By Request… COOLPOOL15 Discount Code Extended Until 2/10/2013!

Simply use discount code COOLPOOL15 to save 15% off regular prices on all pool and spa testing products for this weekend only… or just click this link and the code will automatically get loaded into your browser & shopping cart for you.

Importance of pool & spa testing

Water serves as a perfect breeding ground for all sorts of nasty, unwanted bacteria, parasites, insects, germs, diseases, etc. if not properly treated with sanitizing products like chlorine, bromine, ozone, ionizer systems, and other methods.

You will not KNOW that you have the correct amount of sanitizer(s) in your water unless you… test your pool/spa water on a regular basis.

So test chlorine/bromine and that’s it, right?

WRONG!

Other critical pool water parameters such as pH (is the water acidic or basic), total alkalinity (is the water properly buffered against radical pH changes), calcium hardness (does the water have enough calcium to keep it from becoming aggressive), chlorine stabilizer (self-explanatory), and dissolved metals (also self-explanatory) all play a vital role in helping to make sure pool water remains safe to swim in, pretty to look at, and not problematic for pool surfaces (i.e. liners, fittings, etc.).

Best test strip for testing a chlorine pool

Obviously WE believe strongly in testing for as many parameters as possible on a regular basis, but then again we actually enjoy testing water all the time. Ha ha. For the rest of the world, hitting what we call ‘The Big 5’ routinely ought to suffice:

• Free Chlorine — You main sanitizing agent.
• Total Chlorine — Helps you determine ‘good chlorine vs. bad chlorine’ count.
• pH — Is the water acidic or basic?
• Total Alkalinity — Is the water properly protected against sudden changes in the pH level?
• Calcium Hardness — Does the water have enough minerals to keep it from eating away at pool surfaces?

Most times if all these levels remain in balance a pool’s water will remain crystal clear and perfectly safe to swim in.

Tell us about saving money on pool chemicals

Pool owners who do NOT test their water for (at least) the basics on a regular basis tend to have a great number of algae outbreaks and problems with cloudy water than pool owners who do test their water regularly.

That means pool owners who do not test on a regular basis tend to need more algaecide, pool shock treatments, and clarifiers — all of which cost money.

Another way in which regular pool testing saves money involves not not adding more chemicals than your pool actually needs.

Testing the sanitizer level before adding more keeps you from adding too much and possibly either making the water unpleasant to swim in and/or making it harmful to various pool surfaces and components.

Moral of today’s story?

You will need to test your pool or spa water anyway so why pay full price in a few months when you can pick up what you need right now for 15% less money?

Plus picking up test strips will be one less thing your spouse will nag at you to do in a few months 😉

The links below will automatically load the COOLPOOL15 discount code for you!

Yeah, sure, pool owners want to get their water in pristine condition at the beginning of the year… and want to keep it looking good for their annual Fourth of July pool party… but something strange happens as the midday temps start to get a bit cooler and thoughts start to turn towards kids going back to school, the all-important Labor Day cookout, and pre-planning for Black Friday shopping.

All of a sudden no one cares about the pool anymore — unless they want to, on a whim, actually get in it. Hmmm… If no one has TESTED the water in a while, how do you know whether or not the pH and/or alkalinity will burn your eyes, the sanitizer level will bleach your hair/swimsuit, and/or if the chlorine stabilizer has done its duty by keeping chlorine in the water in case of moments like these when you decide to take a late night, almost Fall dip?

At Water Testing Blog we believe in regular water testing not only for the sake of performing tests, but rather because we have seen the consequences of untested pool water, drinking water, well water, surface water, etc. Whether you believe it or not, even the simplest and smallest amount of water testing could keep you, and more importantly your family, out of harm’s way — at least for a moment.

With that said, we proudly announce the End of August Pool Testing Sale at the Pool Water Test Kits Store. Simply click either of the previous links and you will get taken to the site where you can pick up useful pool water testing supplies for 12% the regular price from now until the end of the month. The discount will get applied right before you checkout.

Update: Not to feel left out of the fun, the Water Test Kit Store on our own site will also offer 12% off of all pool water test strips & pool test kits until the end of August!

So, whether you choose our water test kit store or the water test kit store on our other site, you can save big on the pool testing supplies you need until the end of August!

For those not good with numbers, more than half failed the testing and that means unwitting registered guests of those hotels could have subjected themselves (and worse) their families to potentially unsafe swimming conditions and not have known it.

Worse, yet? Sometimes the illnesses picked up from one spot (i.e. pool, spa, water park, etc.) do not manifest themselves until several days or a week later and unknowing infected swimmers frequent more than one pool… Need we say more?

Regardless of your answer to that question, we will continue because not enough people concern themselves with healthy swimming practices — and that concerns us.

Before joining our staff a member of our team contracted a rather unpleasant (and itchy!) skin condition after having a few too many poolside and beach-side cocktails after immersing himself in a hot tub that, in his own words, ‘did not look right’. About four days after the bumps, redness and itching started… and boy did he not enjoy several trips to the doctor as they tried different creams, antibiotics and anti-fungus medications in an effort to clear up the rash that had formed in both creases of his legs right where, as he phrased it, ‘the naughty bits began’.

So, the next time you think, “oh, they have someone who takes care of the pools” and consider hopping in a public pool or hot tub at a hotel, consider these simple things:

1. Does the hotel have staff that attend to the water features or do they contract out for pool care/maintenance?
2. Do you see a posted log anywhere that tells you the last time anyone physically tested the water for vital water quality parameters such as bromine, free, chlorine, pH, total alkalinity, etc.?
3. What first impression did you have of the swimming/bathing facility? If ‘not so great’ then perhaps you will find safer, albeit less interesting, relief from the heat in a lukewarm shower.
4. Do you smell a LOT of chlorine in the swimming area. If so, then it may mean the water recently contained a large quantity of biological contaminants… and either it got shocked recently or you smell the off gassing of chloramines generated by the neutralizing of a large biological contaminant load — and health experts have rendered not-so-positive opinions about the aftereffects of inhaling large amounts of chloramines.
5. How many swimmers do you see in the water? The more bathers in the water and the hotter the temperature outside, the greater the bather load and more biological contaminants (i.e. sweat and other stuff. OTHER stuff.) potentially in the water. Note the children, especially. Do we really need to explain this last bit one in greater detail?
6. Adults, too, people. If you see adults drinking juice and sodas (aka: beers and mixed drinks) and they don’t, as folks in the military phrase it, ‘hit the head’ on a regular basis… you do the math. Sugars (and alcohol) tend to act as diuretics; meaning those who consume them will feel the need to urinate more frequently than normal. Again, no trips to the bathroom, that warm, yellowish liquid has to go someplace.

While the above few tips will not guarantee you a safe and bacteria-free swimming experience when visiting a hotel and considering taking a dip in the pool or soaking in the hot tub, keeping them in the back of your mind surely won’t hurt.

Can the average person test for bacteria in pool water?

Yes. The WaterSafe Pool & Spa Bacteria Water Test Kit puts the power of on-the-spot pool/spa water testing for potentially harmful bacteria such as Pseudomonas, Aeromonas, E.coli, certain species of Salmonella, Shigella, Enterobacter, Klebsiella and a variety of other Coliform and non-Coliform bacteria into the hands of those who need it most: People unsure about the quality of water in an unfamiliar pool or spa.

Planning a trip that may involve multiple stops and possibly multiple public pools? The WaterSafe Pool & Spa Bacteria in Water Test Kit contains 10 tests and each test takes less than 20 minutes to perform.

In the time it takes to make sure the kids have adequate sunscreen on and have their arm floaties properly attached… you have the time required to make certain the water does not contain an unhealthy amount of potentially infectious and dangerous bacteria.

Immediate 10% savings on the pool water testing supplies you know you’re going to need before the swimming season ends! Right now you can save 10% on every pool water test kit, bottle of pool water test strips, and pool water testing reagent in the Pool Water Test Kit Store so head on over and… stock up on the stuff you know you’ll need but probably won’t remember to pick up on your way home from work — and then won’t feel like going back out to pick up.

Click Here and you will get taken to the Pool Water Test Kit Store and the discount will automatically get loaded into the site’s shopping cart software. The discount will get applied at the time of final checkout. This coupon will expire on 8/9/2012 so don't miss your chance to save!

We wish continued fortune to Water Testing Blog‘s founder and to you, as well! Enjoy the weekend and enjoy the savings!

Thanks for the question, Mandy!

When a person tells us they have no chlorine reading on their test kit usually one or more of the following factors has played a part in causing that to happen:

• Chlorine demand greater than chemical feeder system can supply
• Old or expired test kit reagents, test strips, etc. not properly reading chlorine levels
• Lack of pool stabilizer (cyanuric acid)

The fact that you can smell chlorine, however, tells us that you may have another situation on your hands. Quite possibly your pool has combined chlorine but not much free chlorine. If you do not know the difference between combined chlorine and free chlorine then please take a look at an earlier posting of ours called What is the Difference Between Total Residual Chlorine and Free Chlorine?

For those not interested in reading the long version, the following will explain free chlorine, combined chlorine and total chlorine:

• Free Chlorine does the active sanitizing of the pool water by neutralizing organic contaminants (i.e. bacteria, parasites, etc.). Traditional chlorine sanitized pools should have a healthy free chlorine level at all times.
• Combined Chlorine started out as free chlorine, locked horns w/ an organic contaminant, and now has become attached to the contaminant it neutralized. While still partially effective as a sanitizer, it has nowhere near the sanitizing power of free chlorine… and it plays a big part in producing the strong ‘chlorine smell’ most people associate with pool water.
• Total Chlorine represents the total concentration of free chlorine plus combined chlorine in a water sample.

So, Mandy, at this point we believe you should begin by making sure your test kit can test for both free and total chlorine. If it cannot then we suggest picking up a test kit such as the Poolmaster 5-Way Test Kit or, if you prefer a simpler chlorine testing method, the Pool Check 5-Way Test Strips should work quite well for you.

If your existing test kit can test for both free and total chlorine then you may need to replace your reagents (i.e. DPD-1 Test Tablets, DPD-3 Test Tablets, and/or DPD ReagentStrips). If stored near other pool chemicals, left out in the sun and extreme heat for long periods, or beyond their expiration date(s), your reagents may have gone bad.

Now that you have ruled out the test apparatus as the root of your chlorine troubles, test the pool for both free and total chlorine and then subtract the free chlorine concentration from the total chlorine concentration. Ideally you should get a very low number (zero would be perfect) but if you get more than a 0.5ppm difference you most certainly have a buildup of combined chlorine — and that would explain the strong chlorine odor you mentioned.

To get rid of the combined chlorine experts suggest ‘shocking’ (superchlorinating) the pool with a non-stabilized chlorine (contains no cyanuric acid) such as calcium hypochlorite powder or a non-chlorine ‘shock’ treatment such as monopersulfate (MPS).

Copper/Silver Ionizer

Back in the old days people used only one of two things to keep their pool water safe, clean and clear: Chlorine or Bromine. Nowadays people can choose from chlorine, bromine, ionizer, mineralizer, biguanide, peroxide, and salt systems — and each method requires special attention to specific water quality parameters.

Not knowing what to test for with each pool water sanitizing system could have disastrous results… which brings us to an email inquiry from ‘ShonShondra911′ who recently had a pool installed in her yard and had no idea what type of test kit to use:

"Our pool salesman suggested we install our pool with one of the ionizer systems that puts small amounts of copper in the water to help keep the pool from turning green and slimy (his words) and he said we would have to test for the levels once we got all the water in and the system started but he never said what levles to test. Do we just use the yellow and red kit you sell? Test strips you sell? Or do we need lab testing each time? Can you help???"

Do not panic, Shon. Do not panic. We can help you decide what type of pool water test kit should work best for your pool’s copper ionizer sanitizing system.

While you COULD invest in a traditional wet chemistry test kits such as the Taylor Copper Test Kit which tests for copper (.2ppm – 3.0ppm) in pool water and the Taylor K-1004 Troubleshooter Test Kit which tests for alkalinity, pH and other water parameters… a simpler, less expensive option exists.

The Pool Check brand of pool test strips manufactures a dip-n-read test strip product called the Pool Check Copper 3-Way which tests for copper, pH and total alkalinity — the three main water quality parameters you will want to keep an eye on most of the time.

This product boasts detection ranges of:

1. Copper: 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, 1, 2 ppm
2. Total Alkalinity: 0, 40, 80, 120, 180, 240, 360 ppm
3. pH: 6, 6.4, 6.8, 7.2, 7.6, 8.2, 9

… and has a total test time of around one minute.

Additionally, this product requires no special chemicals, no multi-step instructions, no proprietary testing vessels (containers), and has a cost of around $11 for 50 tests!

So, unless you feel re-visiting your old high school chemistry days, we suggest you take a look at the Pool Check Copper 3-Way for your day-to-day pool water testing needs.

Pools and water parks can provide hours and hours of wet fun on a hot summer day but they can also harbor all sorts of unwanted and potentially harmful types of bacteria that can make life very rough for all those who ingest them accidentally.

Ready to get grossed out?

No matter how many times we read them, the following statistics never cease to turn our stomachs:

According to a recent survey conducted on behalf of the Water Quality and Health Council…

• The majority of Americans (81 percent) believe that others are urinating in pools while swimming.
• One in five (20 percent) admitted urinating in swimming pools rather than getting out to use the restroom.
• Additionally, 83 percent of those surveyed said they had concerns about other swimmers possibly having diarrhea. ( source )

So there you have it, folks. Solid proof that we live in a world with truly nasty individuals who, for laziness’ sake alone, willingly turn a nice, cool and refreshing swimming pool into a lukewarm toilet.

Nasty. Simply nasty!

Steps to protect yourself from ‘dirty’ pool water

First of all, assume that nasty people use the pool and make sure the water has, at the very least, an adequate amount of sanitizer (usually free chlorine or bromine), a properly balance pH, and the correct amount of total alkalinity. These three key water quality parameters can make the difference between a safe swimming experience and one that could result in your spending a whole lot of ‘quality time’ in the bathroom for the next week.

Next, do your part to keep the water clean by showering before swimming so that the total contaminant load in the water can stay down. Yeah, we KNOW that jumping into the cool water of a swimming pool after playing basketball, cutting the grass, or any other sweat-forming activity feels good but all that sweat and body oil adds to the organic contaminant load in the water and reduces the amount of sanitizer available to keep potentially harmful germ and bacteria at bay.

As you enjoy your time in the water, do yourself a favor and keep your mouth shut whenever possible. Resist the urge to allow ANY pool water in your mouth because it seriously takes just a really small amount of contaminated pool water to make a person ill.

Granted you went to the pool to get away from work, but do yourself a favor and count the number of sodas/beers folks around you ingest… and note how many times, if any, they excuse themselves to use the restroom. If the math doesn’t add up, then keep away from them in the pool for sure!

If you can, check the flow of water from the return jets because if they don’t produce water then the filter’s not filtering and anything that got into the water (by accident or by intent) will remain in the water… lurking… waiting for a chance to make someone sick.

We all have PERFECT children who NEVER do anything wrong but please take your kids to the bathroom regularly while at the pool. Do we need to say more on the matter?

And finally, after you complete your swim, assume you swam with nasty people who pee in the pool and wash that pool water off by taking a shower, rinsing off w/ a garden hose, etc. Don’t keep that potentially contaminated water on you any longer than you have to!

A recent article published online ( Dubai Pools Infested with Bacteria ) reported that many of the privately owned swimming pools in Dubai tested positive for potentially harmful strands of bacteria such as Coliforms, Pseudomonas Aeruginosa and Fecal Streptococcus.

In a word, “Yuck!”

We imagine that the United Arab Emirates has sanitation rules for its public swimming pools similar to those found in the United States but also just like here in the United States, those rules and regulations probably do not extend to privately owned swimming pools.

So, the next time you find yourself about the hop into a private Dubai swimming pool — or a private pool here in the US for that matter — take a few seconds beforehand to test the water for basic (and important!) pool water quality parameters such as Free Chlorine, pH and Alkalinity. The Pool Check 3-Way Test Strip costs very little, requires no chemicals, and gives accurate test results almost immediately.

Pool Check 3 Way Test Strip Color Chart

Ever pack up the family and head to the beach only to find that officials had closed it (posted signs prohibiting swimming) due to routine test for bacteria coming back higher than health regulations permitted? Did you then wonder why the beach closed a day AFTER testing took place? If so, then you have had the same thoughts as folks Evanston, Illinois who monitor water quality conditions on several beaches on Lake Michigan.

Current testing methods take too long

At this time it takes between 18 and 24 hours for laboratory test results to get back to beach officials. This means swimmers on a Tuesday, for example, could swim in potentially unsafe water and beach officials would not know to close the beach until Wednesday… and the conditions which caused the beach to get closed (a day later) may already have improved.

Proposed idea for improvement

As you just saw, the current testing methods take too long, put swimmers at risk, and potentially keep other swimmers, for no good reason, from enjoying the water. Health officials in Evanston, Illinois came up with an idea that could help to make diagnosis of beach water quality more of a real-time process.

While the final word on water safety will still come from the laboratory, beach personnel will look at factors like air & water temperature, recent rainfall, wind direction, and other factors which they believe may contribute to the buildup of potentially harmful bacteria in the water. The results of those observations will get charted against the lab results to see if some sort of ‘predictable’ relationship exists.

This sort of prediction has worked relatively well for other beaches and Evanston officials hope they will share in that success.

For the past five years, the city has used an EPA sanitary beach survey, which focuses on environmental factors that can cause a beach closure, Caneva said.

Those conditions include such factors as rainfall, air temperature, water temperature, turbidity, number of swimmers and nonswimmers on the beach, pollution sources, items floating in the water, the presence of birds and algae.

With the new system, health officials will assign a value to the data collected for each of those environmental factors. By plugging those values into an equation, Caneva said the city hopes to be able to better predict when the factors are right for a beach closure.

The city will continue testing water daily and will compare the accuracy of the prediction model to test results.

“This makes so much more sense, rather than everyone wondering why we’re closing a beach the day after conditions existed that require the beach closure,” said Ald. Jane Grover, 7th, during a recent Human Services Committee meeting. “I’m curious to see whether the scientific data matches up with the statistical predictions.”

The predictive model is used elsewhere, including at some beaches in Lake County, Caneva said. He said Lake County reports an 85 percent accuracy rate in predicting beach closures.

The city’s six beaches were closed 23 times last year, down from 48 times in 2010.

Caneva said the relatively low rainfall totals last summer probably played a large factor in that drop in closures from 2010. ( source )

So… what about the rest of us NOT going to the beach and stuck at home enjoying a dip in a public or private pool? We need to make sure the water has the proper amount of sanitizer (usually chlorine or bromine) and that critical water quality parameters such as pH, total alkalinity, stabilizer (cyanuric acid), and total hardness all have the correct levels before hopping in to cool off.

To know fur sure that all levels measure correctly at any given time homeowners and operators of private swimming pools need to test the quality of their pool water on a regular basis using a traditional wet test kit such as the Poolmaster 5-Way Test Kit, Pool Check Test Strips, or the eXact Micro 7+ Pool Water Testing Meter.

Taylor 2-Way Test Kit (DPD)

Taylor 2-Way Test Kit (OTO)

Taylor K-1004 Test Kit

]]> http://watertestingblog.com/2012/06/27/improving-water-quality-testing-at-the-beach/feed/ 0 http://watertestingblog.com/2012/06/12/online-pool-water-testing-yes-its-real/ http://watertestingblog.com/2012/06/12/online-pool-water-testing-yes-its-real/#respond Tue, 12 Jun 2012 13:03:04 +0000 http://pool-water-testing.com/pool-testing-blog/?p=833 Since our friends over at Water Testing Blog keep ‘borrowing’ articles from us, we figured that today would be a GREAT day to ‘borrow’ one from them.

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Recently we saw that a company had a link on its web site entitled Online Pool Water Testing… and quite honestly it seemed a bit weird to think that a company could POSSIBLY test your water over the Internet so naturally we went and checked out the link.

We EXPECTED to find a convoluted bunch of advertising hype leading up to asking us to send a sample of our water to a lab someplace bu we did not find anything of that nature.

The company, In the Swim (www.intheswim.com) posted a very simple online form that asked for just a few simple pieces of information that one could obtain by looking at their pool water and using a test strip like the Pool Check 5-Way Pool Test Strips offered in our online store.

The form asked for the following pieces of information: Pool type (pool or spa), water conditions (cloudy or clear & color if cloudy), visible algae, visible stains, pH, total alkalinity, calcium hardness, and free/available chlorine (or bromine).

Then, once we hit the ‘submit’ button it took us to a page where it placed all of our values in a nice, neat table that also contained the industry accepted values for the same pool water quality parameters. This made it very easy for us to see exactly how our pool water quality compared to the way it should be.

We then had a chance to ‘view suggestions’ regarding our personal water quality situation — which we did — and a new page appeared with information regarding possible causes of our pool water woes (we said we had cloudy water and low pH). At this point the program did, of course, give a push for us to add some chemicals to our cart, but never once did the program’s language seem threatening or intimidating… like we have overheard in many pool stores over the years.

• “If you don’t fix this problem right away your pool will rot.”
• “Yeah, you CAN swim in it as-is, but I wouldn’t.”
• “Hey, if the machine says you need these chemicals then you NEED these chemicals.”
• And one of our favorites of all time: “Don’t come crying to us when your skin gets all itchy and your hair turns green, OK?”

Yep. Got to love the untrained, uncouth water testing personnel in some pool stores. Wait, we take that back. No, you don’t have to love them. You SHOULD, however, make use of Pool Check Test 5-Way Strips and the convenient, not-too-pushy Online Pool Water Test program on IntheSwim.Com. No download required, either! It’s 100% online and easy!

Pool Check 5-Way Test Strip

Pool Check 6-Way Test Strip

Pool Check Salt Test Strips

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We had not seen the online water test on In the Swim before and want to thank Water Testing Blog for bringing it to our attention. After playing around w/ it ourselves just now we, too, found the process pretty easy, completely painless and totally worthwhile.

Many pool stores use test methods no more sophisticated than the testing tools than you may already have at home or that you can purchase online at places like In the Swim or from our own Pool Water Test Kit Store.