Did you know that you can have a clean and sanitary pool without burning your eyes or turning your hair green? Alternative sanitizers are becoming more popular and more desirable. Chlorine has been used for many years to sanitize pool water. We have come to accept the strong smell as meaning the water is clean. It was then discovered that Bromine worked just as well as a sanitizer and was almost odorless. The problem with Bromine is it “burns off” very quickly in the sun, which made it more suitable for hot tubs and spas. More recently(in the last 20 years) “Alternative Sanitizers” have been developed. Although, these methods are called sanitizers, they have not been approved by the EPA. Technically, these methods are water conditioners and need to be used along with a sanitizer or shock once a week. One method of killing bacteria in pool water is using the sun’s ultra violet (UV) radiation. Sunlight is a powerful and Green way of killing bacteria. The use of a small glass chamber using UV bulbs, much like a tanning bed, kill algae and bacteria as the water passes through the tube. Unfortunately, this method does nothing for water clarity. Even though the water is bacteria free there is no long lasting disinfection. Chlorine will still need to be added to backup the sanitizing effect. The benefits of this method are that the amount of chlorine you use is greatly reduced. Biguanide is a product that uses no chlorine or bromine. It does not irritate the eyes or skin. Unlike UV, Biguanide does kill bacteria for long periods of time. Ph and alkalinity must be controlled weekly, and a non-chlorine shock will need to be added weekly. It is very important to remember that Biguanide cannot be mixed with chlorine or bromine. If your are not satisfied with this product , other chemicals need to be added before switching back to chlorine. Speak with a pool chemical specialist before making any changes. Usually when we talk about Ozone it is a bad thing, in pool maintenance it is quit the opposite. Ozone is a gas, that when it is injected into water will kill virtually any and all bacteria present. There are two way to use Ozone. One way is to electrically charge the particles, and the second is to use UV light. Basically, Ozone gas changes oxygen (O2) into Ozone gas(O3). The gas is injected into the water by way of either the “venturi effect, or a compressor. When the gas is dispersed into the water, it will immediately go to work killing bacteria. Ozone conditioning is 3000 times more effective than chemical sanitizers, without the skin and eye irritation. Chlorine will still need to be used as a weekly back-up, but you will use considerably less. Ph is not really affected by the ozonator, but will still need to be monitored each week. For those who are environmentally conscious, when the ozone gas is injected, 2 of the 3 molecules are working on killing bacteria; the third is released into the atmosphere. This is the source of the fresh air smell.
Article Source: http://www.articlecontentprovider.com/articlesubmit
Did you know that you can have a clean and sanitary pool without burning your eyes or turning your hair green? Alternative sanitizers are becoming more popular and more desirable. Chlorine has been used for many years to sanitize pool water. We have come to accept the strong smell as meaning the water is clean. It was then discovered that Bromine worked just as well as a sanitizer and was almost odorless. The problem with Bromine is it “burns off” very quickly in the sun, which made it more ...
Nicholas Ayres is from Neo Pools, a Perth based concrete swimming pool designer. Neo also provide swimming pool tips and advice.
Please Rate this Article
5 out of 5 4 out of 5 3 out of 5 2 out of 5 1 out of 5
