Everyone has a preference in competitive markets: Burger King versus McDonald’s, Walmart versus Amazon and even the hot tubs in your showroom are the brand you prefer over others. And in the world of chlorine versus bromine, the competition is likewise fierce.
Read the full article at: https://sparetailer.com/pick-a-side/
By: Spa Retailer Magazine
To understand saltwater pool chemistry, one must start by trying to identify the facts from fiction. Many misconceptions stem from a lack of knowledge around the chemistry of saltwater pools. The most common misunderstanding about such pool types is that they are fundamentally different and do not use chlorine as a sanitizer. In reality, saltwater pools use a special process to create free available chlorine, but require similar products to maintain water quality.
Saltwater pools experience many of the same problems that befall traditional pools, which use chlorine as the primary sanitizer. That said, there are some attributes that require attention in all saltwater pools, especially due to the unique way the sanitizer is produced. This includes balancing the pH, maintaining chlorine residual, battling algae, and preventing scale. Each one of these potential issues can be frustrating for a pool owner, but they can be prevented with proper maintenance.
Read full article here: https://www.poolspamarketing.com/trade/beginner-guide-saltwater-pool-chemistry/print/
By Pool and Spa Marketing
Over the past few years, pool professionals have learned that going ‘green’ can significantly lower a pool’s operating costs. Pumps and filters are among the items most scrutinized due to the vast amount of energy they consume. To reduce costs associated with water circulation and filtration it is important to understand why pumps and filters consume large amounts of energy and what options are available to lower consumption—factors that also extend a pump’s motor life. This article will provide a few easy-to-follow steps to help pool professionals determine the best way to extend the life of their pump motors and reduce operational costs by installing variable-frequency drives (VFDs).
By Pool and Spa Marketing: https://www.poolspamarketing.com/trade/save-energy-and-extend-equipment-life-with-variable-frequency-drives/print/
The Water Quality & Health Council first probed the topic of swimmer hygiene in a public survey in 2009, addressing formerly taboo subjects such as “peeing” and “pooping” in the pool. Following a public campaign in the summer of 2009, the WQHC published its survey results in 2011. Among other findings, the survey revealed that 47% of Americans admit to unhygienic behaviors in public pools, including 17% admitting to urinating in the pool and 35% admitting to foregoing a preswim shower.
A 2012 public survey published by the WQHC found that 68% of Americans do not always shower before entering the swimming pool and 44% view a pre-swim shower as unnecessary.
Pool water chemistry is affected by bather inputs, such as urine, perspiration, fecal material, body oils and cosmetics. Nitrogen containing substances, such as urine and perspiration, combine with free chlorine in the water to produce irritant chloramines. Bathers often mistakenly attribute the effects of chloramines (e.g., red, irritated eyes and itchy skin) to “too much” chlorine in the water, where bathers assume the level of chlorine in the pool was too high.
The fact is poor swimmer hygiene is a contributing factor to the concentration of chloramine. Impurities brought into the water by swimmers can deplete free chlorine levels, endangering swimmers’ health by exposing them to waterborne pathogens.
For example, swimmer’s ear is an infection of the ear canal that can develop when bacteria-contaminated pool water enters and remains in the ear canal, providing conditions conducive to bacteria growing and infecting the skin. CDC reported in 2011 that swimmer’s ear infections
accounted for 2.4 million doctor visits and nearly $500 million in annual healthcare costs between 2003-2007.
And, while a common urban myth holds that pools contain a dye that reddens the water around people who urinate, the real indicator of urine in the water is the red eyes of swimmers.
(It should be noted that most common waterborne pathogens, including the bacteria that cause swimmer’s ear, are destroyed when using an EPA-registered sanitizer and free chlorine levels are maintained between 1 and 4 ppm.)
Health department codes promote good swimmer hygiene by encouraging a pre-swim shower and ensuring clean, sanitary, accessible shower and restroom facilities (including diaper-changing stations) supplied with toilet paper and soap or hand sanitizer. A 2012 Dutch study found a 60-second shower eliminates the majority of contaminants on the human body. Additionally, frequent bathroom breaks for children and adults can help reduce urinating and defecating in the pool.
The WQHC recommends swimmer hygiene education be included in all organized swim lessons and school health classes. Pool staff can help raise the level of awareness among swimmers of the importance of good hygiene by displaying educational posters, such as those available from the CDC.
Almost every aquatics industry professional has likely heard stories about the use of enzymes in water maintenance and for solving water quality problems. Many have also probably asked themselves along the way what, exactly, are enzymes? In performing a quick Google search on the word itself, one would likely come across the following Wikipedia answer:
Enzymes are large biological molecules responsible for the thousands of chemical interconversions that sustain life. They are highly selective catalysts, greatly accelerating both the rate and specificity of metabolic reactions from the digestion of food to the synthesis of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). Most enzymes are proteins, although some catalytic ribonucleic acid (RNA) molecules have been identified. Enzymes[2] adopt a specific three-dimensional structure, and may employ organic (e.g. biotin [vitamin H or coenzyme R]) and inorganic (e.g. magnesium ion) cofactors to assist in catalysis.
If this description seems a bit confusing, do not be alarmed. After scrolling down a little further, and conducting a web query on what enzymes really do, one can actually yield a much more simple description. For example:
In enzymatic reactions, the molecules at the beginning of the process, called substrates, are converted into different molecules, called products. Almost all chemical reactions in a biological cell need enzymes in order to occur at rates sufficient for life. Since enzymes are selective for their substrates and speed up only a few reactions from among many possibilities, the set of enzymes made in a cell[3] determines which metabolic pathways occur in that cell.
Many are familiar with the (not so glamorous) expression that hot tubs are communal baths. When a bather gets into a hot tub, waste from their body stays behind in the water. This includes dead skin cells, sweat, dirt, oil, lotions, perfumes, colognes, makeup, and more. While a lot of what is left behind is usually harmless, this type of contamination is the primary concern when it comes to maintaining the overall quality of the water.
To ensure the client’s hot tub water stays clean and safe, service techs must take adequate measures to keep spas clean, both inside and out. Further, to keep the water in bathing condition, spa owners should be educated on proper maintenance between service calls.
Read the full article at Pool and Spa Marketing: https://www.poolspamarketing.com/trade/features/treating-spas-like-pools-could-get-service-techs-in-hot-water-best-practices-to-ensure-proper-hot-tub-maintenance/print/
If one lives and works in an area that experiences the severity of winter, chances are they already know the steps they need to take to prepare themselves for the season. Coats and scarves come out of the closets, and heavier blankets are placed on bedsides. Thermostats are turned on and tuned to keep the chill out of the air. Recipes for hot and hearty meals begin to come into rotation. Just as one would organize their home in preparation for the season, pool pros need to service and winterize pool heaters for the cold weather.
The same warm water that provides comfort during the summer can quickly turn into the enemy when temperatures drop. Electric, gas, and electronic components can easily get damaged or destroyed if they are not properly prepared as freezing water will expand and damage heat exchangers, piping, and internal controls. Therefore, it is important pool heaters are serviced and maintained so when it comes time to open again in the spring, the systems are operational and running.
Continue reading at Pool and Spa Marketing: https://www.poolspamarketing.com/trade/features/best-practices-for-maintaining-outdoor-pool-heating-systems/
In the April issue of AQUA, the members of onBalance (Que Hales, Doug Latta and Kim Skinner) wrote a piece arguing that, for pool and spa water, a hard upper pH limit of 8.0 is overly restrictive. They claimed there should not be a wasteful mandate for closing down swimming pools when the pH is 8.0 to 8.5. We received this very well-considered response from commercial aquatics consultant Richard Young:
The April article shares some important issues about pH and cyanuric acid. The case of pH values of 8.0 having the same bacteria inactivation of water that has lower pH values has been argued for decades. There are some important points that need to be made about pH’s effect on the disinfection compound that is both wanted and needed in pool and spa water. This compound is “hypochlorous acid.”
Read more at: https://aquamagazine.com/features/the-effects-of-increasing-ph-in-pool-spa-water.html
It's known as the Deutsches Institute fur Normung, or the DIN Standard, and some advocates say it's as much as 40 years ahead of the U.S.
While that might be debatable, there is no question the DIN Standard for pool water treatment is very different from the model used in the U.S.
It is a mandatory set of rules that is applied during the design, engineering and operation of all commercial/ public pools in Germany, and it influences other national standards and regulations throughout Europe.
You might think the two large, affluent western societies — the U.S. and the E.U., each with a large recreational water market, would have similar water treatment models, but in many ways, the European system is a complete departure from the traditional North American system, says Roy Vore, technology manager for Bio-Lab.
"They use much less chlorine, and the approach to filtration is completely different. They have drain-and-fill requirements and mandatory cleansing showers for bathers. It's not just one thing, but a spectrum of ideas and methods that all work together."
Do they have something to teach us about water care?
Read more here: https://aquamagazine.com/features/how-they-do-it-in-europe.html
By: Aqua Magazine
As the weather gets warmer, we're getting more questions about pool protocol. John M. wants to know if he can have his kids and grandkids come over separately to swim in his private pool.
Experts say it is unlikely someone can become infected with the coronavirus by swimming in a pool.
"There is no evidence that SARS-CoV-2 can survive in pools that are properly monitored and treated," with routine measures like chlorine and bromine, says Dr. Ilan Schwartz, infectious disease clinician and assistant professor at the University of Alberta.
