Although many areas of the country continue to experience above average temperatures, the fact remains that the end of the 2010 swimming season has almost arrived. That means most pool owners have already started thinking about the things they’ll need to properly close up their pool.

Often making the list of things that pool owners need to pick up at the end of swimming season: winterizing chemicals, above ground winter covers, inground winter covers, and pool line anti-freeze.

When it comes to closing up a swimming pool most people, as a general rule, will add some form of shock treatment, a winter algaecide and a stain preventative to their pool water before putting on the cover. If closed properly, and nothing causes the cover to rip, a pool owner will remove the cover in the Spring and have crystal-clear water.

So anyways, the folks over at Pool Water Testing Blog have started posting stuff related to closing up swimming pools so if you happen to own a swimming pool and need to know where to get the correct pool closing supplies, those folks know a lot more about that sort of thing than we do… so go and check ‘em out!

Recently posted on Pool Water Testing Blog:

• Safety Covers Can Make a World of Difference
• Cantar Winter Covers — 10 Year Warranties
• Protectiv Covers for Pool Heaters
• Winterizing Your Pool — Diving Board Covers
• Pool Winterizing Kits
• What is a Mesh Winter Cover

Ah, yes… a question about a swimming pool not holding its chlorine residual came in recently and we must say that it took longer this year than usual.

Hi – We just got a pool put in (a 24′ round) and it does not hold any chlorine. We pour a gallon in at a time and test the next day and we have almost no chlorine showing up and also our water stays cloudy. What are we doing wrong? Thanks. Annie.

Well, Annie, we will start with the type of chlorine you most likely have: liquid. Sodium hypochlorite works very well as a chlorinating agent, disperses into pool water seamlessly, and has a relatively low cost (usually around $2 per gallon if bought in 5 gallon jugs).

Aside from liquid chlorine’s tendency to bleach any clothing it touches and weigh a lot in those bulky 5 gallon containers, liquid chlorine also lacks any kind of stabilizing compound in its chemical makeup. Without a stabilizer such as cyanuric acid, the chlorine added to a pool via liquid chlorine can readily exit the pool for a number of reasons (i.e direct sunlight, warm water temperatures, etc.)

If you have not already added pool stabilizer (cyanuric acid), you may want to do so pretty soon. We do, of course, suggest you test your pool for cyanuric acid before adding any chemicals… in case some other, more insidious reason exists for your pool not holding a chlorine level.

Unsure as to how you can test pool water for cyanuric acid? You can take water to your local pool store, use a liquid test kit or use something like the 6 Way Pool Check test strip.

Other Chlorine Eaters

By any chance do you have a fair amount of leaves, tree branches, dead animals, dead neighbors, or other debris in the water? If so, the chlorine will act like a human and choose the easiest (biggest) target to attack rather than go after smaller, harder to attack targets. Get the debris out right away.

Don’t Skimp on the Filtration/Circulation

The cloudy water in your pool may come from poor water circulation and/or filtration as well as the low chlorine level you initially inquired about. Until you clear up the water, try running the filter 24 hours a day if you do not already do that.

If after running the filter a full day you do not see an increase in pump pressure on the gauge attached to the filter and/or the strength of the jets pushing water back into the pool has not diminished, you may have filter problems. Now on the other hand, if you DO see increased pressure and diminished return jet strength, backwash the filter and it will begin collecting more junk from your water at a faster rate.

Simplified List of Steps for Annie to Take

Granted we cannot possibly address Annie’s problems completely since we do not know all of the factors affecting her water condition, but the we have personally used slight variations of this advice to help quite a few people clear up their pool water.

• Remove large debris from pool, if present… especially any dead bodies.

• Test stabilizer level and adjust if needed by adding cyanuric acid per the instructions given by the chemical’s manufacturer.

• Test other critical water parameters such as pH, Alkalinity, Copper, Iron, Hardness, etc. and make corrections as needed — per instruction(s), of course.

• Add more liquid chlorine… roughly 1 gallon per 10,000 gallons of pool water.

• Run filter 24 hours a day until problem clears up.

• Backwash filter when necessary to improve filtration and water circulation.

Never hesitate to go in and pester your local pool store employees for pointers, free water testing and advice. They relish the opportunity to snicker behind your back because they cannot believe you cannot figure out what pool chemicals you need… but try not to let that deter you because they know a lot about how to properly maintain pools and generally give good advice!

Taking a leak in the swimming pool… now shown to potentially cause harmful cell damage. As if the whole ‘Ewwwww! GROSS!!!’ factor shouldn’t have ALREADY given people incentive not to do it, right?

Well we all know how lazy OTHER people… ahem… can be.

Public swimming pools are more dangerous than you might think, a new study suggests. When sweat and urine, among other organics, mix with the disinfectants in pool water, the result can be hazardous to health.

The findings, announced this week, link the application of disinfectants in recreational pools to genetic cell damage that has been shown to be linked with adverse health outcomes such as asthma and bladder cancer.

Pool water represents extreme cases of disinfection that differ from the disinfection of drinking water as pools are continuously exposed to disinfectants. But with so many people cooling off and exercising in pools and water parks (339 million visits across the United States each year), the disinfectants are a must to prevent outbreaks of infectious disease.

Chlorine and Pee Don’t Mix

The problem occurs when the sanitizers mix with organic matter.

“All sources of water possess organic matter that comes from decaying leaves, microbes and other dead life forms,” said study researcher Michael Plewa, University of Illinois professor of genetics. “In addition to organic matter and disinfectants, pool waters contain sweat, hair, skin, urine and consumer products such as cosmetics and sunscreens from swimmers.”

These consumer products are often nitrogen-rich, and when mixed with disinfectants, these products may become chemically modified and converted into more toxic agents.

Long-term exposure to these disinfection byproducts can mutate genes, induce birth defects, accelerate the aging process, cause respiratory ailments, and even induce cancer, according to the researchers. While the new study did not examine actual effects on humans, it suggests such research might be warranted. ( source )

So listen up, all you nasty bastards and batardettes out there who find it too burdensome to cart your fun -in-the-sun frolicking butts to the bathroom: STOP PEEING IN THE POOL!

Oh, and for all of you who think, “It’s my pee, so it won’t hurt me,” all the other pee rule violators think the exact same thing.

Other Articles of Interest

• Swimmers Disobeying ‘Closed’ Signs Run Risk of Serious Illness
• West Nile Virus and Water Quality
• Myth: Chlorine Kills All Bacteria in Water
• Taylor Test Kits for Pools and Spas

Although we would all like to think that having chlorine, bromine and/or other sanitizing chemicals in the pool guarantees us a safe swimming experience, science has proven otherwise… and therefore swimmers need to use common sense to avoid getting sick AND making others sick.

Below you will find a list of things we can all do to help keep ourselves and others free of Recreational Water Illnesses:

• Rinse off in a shower before entering the pool. If more people did this, less bacteria would get into the water to begin with.

• Avoid swallowing pool water whenever possible. Reducing the number of opportunities for germs and bacteria to enter your body greatly reduces your chances of getting sick.

• Although it sounds like common sense, if you can’t see the bottom of the pool, you probably ought not get in the water.

• People with diarrhea and people who have gotten over diarrhea recently should stay out of the water. Period. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has labeled diarrhea as the most common recreational water illness and believes swimmers currently exhibiting symptoms and those who have exhibited symptoms in the past two weeks risk contaminating the pool with germs…. and should stay out of the water.

• Babies AND adults who require diapers or diaper-like devices need to wear the ones designed specifically for swimming. No exceptions.

• Teach your children to get out of the pool and use the bathroom rather than stand in the water with a silly grin on their face as they pee in the pool. Sounds nasty, but look around the pool next time you go and if you see a kid, and possibly even an adult, standing on their own and kind of staring off into space… Watch out for the warm spot.

• Though most people already know to wash their hands after using the restroom, some folks believe jumping into a chlorinated swimming pool immediately afterward suffices as a means of washing their hands… and it doesn’t. It does, however, add to the pool’s overall bacteria count. Yuck.

• People with summer colds, allergies or other mucous generating conditions need to keep clear of the water and definitely NOT spit anywhere near the pool. No one wants to swim through your snot or put their bare foot on the boogers you so tactfully blew out of your nostril when you thought no one could see you.

In a nutshell, all the chlorine and bromine in the world cannot prevent a pool from spreading nasty little diseases and illnesses if people don’t use proper hygeine in and around the pool.

Previously we posted information about places where you could locate Taylor brand pool and spa test kits OR Taylor test kit reagents… but now we have located a site that has both at the same time: Taylor-Test-Kits.Com.

Whether you need a single bottle of test reagent because the dog chewed up one of your old bottles, a new color comparator block because the kids swear they didn’t touch your old one, or you want to start fresh with a whole new Taylor pool and spa water test kit, you will find information on and links to current Taylor products on Taylor-Test-Kits.Com.

Many people do not know why algae keep re-appearing in their swimming pool despite the use of shock treatments and superchlorination on a regular basis. Those folks may want to test their water for phosphates, a necessary ‘building block’ for algae blooms. Without phosphates algae has a really hard, if not impossible, time growing.

Phosphates can find their way into swimming pools in several different ways including, but not limited to, rainwater, water used to fill the pool, grass clippings and leaves that have fertilizer residue on them, poolside cleaners and chemicals, body fluids (which includes human waste — see “1 in 5 Americans Admits Peeing in Swimming Pools“), and vegetation (leaves, grass, etc.) which starts to break down in the water.

By removing phosphates with products such as Phos Free, a pool owner can greatly reduce their chances of having a bad outbreak of algae.

Won’t chlorine in the water keep algae from growing?

Tricky question because one would think that chlorine would stop algae from growing, but if other water parameters have strayed out of acceptable ranges or you have a whole lot of combined chlorine (instead of free chlorine) the chlorine in a swimming pool may not work as you’d hope — and the algae will grow.

We use algaecide so we don’t need to worry about algae, right?

Wrong. Most algaecides provide pool owners with an extra layer of protection against algae when chlorine levels drop too low but algaecides do NOT guarantee an algae-free swimming pool.

As an example, suppose your pool pump died over a long weekend when you and the family went camping and as a result no water passed through your automatic chlorinator for a few days. The algaecide in your pool water would slow the development and growth of algae blooms after all the chlorine got used up… hopefully long enough for you to return home, fix the pump, and get more chlorine back in the pool.

Moral of the story?

Frequent testing of your pool for critical water parameters such as free chlorine, pH, alkalinity and phosphates along with using of a good algaecide as a last line of defense makes sense if you want to keep algae out of your pool.

While a bit off from our normal discussions pertaining to water, we would HATE ourselves if we did not at least take a few seconds to remind people that perfect pool water also makes for the perfect cause of accidental death…

No one wants to think about a loved one such as a child or family pet drowning in the family pool, but it HAPPENS every year and most experts agree that a swimming pool alarm might have prevented the tragedy.

Common sense says to keep an eye on kids and pets around the pool. The LAW requires you to take steps to prevent children and pool jumpers from accidentally falling in your pool.

• Inground pools MUST have a fence around them… and above ground pools security measures such as safety ladders

Safety ladders and fences work well to keep out most unwanted pool visitors, but what happens when a someone accidentally leaves a gate open, a ladder down… or when a child slips away from a parents’ watchful eyes because the phone rings or a visitor rings the doorbell?

• AlarmsForPools.Com
• AlarmsForYards.Com
• AlarmsForGates.Com

When we got this question about salt water pools we did not know what to do… because it made us laugh a LOT. You will understand why in a minute, we assure you.

Thank you, Nina from New Jersey, for making us laugh!

Can you help me settle an argument with my stupid husband? He insists that we don’t use chlorine in our new pool because we have what he calls a ‘salt generator’. Um, hello.. If it generates SALT, then WHY did the pool company have to ADD SALT when they set up the pool? My husband says we have one of those chlorineless pools. Can you PLEASE shut him up for me?”

Wow. We don’t even really know where to begin… so we’ll start by saying that salt water pools use devices called chlorine generators which converts the ‘Cl’ portion of salt (NaCl) into sanitizing chlorine molecules using a an electrolytic process.

So, Nina, to answer the question(s) we think you asked…

• Salt water pools use chlorine generators, do not ‘salt generators’.

• Salt water pools do technically have chlorine in them.

For a slightly more detailed explanation of the topic of salt water pools and chlorine generators, you might want to read Salt Water Pools & Chlorine Generators Explained on the Pool Water Testing Blog

A naturally occurring reddish metal that appears in rock, water, soil, sediment and in the air, copper has unique physical properties which make it perhaps one of the most commonly used and important metals. You can find copper in pennies, as part of electrical wiring systems, and in plumbing. You can also find it used in some pesticides and algaecides.

As humans we require a minute amount of copper to live, but as with anything, too much copper in a short period of time and prolonged exposure to excess copper can have detrimental effects on our health.

For that reason health officials suggest testing your drinking water for copper, and other things obviously, on a semi-regular basis… especially if you live in an older home, in an area that has older water delivery lines, or if you have well water.

How can you test for copper?

Previously you would have to use a test kit that used drops, tablets, powders, etc. or have your water tested by a water testing laboratory. As usual we suggest that people use water testing labs if they have serious reason to suspect drinking water contamination and that owners of wells have their water tested by a certified water testing lab at least once a year, for occasional testing needs you can use copper test strips such as the John’s Copper product manufactured by SenSafe.

If you think you may have a need to test your water for copper, then you may also want to test for other metals such as iron, manganese, mercury, and lead.

A test kit such as the Well Driller Master Test Kit has all those tests and more.

… for mosquitoes unless pool owners maintain proper pool water quality. It only takes a few days for most pool water to become the perfect place for a female mosquito to drop off a few (hundred) eggs.

Culex mosquitoes lay their eggs on the surface of fresh or stagnant water. The water may be in tin cans, barrels, horse troughs, ornamental ponds, swimming pools, puddles, creeks, ditches, or marshy areas. Mosquitoes prefer water sheltered from the wind by grass and weeds.

Culex mosquitoes usually lay their eggs at night. A mosquito may lay a raft of eggs every third night during its life span.

Culex mosquitoes lay their eggs one at a time, sticking them together to form a raft of from 200- 300 eggs. A raft of eggs looks like a speck of soot floating on the water and is about 1/4 inch long and 1/8 inch wide.

Tiny mosquito larvae emerge from the eggs within 24 hours. ( source )

If pool owners keep a constant chlorine or bromine residual in their pools, mosquitoes will seek other places to lay eggs because the presence of chlorine/bromine in a body of water makes the water unusable as place for their young to hatch and develop.

So… in the interest of keeping mosquito populations down this Summer, we urge all swimming pool owners to test and maintain chlorine/bromine levels in their pools on a regular basis. It only takes a few days for some species of mosquitoes to go from eggs to full-grown bloodsuckers!

Suggested Testing Methods for Chlorine/Bromine Levels

So by simply making sure you have an adequate chlorine or bromine residual in your swimming pool, you can do a lot help reduce the number of bloodsucking mosquitoes in your neighborhood this Summer.

Need a Chlorine or Bromine Dispenser for Your Pool?

Take a look at the selection of automatic chemical feeders available from In the Swim a leading online retailer of swimming pool equipment, parts, and chemicals.

You can also get granular chlorine, chlorine sticks and calcium hypochlorite granules at In the Swim.