your family -- and you!

 Minimize the different types of chemicals you store. Our tips about buying 'generically' will help avoid duplication.

 And, don't buy more than you will consume in a season. Some of the more hazardous pool chemicals don't 'keep' well.

 Keep wet hands and dirty scoops out of your chemicals. Contamination is often a cause of problems.

 Don't store pool chemicals where other materials can fall into them. (Don't put HTH under your old paint shelf!)

 Never, NEVER, NEVER, mix chemicals. When adding chemicals to your pool allow one to disappear before adding another.

 Use gloves and glasses. Kitchen gloves and sunglasses are fine.

 And, of course, make sure they are inaccessible to small children. The new plastic locking lawn sheds, made by Rubbermaid and others, would appear to be a GREAT solution.



Swimming Pool Secret #8:

All Those Algaecides: Which is Best?



If you go into any pool store you'll find half a dozen or more different algaecides -- one for every problem, right?

Wrong!

In my opinion, there are only four GOOD pool algaecides: chlorine and some chlorine compounds, bromine and some bromine compounds 'poly-quat', and copper.

So called 'linear quats' are the most widely sold algaecides, and can be effective, but disappear quickly and tend to foam. In chlorinated or brominated pools, they also consume your sanitizer.

Virtually every packaged algaecide on the market contains one of these products, or a mixture of them.

You can also buy products of questionable valuable containing zinc or silver. You can even buy 'miraculous' pool magnets. In our opinion, these latter products are more likely to cause mortal injury your wallet than your algae.

Oh! I should also mention: virtually all of the 'ionizers' simply add copper to the water. I have not seen any evidence that adding copper electrically is better than adding it chemically.

What's best? For quick kills of free floating, chlorine delivers -- unless you have mega-stabilizer levels, above 60 or 70 ppm.

In this case, the chlorine compound, monochloramine, produced by using an ammonia source will work very quickly. Using either Yellow-Out (tm Coral Seas) or Mustard Master (tm Biolab) according to the label will produce effective levels. Aqua-ammonia, or ammonium sulfate will also do the trick -- but don't try it unless you understand the stoichiometry of the reactions involved. Using ammonia and chlorine together is tricky, and can be really dangerous!

United Chemical and others sell products containing sodium bromide which result in a free (unstabilized) bromine residual. And while bromine is probably not as good an algicide as lightly stabilized chlorine, it is a much better algicide than heavily stabilized chlorine! I've gotten very mixed feedback on these products; some people tend to swear by them, but others swear at them.

Unfortunately, using either ammonia or bromide containing products produce some pool 'gotchas' that can linger after the algae's gone. In particular, repetitive use of products containing ammonia can cause problems. For this reason, we recommend using them only if needed, and not routinely.

Poly quat -- poly[oxyethylene(dimethyliminio)ethylene(dimethyliminio) ethylene dichloride] -- is sold under multiple names. But if it says 'poly . . . ', it's polyquat. Unlike other algicides, it's nearly side effect free, even at very high doses. However, many people do become frustrated with its major unwanted effect: regular use tends to result in 'wallet-ectomies' (it's expensive!). And it's really better at preventing algae, than killing it. If you typically develop mustard algae in August, using low doses of polyquat beginning in late July may prevent the problem.

Copper can be added to your pool in a variety of ways, ranging from 'ionizers' to algicides to so-called 'chlorine-free' pool sanitizers. No matter how you add it, levels effective at killing algae are also effective at staining pools and blond hair. We use it -- but only on pools with rough looking plaster and exclusively dark-haired swimmers.

What's left? Quatenary ammonias! They're cheap, foamy, and might kill some algae. These are typically sold as highly diluted 'economy' algicides in gallon jugs, in blends with copper, and in a more concentrated form, for use in pools treated with PHMB (Baquacil, Softswim or PolyClear), since other algaecides are not compatible with PHMB based sanitizers.

So . . . what should you do?

The easiest thing is simply to avoid algae in the first place.

Want some algae preventing tips? Here are three:

 Brush regularly (weekly?), especially walls and deep end, to prevent invisible algae colonies from getting their start.

 Test your pool's sanitizer levels regularly and never, NEVER let sanitizer levels (chlorine, Baquacil, whatever) get low.

 Make sure your filter is working properly, and that your pump runs at least 6 hours per day, preferably divided into two different intervals



Swimming Pool Secret #9

Chlorine Alternatives for Swimming Pools: Better for Whom?

Know what excites many swimming pool dealers most about chlorine 'alternatives', like Baquacil, SoftSwim, Chlor-Free, bromine, or ionizers?

Here's a clue.

Profit margins can be double or triple the margins on chlorine compounds.

Chlorine chemicals are commodities, with prices driven down by excess worldwide manufacturing capacity. Alternative chemical prices are driven by expensive advertising campaigns for which you are paying.

Might be something to keep in mind, the next time your dealer or builder tries to sell you a new ozone generator or ionizer or magic skimmer pill or an amphibian with long green legs!

Oh, and by the way -- the next time a dealer tries to scare you with the cancer risks from chlorine, you can point out that the EPA says your lifetime cancer risk from drinking chlorinated water is measurable . . . but the risk from eating peanut butter once a week is 8x higher!

Check it out yourself:

U.S. EPA Region 5: Publication Number 905/9-91/017 - October 1991; Environmental Risk: Your Guide to Analyzing And Reducing Risk





Swimming Pool Secret #10



Once a Bromine Pool . . . Always a Bromine Pool!

There are some neat pool products out there that can be really useful. Unfortunately, some of these products have "gotcha's" that your dealer often won't mention. [He may not know, himself!]

And, while a product's 'gotcha' may not get you, it's nice to know up front, or at least I think so.

Possibly one of the worst offenders in this regard is bromine. Many swimming pool owners tend to think of bromine as something they can try, and then abandon at will.

Not so! Here's why:

Br- + HOCl ==> HOBr + Cl-

Want that in English?

Here it is: chlorine converts 'used up' bromine (bromide) back to free bromine, and in the process, is converted itself to 'used up' chlorine.

As a result, as long as even 2 or 3 ppm of bromide ions remain in the water, you CAN'T have a chlorinated pool. And since bromine can't be stabilized, you also CAN'T have a stabilized pool.

So read the label before you pour: if it says anything about 'bromine' or 'sodium bromide', think twice. Do you really want a brominated pool? If you do, pour away!

But once you pour, if you change your mind there are two solutions.

You can drain it all.

Or, wait. Possibly for a long time. But just how long is uncertain.

Sunlight can convert sanitizing bromine compounds into permanently inactive bromates. Also, some chemists claim that a portion of the bromide oxidized by chlorine is converted to inactive bromates, instead of sanitizing bromine compounds. So on an outdoor pool, which gets lots of sun, and which is shocked with chlorine, a long time may only be a few weeks, instead of months.

Complicated Note:



Jock Hamilton, president of United Chemical sells a line of pool specialty chemicals that are based on sodium bromide. He claims that bromide in pool water breaks down rapidly, rather than slowly. Apparently, he's right . . . at least for outdoor pools exposed to sunlight.

Let me state it this way: in pools exposed to sunlight, bromine persistence is usually a long-term problem ONLY if the pool is brominated with any form of bromine tabs!

If bromine has NEVER been added to an outdoor pools in the form of tabs, shocking the pool (5+ppm of chlorine in a single dose), added on sunny days, will tend to remove the bromine/bromide. However, repeated doses may be needed.

On all indoor pools, and on all pools treated with bromine tabs, the only practical way to remove the bromine is to drain the pool.

The difference seems to be DMH ( dimethyl hydantoin ), a molecule used as a chemical 'coat-hook' for BioLab to hang the bromine and chlorine when creating the solid form of bromine, BCDMH (bromo-chloro-dimethyl hydantoin), sold in the USA. After the chlorine and bromine are gone, the DMH hangs around, affecting water chemistry in a variety of unpublicized and mostly undesirable ways. If DMH is present, it is VERY hard to get rid of the bromide without draining the pool.



Swimming Pool Tip #14

Don't Drink and Dive!

I'm not against drinking. And I'm not against diving. But drinking and diving is a really bad idea.

Diving safely depends on co-ordinated movements -- even more than driving does. And small amounts of alcohol can impair co-ordination enough so that even trained divers fail.

Like walking along a busy highway, or using a circular saw, diving is one of those activities in which death or mortal danger is literally inches away. Always or almost always . . . you and I perform those activities without injury. It's easy to forget that the activity itself is a 'close call'!

A classic swimming pool paraplegic victim is a young person, 16 to 29, often male, and often drinking, who fails at a dive they normally could perform. But even older males, encouraged by a party atmosphere and a couple of drinks, and caught up in a sudden burst of juvenile enthusiasm are also at risk.

So, dive if you can. And, drink if you wish. But don't allow drinking and diving your pool!



Swimming Pool Tip #25

What about that Health Club or Motel Spa?

Soaking in the hotel spa after an exhausting trip sounds wonderful, right? Relaxing in the health club's hot tub after a hard workout doesn't sound bad, either.

Great idea? Well . . . maybe not.

Ask your spa dealer.

We've been asking that question of dealers, manufacturers and service people attending swimming pool and spa industry shows for 8 years. So far, we've never found anyone in the pool industry personally willing to use a commercial spa! Not one single person! Health inspectors, doctors, dealers, service people -- nobody who knows wants to get into a commercial spa!

What's going on?

When you use a spa, your body releases sweat, body oils, skin cells, and other contaminants into the water. In a well maintained pool, these are 'oxidized' by the chlorine.

Unfortunately, a properly maintained commercial 400 gallon spa with 4 ppm chlorine level contains only 1/4 of an ounce of chlorine. This is barely sufficient to deal with the contaminants from even one bather, much less 4 or 5. By comparison, a typical community pool, with the same level of chlorine will contain over 7 pounds of chlorine distributed throughout the pool.

What does this mean? Simply put, a commercial spa does not have enough oxidizing chemicals present to stay ahead of the 'gunk' from multiple users. So not only does the gunk remain to produce that cloudy foamy water so familiar to intrepid spa users, it feeds cuties like Psuedomonas areuginosa and Legionella pneumophila. Trust me: you don't want to get to know these slimies better.

To be fair, it is possible for a facility to maintain a commercial spa. But it is so labor intensive we've never even heard of a facility doing it! Skeptical? Check how hard your local hospital works to maintain its therapy spas.

So, next time take a long hot shower instead, and wait till you get home to use the spa!



Swimming Pool Tip #38

Swimming Pool Chemistry and the "Gotcha's"

You remember: the stuff the salesman left out but that you learned later.

All of life has gotchas. Unfortunately, gotchas are a part of life, and swimming pools aren't exempt. But, the best time to learn about "gotcha's" is before they get you. So, we've made a list for swimming pool owners.

All the normal maxims apply here:

 Look before you leap.

 Read the label.

 Follow instructions.

 If a little is good, a lot may not be better. [Hint: this one is real important for pools]

Don't misunderstand: we use many of the products and methods below. But, we watch out for the gotchas when we do.

Here are a few pool gotchas:

 Softswim and Bacquacil don't work well with filters: the active chemical, PHMB, gums up filters. This can be fatal (to your filter) with DE or cartridge filters, and often requires annual sand replacement on sand filters.

 DPD testing for chlorine (the white pills that turn pink if chlorine is present) has real limits: at chlorine levels above 15 ppm, it will bleach out and remain clear. Every year, hundreds of pools and especially, spas, end up with chlorine levels of 30, 40, even 100 ppm -- enough to leave with you with an itch that want quit.

 Overdosing with SuperBlue or similar clarifiers can result in haze that will not filter out for days.

 High stabilizer levels can make it difficult or impossible to control algae. "High" seems to be anything above 60 or 70 ppm.

 The so-called oxygen shocks, based on DuPont's Oxone (potassium monopersulfate) apparently change chloramines to nitrates -- algae fertilizer -- instead of nitrogen gas. Worse, some of the other oxy-shocks (ones not using monopersulfate) can actually REMOVE the chlorine from your pool. And, one widely sold type (also, not monopersulfate) has been associated with severe skin irritations among swimmers.

 Adding calcium increaser (calcium chloride) and alkalinity increaser (sodium bicarbonate) is a recipe for a BIG mess: an extremely milky looking pool, that is slow to clean up.

 UV based ozone systems, which inject large amounts of air with small amounts of ozone, can result in plaster damage.

 ALL forms of acids react DANGEROUSLY with all forms of chlorine or bromine. Never, never, NEVER mix swimming pool chemicals of any type!



Swimming Pool Tip #40

Swimming Pool Chemistry and the "Gotcha's", continued

(missed the first page?)

You remember: the stuff the salesman left out but that you learned later. All of life has gotchas. Unfortunately, gotchas are a part of life, and swimming pools aren't exempt.

Here are a few more pool more gotchas:

 Once you use bromine tabs to brominate a pool, you have a brominated pool, usually till you drain it. Adding chlorine subsequently will only convert left over spent bromide, which remains in the pool water, back into bromine, maintaining all the advantages and disadvantages of bromine.

 If you have enough copper in your swimming pool to kill algae, you have enough to stain blonde hair and white plaster pools.

 A small overdose of the most popular stain and scale control chemical ingredient, HEDP, will precipitate unfilterable colloidal calcium phosphonate. In English, your pool will look like milk till you drain it.

 Using either Yellow-Out or Mustard Master will temporarily eliminate ALL free chlorine, replacing it with a chloramine, monochloramine. OTO will show a high chlorine level, DPD will show none at all.

 High stabilizer levels can make it difficult or impossible to control algae.

 Acid washing works by removing the top layer of your pool's surface. Sometimes this is necessary, but think twice. Your pool surface will always be rougher after, than it was before.

 Serious pH problems in pools are usually the result of having used too much pH UP or pH DOWN.

 Chlorine compounds that look or smell alike may not be the same: you have to know the actual chemical. Allowing even small amounts of different chlorine sanitizers to touch each other can be REALLY dangerous. In particular, trichlor and calcium hypochlorite can react dangerously on contact with each other. [Once they're dissolved in the pool, though, they get along fine.]

Swimming Pool Tip #44

Got the "Can't Find that Chlorine" Blues?

Every year thousand's (millions?) of pool owners misplace the chlorine in their swimming pool.

They add chlorine, test, find none, add more, test . . .

Eventually, many of them sing the blues, to me, to their dealer, or to one of the 800# manufacturer hotlines.

What's happening? Well, like so many other pool problems, a single problem can have multiple causes.

Possibilities include:

 Using a DPD chlorine test when the chlorine is more than 15 ppm.

 Having sunny weather and no stabilizer.

 Having used repetitive doses of Yellow Treat, Yello Free, Yellow Out, Mustard Master, or any of the other chlorine enhancers containing containing sodium bromide or ammonia based compounds.

 Using liquid chlorine (bleach) left over from last year.

 Having filled a chlorine chemical bucket with something else last year, such as DE! (DE is a really poor chlorinator)!

There are other possibilities, but these are some of the ones I've encountered more frequently. Let's go through them one at a time:

DPD and HIGH CHLORINE

DPD (the chlorine test that turns pink) is readily bleached out when pool chlorine levels exceed 15 ppm -- something that happens far more often than most people think. The solution? Get a cheap OTO (turns yellow) test kit, too. OTO is not bleached out by even extreme chlorine levels, so it makes a great backup. In fact, we recommend OTO for daily testing, and DPD only when you need to test for chloramines, or need a more accurate reading.



MISSING STABILIZER

Each spring, many homeowners make a reasonable assumption: there was plenty of stabilizer in their pool last year, so there is plenty now. What they don't know -- most dealers don't know -- is that stabilizer biodegrades, sometimes VERY quickly. If there is any slime, algae or other 'life' in your pool in the spring, the odds are that there is NO stabilizer! And a completely unstabilized pool can lose up to ONE HALF of all chlorine present in as little as 30 minutes of full sun! So, if you were to add 10 ppm of chlorine at 11am, by 2pm, you could have as little as 0.2 ppm -- 0.0 on many kits!



CHLORINE ENHANCERS

"Use supplements carefully, and only when absolutely needed" may not be the first commandment of swimming pool chemistry . . . but it's close! And the next, ought to be, "If a little is good, a lot is NOT better!" The so-called chlorine boosters: Mustard Master, the 'Yellow's' (Yellow Out, Yellow Treat, Yello Free) and some other chemicals containing ammonia or sodium bromide are also frequent villians in the tale of the missing chlorine! These chemicals have, on occasion, real value. But repeated or excessive doses can also cause real problems. A discussion of when and when not, and of why and why not is too long and complicated for this page. If this warning is reaching you too late, and you've already nuked your pool with one of these, and had your chlorine go AWOL, email me.



OLD BLEACH

This one is simple. Bleach loses its strength quickly, especially concentrated pool bleach. How fast depends on initial concentration, contamination, and temperature, but . . . if it's last years, it's gone. Go ahead and pour it into the pool, but don't expect to see much chlorine from it!



MIXED UP CHEMICALS

I know those chlorine containers are great buckets, but I have only one thing to say here: MAKE A LABEL, BEFORE YOU REUSE THE BUCKET!



DIDN'T USE ENOUGH

It's easy to underestimate how much chlorine a pool party with 12 sweaty teenage boys . . . or four somewhat leaky toddlers . . . can consume. And, it's easy for the days to slip by: was it yesterday I chlorinated, or maybe three days ago?

And it's extremely easy to underestimate how much chlorine green algae can eat. Trust me: it tends to be more than even I'd think!

So, if you just put some in last night, and this morning it's 0.3, there's only one thing to do: PUT MORE IN! What you put in did its job, but it died doing it. So send in the replacement troops!



Swimming Pool #45

Swimming Pool Test Tips: OTO & DPD ABC's!

If you have a chlorinated or brominated swimming pool, you already know testing for chlorine or bromine regularly is the single most important element of proper pool care.

Although there are other test methods, you should use either an OTO (orthotolidine) or a DPD (diethyl p-phenylenediamine) based chlorine based colormetric test kit. OTO turns yellow in the presence of chlorine or most other oxidizers. DPD turns pink or red in the presence of bromine, or free chlorine.

DPD is better for measuring so-called free chlorine, which includes most of the chlorine or bromine compounds you would want in your pool.However, many pools occasionally reach high enough chlorine levels to bleach DPD to a colorless solution -- identical to what you would see with zero chlorine levels. And, DPD is much more expensive to use than OTO.

OTO will react with many oxidizers, some of which you are may have in your pool. In particular, OTO will react with combined chlorine. On the other hand, if you don't have these in your pool, OTO is easier and cheaper than DPD. And unlike DPD, high levels won't bleach out OTO.

When you collect your water sample, usually the easiest way is to hold the kit upside down, submerge it at least 8" under the surface, and then turn it right side up, allowing it to fill. If you collect your sample from the surface, you will not get reliable readings. Also, you generally should collect near or in front of a skimmer. Otherwise, you might end up to near the inlet carrying water back to your pool, water which may be untypically high or low in chlorine.

One more thing. Our experience with lifeguards suggests that about 1 in 10 guys cannot read the colormetric kits accurately. Although this can result from color blindness, our experience suggests that a lack of color 'awareness' may be more the issue. To put it another, impolite, way: it's not so much that lots of guys are "color blind", though a few are, as that lots of guys are "color dumb"!

You can eliminate this problem by having several people take readings from the same test kit: if one person gets a distinctly different result checking the sample, they may need to let someone else do the testing.

Why use only OTO or DPD, and not any of the other methods? That's another tip!



Swimming Pool Secret #70

What's the REAL Danger from Chlorine in my Swimming Pool?

Pick up a newspaper, watch CNN, read a women's magazine: every where you turn, there are reports of studies about the danger of chlorine in our water. People are concerned . . . and maybe they should be!

The dangers of chlorine gas are real. So are risks of fire or even explosions from common chlorine based swimming pool chemicals. And the risk of cancer from ingesting trihalomethanes (THM's) and other disinfection by-products (DPB's) is real, if small. The problems with asthma my own son has when competing in certain indoor swimming pools is one I'm personally affected by. These are complex issues, and ones I'm continually investigating, out of both professional and personal interest.

A serious assessement of these risks, and in particular, the US EPA's analysis of these risks caused Peruvian health officials to take action, while US authorities hesitated. They discontinued use of chlorine to treat wells and other small water systems, thus eliminating the risk from THM's and DPB's.

The result?

According to the EPA's current analysis of cancer risks from drinking chlorinated water, among Peru's 18,000,000, 180 cases of cancer each year have been avoided. (1)

Not too shabby!

But why hasn't the US followed Peru's lead? Especially, since it was US data that persuaded Peruvian officials to act in the first place? (2)

Unfortunately, as a result of US emphasis on the risk of cancers, Peruvian health officials forgot why they began chlorinating in the first place. And as a result of lapse of memory, more than 600,000 Peruvians have suffered brutal cholera infections . . . and over 4,000 have died.(3)

The dangers from chlorination are real, but really small. The dangers from not chlorinating are also real, but not so small.

(1) EPA Guide to Environmental Risk

(2) Cholera Epidemic in U.S. Courtesy of EPA Science

(3) Risks Misjudged in Cholera Epidemic

(4) PAHO News Release on Cholera

Note: these links go up and down for reasons I don't understand. However, I've archived the pages and will email you a copy if you can't connect to these servers.



Swimming Pool Tip #72

Swimming Pool TEKTAT's

You've heard the story of the emperor's clothes? You know, the fairy tale streaker?

That's the archetypal TEKTAT. Everybody knew the emperor wore clothes, at least in public. And so, in spite of all the evidence, they convinced themselves that all that wobbling flesh they saw was merely proof they needed new glasses.

Oh . . . TEKTAT? Things Everybody Knows That Aren't True.

The swimming pool business is full of TEKTAT's.

Some of these things ARE true, some of the time, but none of them are true as much of the time as the swimming pool industry claims. For example, sand in swimming pool filters DOES sometimes need to be replaced -- but not simply because it's been in the filter for a long time. If it's gummed up, with Baquacil or Softswim, replace it! If it's solidified with calcium, replace it! But if the wrong size of sand was used, replace it! But if it's just old, and has nothing visible wrong with it, leave it alone!

Anyhow, on to the TEKTAT's

 Bigger pumps are better. (the real story)

 Sand in sand filters 'wears out'.

 You can maintain alkalinity in a heated, aerated spa AND maintain pH levels below 7.8.

 Bromamines (combined bromine) aren't a problem.

 The ideal water temperature is 78 (or 80, or 82).

 The ideal chlorine level is 0.5 (or 1.0, or 1.5).

 Chlorine levels above 5 ppm are really irritating, or even dangerous.

 Chloramine levels above 0.5 will always cause problems for swimmers.

 Shocking (or breakpoint chlorination) reliably eliminates chloramines.

 Use bleach to chlorinate, and you'll need lots of acid.

 High pH (over 7.6) causes eye irritation.

The last two really bug me. Why?

Probably the greatest chemical destruction I see at the large commercial pools results from the fumes of muriatic acid used to control pH. I've literally seen over $100,000 of damage at just one pool. Much of this comes from attempting to follow the dictates of the pool industry TEKTAT: "if you use bleach, you must use lots of acid."

BS! (Barnyard Slush)

Just to keep it short, I'll invite anyone who wants to, come watch me manage a 300,000 gallon pool this summer with less than 5 gallons of acid . . . while using hundreds of gallons of bleach!

But the high pH/eye irritation TEKTAT comes directly from people who should know better. For example, in the National Spa and Pool Institute's VERY expensive manual, Basic Pool and Spa Technology, by Diane S. Rennell, Ph. D. (c)1989, on page 244 we learn that pH levels above 7.6, cause "eye discomfort". You can find the same stuff on page 38 of the NSPF's Certified Pool Operator manual, and in many other places. A typical web page that reproduces this TEKTAT can be found at Pool Water Balance.

But is it true?

The grandfather of swimming pool eye irritation studies, a study of Yale University swimmers by Dr. Eric Mood, published in 1951 actually shows that eye irritation is lower at pH 8 than at pH 7. Later studies show that chlorine, chloramines, salinity all play a role in determining eye irritation.

My experience? The antique CDC Swimming Pool manual (HHS pub 83-8319 - 1976), page 66, seems about right when it identifies pH 8.0 as the least irritating level!





Swimming Pool Tip #83

The BIGGER Pool Pump Scam!

Men are sometimes really into how big their car's engine is. Or, their boat. Or, their biceps. Or, their whatever. Even some women reportedly have been caught up in the 'bigger is better' excitement.

But, as has been often observed, it's not size that counts, but how you get the job done.

This is especially true with swimming pool pumps. Flow genuinely affects how well your pool operates. But the only thing pump horsepower always affects is how large your electric bill is! What really counts is not how BIG the pump is, but how well matched it is to the rest of the pool.

A typically (not optimally) designed 18,000 gallon pool with 1.5" pipes and a 3/4 HP pump will filter about 18,000 gallons every 8 hours -- and cost about $40 per month to operate.

The SAME exact swimming pool, with a 1.5 HP oversized pool pump, sold and installed by an gung-ho dealer or salesman, will filter about 24,000 gallons in 8 hours -- and cost about $80 per month. Doubling the HP, in this case, only increases filtration by 50%. But doubling the HP does double your electric bill. Ironically, it will also worsen filtration, since the filter will be 'overdriven'! In fact, many problems with sand filters (and the sand in them) result from matching small sand filters with big pool pumps.

So the next time a pool salesman tells you he'll put a BIGGER pump on if you sign now, ignore him, and ask how many gallons per minute flow he guarantees the pool to deliver -- and whether the filter is rated for that flow.



Swimming Pool Tip #85

How to Get your Swimming Pool Refinished . . . Successfully!

You've heard the horror stories about friends or neighbors having their swimming pool's interior refinished? No?

Well, I have, more times then I care to remember.

I'm constantly asked, "what's the BEST swimming pool surface?" Should I get plaster? Marcite? fiberglass? Or Diamond Brite or Pebbletec or epoxy or DuraBond or ArmorCoat or ColorQuartz or FibreTech or . . . ?

The answer -- or at least part of it -- is amazingly simple.

The BEST pool surface is the one that is well applied to your swimming pool, by a competent and dedicated swimming pool contractor!

The quality of the contractor and his work is far more important than the surface you select: a poor pool contractor can ruin the best material; a great contractor can salvage all but the worst materials.

The reason is simple.

Swimming pool refinishing depends on one factor more than any other: prep work, prep work, and more prep work. Most prep work is mind numbing and labor intensive; usually there are no good shortcuts. You either do it the right way, or you don't.

Because failure to prep properly doesn't show up until the contractor is paid up and long gone, it's a terrible temptation for swimming pool contractors. This temptation is made worse by price shopping. Good pool contractors have to walk away from work constantly, because they know their prices will be higher than that of shoddy competitors who will skimp on the prep.

So, if your pool needs resurfacing, invite several contractors to recommend ways to repair your pool. Tell them you aren't price shopping, but that you are comparing options from multiple contractors, and that price matters.

Tell them what your top budget amount is. If you can't afford to spend more than $2000, they need to know that. In most parts of the country, you can't obtain a good quality plaster job on your pool for that -- and a good patch and paint job is much better than a poor plaster job. With a realistic beginning neither of you will waste time exploring options that you can't pursue.

Ask them to explain what makes their work better than average. And . . . ask them for references on jobs they completed more than 2 years ago. Even poor pool patch jobs look good for a year or two!

And, if no one suggests that wonderful finish you saw on your cousin's pool, 900 miles away, DON'T YOU SUGGEST IT EITHER! The LAST thing you want, is a contractor trying a new technique, for the very first time, on YOUR swimming pool. Let him learn how on someone else's pool! Folks, I've been lucky: I've tried lots of new techniques out on my customer's pools, and most of them have worked. But that's NOT typical.

Finally: here are my thoughts about the surfaces themselves.

I don't know anything -- good or bad -- about the pebble or exposed aggregate finishes.

Epoxy paint, coupled with epoxy patching materials, can fix up a badly damaged finish, if it is done well. The prep requirements are demanding, and will absolutely come back to bite you if you ignore them. However, I have found that properly applied Zeron paint with Gunzite primer (tm Kelley Technical) consistently will give 4 - 6 years of service between coats. Customers who have used other paints (on their own -- I have been unwilling to sell other materials) have not been pleased with the results. The water base epoxies (from any company) are much less effective than the solvent based materials.

Rubber paint, I absolutely despise, no matter who makes it. I've had to service too many swimming pools with blistered encrusted accumulations of rubber base pool paint. It's possible that it can be done well, but apparently at best it lasts two years before a recoat becomes mandatory. Of course, there may be contractor in your area who can do better: but let him show you a couple of 3 year old paint jobs.

The limited experience I've had with acrylic painted pools has been even worse then with rubber base.

Replastering, with a full new coat, can restore your swimming pool to a like-new condition, but only if the old surface is properly prepared. Doing so is a LOT of work! In many cases, this means removing virtually all of the old material. Replastering is skilled work, both in the judgement required, and the skill to effectively apply a good finish. There is a shortage of skilled plasterer's in many parts of the country, but if you want plaster, you must have a good contractor. Check out your contractor's references. Again, look at work that is at least 2 or 3 years old.

My experience with fiberglass is limited, but not good. Delamination is a problem. Many companies are now providing excessively long, but highly restricted warranties. Be wary of out-of-town contractors. Getting them to come back has been a problem for many. Don't be impressed by warranties beyond 5 years: a 25 year warranty from 100 year old company might mean something. A 25 year warranty from a 10 year old company? I don't think so! Again, check local work. (Note: complete, manufactured, fiberglass pools have a MUCH better track record than do fiberglass refinishing techniques.)

Replacing liners or repairing collapsed walls on vinyl pools is another topic for another page.

Good luck and good swimming!



Swimming Pool Tip #86

Build a Better Swimming Pool . . . for Less Money!

 Build your swimming pool at the right time

 Plan to start construction on your pool at the end of the pool season, when your builder is looking for off season work. Swimming pools cost less, and are better built when your builder is not buried alive in work.



I know, you want it this summer, and your kids are screaming for it now!. But, all of your builder's customers are screaming at him in the spring, and your voice gets submerged. Getting a pool built right before the swim season costs more, results in lower quality, and you still may not get your pool till August.

 But, don't let your builder shoot gunite, or pour your deck when if temperature is likely to remain below 25 degrees F. for 24 hours, during the next 30 days.



[In some areas of the country, this is difficult or even nearly impossible. Nevertheless, it remains true, concrete that freezes during the 30 days after it's poured or gunned, will NEVER be as strong and durable as concrete that does not freeze.]



In my area, this means that the optimum time to start a pool is Sept. 1, and it should be finished by Dec. 10. If necessary, the deck pour can be postponed till March 15.

 Buy bigger pipes, not a bigger pump.



Getting a 1 1/2 horsepower pump sounds better than getting a 3/4 horsepower pump. But often, it's worse! In most areas of the country, the larger pump will cost you around $40 per month more to operate. For a five month swim season, this amounts to $200!



Properly selected, a smaller pump with larger pipes can circulate just a much water, as a larger pump with smaller pipes.



There are several easy rules to follow:

 Always use 2" or larger pipe, with no reductions.



On a 16 x 32 pool, with 2 skimmers, a main drain, three inlets, and a pump pad within 25' of the pool, using 'home run' piping, the additional material cost should not exceed $200. If 'home-run' piping is not used, the cost should be less.



If you get the large piping, get a "Medium head" or "Low head" pump. These are available from Hayward, PacFab, StaRite, Purex, and other manufacturers, and do NOT cost more. You'll have to trust me on the reasons for this one: the explanation gets into too much hydraulic analysis to discuss here.

 Get a 2 speed pump.



If you get a 1 or 1 1/2 HP 2 speed pump, you can have the best of both worlds. Run at high speed when the leaves or pollen is falling, or when your having a pool party, and low speed the rest of the time. The savings can be enormous. A 1 1/2 HP pump run continuously for five months would cost around $400 to operate. An optimally used 1 1/2 HP pump (20% at high) run continuously for the same period would cost only $120, saving $280 each year! Ideally, install the pump with a time clock that automatically switches the pump from high to low.



(Please note: there are NO typos here: a two speed pump, running on LOW, uses only 13% of the electricity, but circulates 40 to 50% of the water that the same pump does on high.)



Why aren't these commonly installed? So far as I can tell, many builders and electricians don't know how to wire what's called a single pole double throw (SPDT) switch. (It's actually very easy.)

 Don't buy gadgets

 The list is long, but items to avoid include electronic controls (for home pools - they have a place on commercial pools), 'ionizers', 'magnets', 'ozonators', floating pool covers, and in-floor vacuum systems. Some of these things plain don't work, others are 'cranky', and others turn out to be too much work for you.



Of course, some of you love gadgets (I do!), and you may still want them. But we are talking pools, here! There are exceptions. Most of the 'solar blankets' or floating pool covers we've seen, end up wadded in a corner of the homeowner's garage or shed. But I know of a few folk, who swim laps year round, keep their pool heated, and live and die by their covers. So, if a gadget does something you really want or need, by all means get it.



For most people, the biggie on this list is: Don't buy a pool heater. Consider this: north of Florida or Southern California, operating a natural gas pool heater in November can easily cost more than $400 per month. There are a zillion pool heaters used one fall for two months -- until the first bill came -- and then never used again.



Exceptions? If you are an avid swimmer, ie. a lap swimmer or water aerobics practitioner, or if you are getting a bit older, and like warmer water, you may be willing to pay $100 - 200 per month to extend your pool season for 1 to 1 1/2 months before and after you otherwise could use the pool.

 Build the right swimming pool the first time.

 Consider how you will use the pool. (See our list reasons to have a pool, and to not have one!) Consider how you will take care of it -- are you a neatnik or a messy? Then get the pool you will use and enjoy.



Unfortunately, many pool salesmen aren't much help with this. They're salesmen, not swimmers. Often, they don't even like pools, themselves, and will simply try to sell you whatever they usually sell.



If possible, make a pest of yourself at a friend's or relative's pool, to see what you really enjoy about a pool.

 Do you have children under 6 or children who can't swim? A secure fence with a self closing and locking gate is essential!

 Are you a genuine lap swimmer? You'll want the longest pool you can get (75' is great!).

 Do you expect to have lots of pool parties for adults? Extra deck and is a must, and a shaded area is often important.

 Do you have a gorgeous wife or hunky husband, who you'd enjoying seeing sunbathing in a small (absent?) swimsuit. But . . . you've really have never cared for swimming itself? You may want a small pool with extra deck and no deep end, and a privacy fence.

 Do you hate yard work? Then you probably won't enjoy cleaning your pool. (Some people do!). You want a location as far as possible from overhanging trees, and may want extra circulation and skimmers.

Good luck and good swimming!









Operating Swimming Pools at High pH -- How, and Why?




This is only the preliminary version of this page, and subject to revision and correction. Also, not all the links work yet. I'm posting it in this form simply because I've promised to do so for a long time.

Also, if you read this page, and go away thinking that high pH is good, read it again. It's not that simple. Let me repeat: IT'S NOT THAT SIMPLE!! The ideas here are really not for pool beginners.

This page attempts to correct the simplistic pool industry idea that high pH is always BAD, but I don't want to replace that oversimplification with another one.

High pH is NOT always BAD! But, high pH is NOT always GOOD, either!





Introduction to high pH

The recommendation that swimming pools should be operated at pH levels between 7.2 and 7.6 is almost universal. This recommendation is enshrined in generations of pool books and literature. It's embedded in many state swimming pool codes.

Unfortunately, for most swimming pools, it's also far from ideal. While it's quite possible to do a good job with your swimming pool in the standard pH range, it's often harder and more expensive. But, operating at high pH can be tricky or even impossible, if you live in an area such as southern Arizona, where your pool fill water is very high in alkalinity and calcium.

Still, you should know that the recommendations made here are so far from mainstream swimming pool wisdom that they are not even controversial. Instead, most dealers and pool experts would consider them 'totally off the wall'.

Nevertheless, the chemical evidence is clear. I will not make any effort to reproduce it here. Eventually I'll post an article with extensive footnotes, explaining the rationale for high pH pool operation in some detail. But for now, you'll have to take it on faith or pass it by.

So . . . if

• you are a skeptical (like I usually am), or if

• you are uncomfortable with the unconventional, or if

• you simply are unsure . . .

. . . please just go on back to our sitemap and pick another page!

Simple Chemistry: Complicated Explanations

What this page can't show is how simple the practice of high pH chemistry is. It's extremely easy to use the methods discussed here! In most cases, the instructions for just your pool alone would fit on one side of a 3 x 5 card!

But, every pool is slightly different. And since this paper attempts to address the application of of these methods to most pools, the discussion here has become long and complicated. Further, some of the chemistry itself is both complicated and uncertain. In some cases, I know what usually works, but not why or how.

In other words: following a high pH recipe for your pool is really easy, but knowing how to design that recipe can be really hard.

And now, the not very fine print:

The information on this page is applicable ONLY to pools operating with chlorine or bromine as their sanitizer. You should NOT attempt to use these methods with ANY mineral or copper based alternative sanitizer system, such as

• Pristine Blue or other copper liquids

• Caribbean Clear, Carefree Clearwater, or other ionizer systems

• Nature2

• skimmer mineral pills of any type

• zinc based systems

• or any other system which adds 'minerals' or copper to the water, or which is advertised as "chlorine free", or "chemical free".

And if you use copper algicides, you must use only the recommended dose, and must NOT repeat applications unless the copper level in your water is less than 0.2 ppm. I don't know what would happen with Bacquacil, SoftSwim or the like.

The pH levels recommended here can precipitate copper or silver, which is generally NOT what you want to do. [We do it on purpose sometimes, but that discussion is REALLY complicated!]

If this is making you nervous, please bail out now, and return.

Background

I didn't discover high pH pool operation, and I don't know who did. But I know of a few others who've been recommending or using high pool pH long before I began servicing swimming pools 10 years ago.

PoolClor, a large Western pool service company (30,000+ customer pools), has been operating their customer's pools at high pH (7.8 - 8.2), using borax as a pH buffer since at least the early '60's. In fact, they had what was probably the first California EPA registration for pool use of borax -- long before John Girvan was able to patent algicidal applications of borax to swimming pools.

Jock Hamilton, president of United Chemical, has been recommending high pool pH levels since before I first talked to him, 7 or 8 years ago. (Jock was the first person who gave me a clue toward understanding what was going on in some of my pools -- I'd already stumbled onto some of the benefits, but didn't have a clue as to why they were working so well.)

And, I've been operating commercial pools in my own market for 8 or 9 years at these pH levels.

No doubt many others have stumbled onto at least a portion of the method I'm going to explain here. But it's hard to find this information in print, so here it is. If you get started on this page, and find it confusing, but are still interested, you may want to find out how to get an individualized pool guide.

Why bother?

The simplest answer is the practical one: it's easier and it's cheaper. For some pools, optimized high pH pool chemistry will essentially eliminate mucking around with pH, alkalinity, and calcium. For most pools, it will reduce the work to maintain pH and water balance to them. For a few, it will be impractical or impossible.

In my own work with large commercial pools, we now adjust water balance once, when the pool is filled, and rarely make changes afterwards. We adjust pH monthly: our customers no longer store any acid on site. The total acid consumption at one 300,000 gallon pool has been 50lbs of muriatic acid -- over a 5 year period!

My next door neighbor last summer used a dozen gallons of household bleach, 25 pounds of trichlor, and 4 or 5 boxes of grocery store borax. That was his total chemical consumption (less than $100) for the entire summer with a 14,000 gallon pool. Actually, I haven't checked his garage, but I think he still has some trichlor left.

Pluses and Minuses

+

Operating your pool at high pH will often, but not always produce these benefits:

• reduced consumption of sodium bicarbonate (alkalinity)

• reduced or eliminated consumption of calcium chloride (calcium hardness)

• reduced or eliminated consumption of acids (pH minus)

• reduced eye and skin irritation

• reduced formation of irritating chloramines (combined chlorine)

• reduced 'chlorine' smell

• reduced problems following 'shocking' or 'breakpoint chlorination'

• increase the effectiveness of ammonia based chlorine 'enhancement'.

I suspect (with some evidence) high pH will also

• reduce halogenated volatile sanitation byproducts (primarily an issue with indoor pools)

• reduce corrosion of indoor pool enclosures

• reduce swimmer irritation from high chlorine levels

• improve control of biofilm forming organisms, e.g. psuedomonas aeruginosa and 'mustard algae'

-

However, high pH often will also tend to

• precipitate metals in pool water, such as copper, iron or manganese

• lower the measured ORP for a given DPD chlorine level (only important if you have and ORP controller on your pool)

• increase the time required to kill a particular pathogen with a given DPD chlorine level (eg, the Ct value for a given DPD chlorine level)

• make broadcasting of calcium hypochlorite (HTH) to your pool problematic.

• increase scaling if your calcium and alkalinity are too high.

Should you or shouldn't you?

If you have a chlorinator on your pool, connected between the pool and the suction side of the pump, or between the pump and the filter, you should not.

If you have a copper level in your pool above 0.2 ppm, you should not.

If you have used copper based materials in your pool this year, and don't know what your copper levels it, you should not.

You have calcium levels above 300 ppm or alkalinity levels above 160 ppm, you should not.

If you don't understand what you have read to this point, you should not!

There are ways around all of the issues (except continued use of copper) above, but they require pool-by-pool application. And in areas where pools have serious problems with scale build up or on pools with pool heaters, extra care is needed. Pools can be run at high pH under those conditions, but setting it up correctly for your pool requires more thought.

If you don't understand what you've read -- and I'm guessing most homeowners and many dealers won't -- you'll need to wait till we offer individual pool recipes. Of course, in some parts of the country, your pool service company may already be using high pH chemistry on your pool!

How do I do it?

In a word, gradually!

Most pools have a 'natural' pH level. What that level is, depends on your sanitizer, bather load, weather and makeup or source water. For many pools, that level will fall between 7.6 - 8.0. When we operate pools, we will allow the pool to drift between 7.4 - 8.2 and only intervene if the pool goes outside of that range, OR if it consistently stays above 8.1 or below 7.6.

This is the most important element of easy pH control: don't fight it, unless you have to!

Some pools, and particularly those using chlorine gas or trichlor, will tend to drift downward, to damaging levels. We've seen pools on chlorine gas reach pH 5.0, and trichlor pools at 6.2! This will cause no end of problems and must be counteracted.

Most of the pool pH problems I get email about fall into three categories:

• the owner or operator added too much of something (pH minus or plus), or

• the owner is using trichlor exclusively, or

• the owner is unnecessarily fighting his pool's 'natural' pH.

It is possible that some pools might tend to drift up above 8.4 by themselves, especially in certain areas of the country. However, in almost every cases, very small amounts of acid will correct this. For every pool problem I've seen solved by adding acid, I've seen ten from adding too much acid! This is a case where more is definitely NOT better than a little.

The second element of easy pH control is: never make large changes in pH!

You should almost always adjust pH very gradually. Use doses smaller than label recommendations. Adjust, wait 24 hours, test, and then only adjust again if you must!

One exception to this rule: if you are using an ammonia containing chlorine 'enhancers', such as ammonium sulfate, aqua ammonia, Yellow Out (tm Coral Seas), or Mustard Buster (tm BioGuard), you MUST get the pH above 8.0 before you begin the process. Otherwise, you'll tend to make a real mess.

The third element of easy pH control is: ignore much of what your dealer tells you about water balance!

Many of our pools will mostly have pH levels close to 7.8, with hardness and alkalinity levels around 100 ppm. We have one pool which stays at 7.7 to 7.9, with alkalinity around 150 and calcium hardness around 240. None of these pools have exhibited either corrosion or scale formation.

The fourth element of easy pH control is: use an inorganic form of chlorine to shock!

Calcium hypochlorite (HTH) is preferred, but sodium hypochlorite (bleach, or liquid chlorine) will work. We can't imagine why anyone would want to use lithium hypochlorite, but it would probably work. Don't use sodium dichloroisocyanurate (dichlor) or trichloroisocyanurate (trichlor) to shock, EVER!

The fifth element of easy pH control is: when lowering your pH, never add acid to your skimmer!

If you need to lower the pH, add SMALL amounts of acid directly to the pool. If you use sodium bisulfate (dry acid), predissolve it (CAREFULLY, while wearing eye protection) and add it to the pool. Muriatic acid is cheaper and better for your pool (once diluted), but more dangerous and harder to handle.

The sixth element of easy pH control is: when raising your pH, add borax through the skimmer!

Don't use soda ash. You can get borax at the grocery store (green box, 20 Mule team brand). The correct amount? Add a cup at a time on small pools, and 2 cups on large pools, wait 24 hrs, and check your pH. Add more if you need to. Make SURE your skimmer basket is in place.

The seventh element of easy pH control is: add chemicals to raise alkalinity and calcium to 100 - 120, only after the pH is 7.6 or higher.

Never adjust these while your pH is below 7.6. Always add these chemicals through the skimmers, never broadcast into the pool. (Make SURE your skimmer basket is in place.) Adjust your calcium first, then your alkalinity. Don't try to change them both at the same time. Once you get them adjusted, don't fight them, if they stay in the ranges above. (As I've noted elsewhere, it is usually NOT necessary to add calcium to a vinyl pool.) ---

The eighth element of easy pH control is: shock, and adjust alkalinity and calcium before, not after, backwashing.

We've discovered a method of shocking that produces greatly improved results in many cases. In conjunction with high pH pool operation, it can make management of alkalinity and calcium levels easier, especially if your pool levels run high. BUT, depending on the type of equipment you have on your pool, it can also damage pool equipment, or even be dangerous. [The page with this information is available only to paid subscribers who have a signed subscriber agreement.]

The final element of easy pH control is: listen to your own pool!

Ask virtually anyone who's been servicing pools for more than a year or so, and they will quickly tell you every pool is different. Swimmer load, shade, overhanging plants, pump & filter combinations, etc. -- all pools respond differently. We tell new customers we will do a really good job with their pool the first year, but an even better job the second, when we've gotten to know the pool. You can do the same thing: you know what your pool should look like, feel like, yes, even smell like when things are going well. When things aren't right, many times you can tell just by looking at your pool.