CHOICES: It is probably safe
to say that not one of every one hundred pool owners
understand their pool equipment, their pool water, how and
what to test for, and about the different disinfectants
that are available to use with their pool. It takes on a
short study period to learn about pH, acid demand, total
alkalinity, calcium hardness and clarity.
Remember everything in nature
is going against the pool owner and must be considered when
maintaining the pool water. Heat accelerates loss of
chlorine and promotes algae growth. Wind carries new algae
spores and debris into the pool. Sun increases evaporation
and reduces the effectiveness of chlorination. Evaporation
causes build-up of scale on pool tile and deposits a
residue of solids below the waterline. Rain introduces
additional algae and other pollutants. Bather Use increases
the demand for disinfection.
This article will briefly
cover the choices you have for your pool water
disinfectant.
SKIN ADSORPTION: The swimmer
should consider skin adsorption when choosing the pool
disinfectant. I've often heard comments that excessive
swimming or bathing will dry out the skin. Actually, it's
quite the opposite.
Your skin, in contact with the
water, absorbs water rather then drying out. It's the
chemical contaminants, chiefly chlorine, which because of
their oxidizing or bleaching ability cause loss of body
oils and dry, irritated skin.
The skin is probably the
primary route of human exposure to water pollutants. The
American Journal of Public Health states that a minimum of
83 percent and possibly 91 percent of the chemicals
entering the body came through the skin
Without an adequate
disinfectant, algae, viruses, fungi, and other
micro-organisms can originate, grow exponentially, and
infest the average pool in less than one hour. Believe-
it-or-not algae can double itself, in a poorly managed
pool, every four to five hours and bacteria can double
itself ever four to five minutes. It's a scientific fact
that one e-coli micro-organism can multiply into twenty
trillion e-coli micro-organisms in twenty four hours.
Believe-it-or-not! Diseases too numerous to mention
affecting the ears, eyes, nose, throat, skin and internal
organs are often spread from one person to another in
swimming pools.
CHLORINE: A greenish-yellow,
poisonous, gaseous element with a suffocating odour, widely
used as a disinfectant. Chlorine is toxic and will burn
your eyes, irritate your skin and damage hair. When
chlorine combines with an organic spore such as skin, sweat
or even a leaf spore it forms trihalomethanes that are
twenty one times more carcinogic than is the chlorine
itself.
BROMINE: A dark reddish-brown
fuming element with a suffocating odour. A chemical which
reacts like chlorine but is not as abrasive to humans. The
Provincial Board of Health of Alberta banned the use of
Bromine as a disinfectant in public spas because 95 percent
of the spa related skin irritations came from spas using
Bromine.
OZONE: An unstable form of
oxygen with a pungent odour. Commonly found as a gas which
dissipates into the air very quickly. Ozone is fast acting
but leaves no sanitation residual in the water to combat
bacteria and algae growth. It must be used with another
disinfectant therefore it only reduces the amount of
disinfectant used. It will dissolve rubber washers in
pumps, filters and pool fixtures resulting in leaks and
costly repairs.
SALT WATER DEVICES; Salt is 40
percent sodium and 60 percent chloride. Devices that
utilize salt create a chemical reaction which actually
manufactures chlorine in your pool. The chlorine then
produces the same reactions that chlorine bought in stores
does. Sodium hypochlorite chlorine is more abrasive to
humans and pool equipment than the calcium hypochlorite
that is bought in stores. As you already know sodium is
hypertensive.
HYDROGEN PEROXIDE: The
products are non-toxic and not unhealthy but neither are
they healthy. Hydrogen peroxide is by far the most
expensive way to disinfect your pool especially when you
have to shock. It is also harder to manage.
ULTRA VIOLET LIGHT: Is
effective killing bacteria in clear water but like ozone it
only reduces the need for a disinfectant. It leaves no
residual in the water by itself.
COPPER IONIZATION: The only
disinfectant that makes your water healthy. Copper has 19
health benefits among them is heart health, blood pressure,
bone development, nerve development, cancer prevention, and
the propagation of oxygen through out the blood system. No
other disinfectant has even one health benefit. There is no
need for chlorine, shock, algaecides or cyanuric acid
stabilizer. Copper ionization is the least expensive and
requires less time to maintain and monitor than other
disinfectants.
Now hopefully you have been
able to compare and make an intelligent decision on what
disinfectant you want to use. But by all means use one or
the other as the consequences of a pool without
disinfection is much more dangerous. The expense of your
disinfectant is small compared to those consequences.
