This Swimming Pool Antifreeze Contains NO Ethylene Glycol

"While in [insert name of large retail chain store here] looking for a small bucket of chlorine pucks to tide us over until we close the pool in a few weeks we heard a man nsay something about poisoned anti-freeze for pools. Have you heard of this? Can test for this? Thanks, MamaMissy"

First of all, why would someone go through the trouble of lacing antifreeze with a poison? What would they possibly gain from such an act?

And secondly, most anti-freeze is already a form of poison and should not get consumed... but the story does not end there.

Typically in swimming pool anti-freeze you will find a compound called Propylene Glycol, a compound that does have the potential to cause harm to a person if accidentally ingested. However, according to the United States Food & Drug Administration this same compound may get used in certain applications involving food because of its low toxicity.

This Swimming Pool Antifreeze Contains NO Ethylene Glycol

In other words, the stuff does not pack enough of a punch in small doses to do any real harm. Its 'cousin', a compound called Ethylene Glycol, on the other hand, gets used in industrial and automotive applications and will cause harm in small doses. For that reason the United States Food & Drug Administration does not permit the use of ethylene glycol in any application where it could accidentally, or intentionally, get ingested.

• Both ethylene glycol and propylene glycol get used in different types of antifreeze products, but only propylene glycol can get used in applications where it could accidentally leak in a manner that could cause it to come into contact w/ people and/or get consumed in minute amounts.
• Automotive antifreeze normally contains ethylene glycol, has a bright color to it, and can have a sweetish scent & odor. Health officials suggest storing all mixtures containing ethylene glycol in elevated locations and cleaning all spills immediately since the compounds sweet and colorful nature can make it intriguing to both animals and children.

So... getting back to the notion that a person may have intentionally tainted pool antifreeze, the idea makes little to no sense. If anything, we suppose the story of poisoned swimming pool antifreeze may have resulted from a real-life case of a non-chemically savvy person dumping a product like car/truck antifreeze (which contained ethylene glycol) into their pool lines because they A) believed it would save them money; B) didn't bother to read the directions; or C) flat out had no idea what the heck they were doing.

With that said, if you don't know for sure the right way to winterize your pool, seek the advice and/or assistance of those who do! ]]> http://watertestingblog.com/2012/09/13/rumors-of-tainted-poisoned-pool-anti-freeze/feed/ 0 http://watertestingblog.com/2012/09/05/swimming-pool-closing-kits/ http://watertestingblog.com/2012/09/05/swimming-pool-closing-kits/#respond Wed, 05 Sep 2012 17:15:45 +0000 http://pool-water-testing.com/pool-testing-blog/?p=726 Winter Cover and pick up Winterizing Supplies in preparation for the annual closing of the swimming pool.

Pool Closing Kits @ InTheSwim.Com

Over the winter months your pump and filter don't run so the water in your pool gets neither circulated nor sanitized... and that makes your once pristine pool water the perfect breeding ground for algae. By properly using winter pool covers and pool closing (winterizing) kits you can help make opening your pool a much less painful (and expensive!) process in the Spring! What sort of chemicals do most pool closing kits contain? Most of the closing kits we've seen this year seem to contain a combination of chlorine-free shock, some sort of time-release chemical feeder, stain preventatives, and oil/lotion removal devices. Why use chlorine-free shock? As one would expect, chlorine-based shock treatments could, if in too great a concentration, cause damage to various pool parts such as walls, liners, covers, etc. Additionally, chlorine-based shocks may also reduce the effectiveness of other chemicals in the water (i.e. algaecides, stain preventatives, etc.). Importance of time-release chemical feeder? When most folks get a runny nose they certainly do want instant relief, but they also want that feeling of relief to last for a while so they take time-release decongestants and/or antihistamines. If you want your pool to stay healthy all winter, then it, too, will probably fare much better with a time release chemical feeder than with chemical treatments that get added all at one time. Do I really need stain preventatives? As runoff from around the pool seeps in and metal fixture in and around the pool have a chance to potentially leach their elements into the water, the risk of those metals possibly dropping out of solution and forming stains increases as the water temperature drops. Why worry about oils and lotions? Again, as the water temperature drops, suspended body oils and lotions that came from swimmers during the Summer will have a greater likelihood of coming out of suspension, migrating towards pool walls, and depositing themselves on whatever exposed surface they encounter. By the time you get ready to open the pool, well, those oils will have formed tough, hard to remove stains all around the edge of the pool. Where can I buy closing kits? 171 out of 175 customers who purchased the swimming pool closing kit offered by In the Swim said they would recommend the product to friends. Additionally, we have heard similar success stories from folks who used swimming pool closing kits offered by Pool Center, another online pool supply store with an excellent reputation.

Pool Closing & Winterizing Kits @ PoolCenter.Com

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!

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!

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.

What? Cloudy pool water KILLED someone?!? Sadly, yes.

Authorities in Albany, Georgia responded to an emergency call involving a missing teenage boy in a swimming pool and arrived to find the pool so green and cloudy that they could barely see a foot down into the water — and no one at the pool had seen the boy in quite a while.

ALBANY, GA – The condition of the water in a back yard swimming pool in Radium Springs may have contributed to the drowning of a teenager.

15-year-old Jamar Ponder was in town from New Jersey visiting relatives.

Late Tuesday afternoon, he went under the water while swimming with his cousins at the pool on North Rosewood Drive. The water was cloudy, and experts say that is dangerous.

“A group of kids were swimming and they lost one of them and didn’t recognize where he was at and couldn’t find him,” said Albany Fire Chief James Carswell.

A call was made to 911 and within minutes firefighters were on the scene. But even first responders who dove in the pool couldn’t see the teen at the bottom.

“The water clarity was such that you couldn’t see the hand in front of your face, per say. So they actually had to feel with their hands,” Carswell said.

The incident report details the water’s condition as “very murky and green.” The pool was so deep, rescuers “couldn’t make it all the way to bottom.”

Firefighter Brian Anderson used a Self Contained Breathing Apparatus to locate the teen at the bottom of the pool.

It’s not clear how long the teen, who witnesses say was attempting to swim from one side to other, was underwater.

Ponder was rushed to Phoebe Putney Hospital where he died.

“If you can’t see the main drain, it’s not safe to enter the water,” said Jeffrey DuMott. aquatics director at Albany’s YMCA.

…

Statistics show that cloudy or murky water is a contributing factor in nearly 10% of drownings.

Last year a woman drowned in a Massachusetts public pool and wasn’t found for 2 days due to the poor visibility of the water. ( source )

Judging by the description of the water given by emergency responders, we suspect the pool recently had a bad algae problem that its owners had only recently attempted to address with a heavy dose of sanitizer or shock. Very green, algae-infested water usually turns cloudy after the addition of shock and it takes time for the filter to catch all of the dead algae.

Clearing up cloudy water

As with most water chemistry issues resolving a cloudy water situation first requires the correction of any water chemistry imbalances (i.e. pH, Total Alkalinity, Sanitizer Levels, etc.) and enough time for the pool’s filter to do its job.

If you believe you have a need for chemicals to balance your pool water, InTheSwim.Com carries a wide variety of supplies that may come in handy — and they tend to ship quite fast!

Do pool water clarifiers help?

In some respects, yes, but only if the pool owner/operator keeps a close eye on the pool filter’s pressure gauge. Clarifiers do make it easier for a pool filter to catch suspended dead algae particles, yes, but that also means the filter will need to get backwashed more frequently… or water in the pool will not get circulated properly and pools that lack proper circulation will take longer to clear up.

Poorly circulated pool water may also mean that pockets of the chemicals added in the clean up effort will not get distributed evenly and that may, as in the case of certain chlorine shock treatments, result in areas of pool water with very high chlorine concentrations that could potentially harm liners or other pool components.

Basic steps to clean up green/cloudy pool water

1. Make sure pump & filter running optimally (i.e. clean filter thoroughly)
2. Test for critical pool water quality parameters and balance the pool chemistry (pH, alkalinity, hardness, stabilizer, etc.) accordingly
3. Brush wall and floor areas thoroughly and remove any ‘large’ or ‘solid’ material from the water using a skimmer or leaf net
4. Add the appropriate amount of shock treatment to the pool water
5. Allow filter to run non-stop and backwash filter when needed
6. Once water clears up perform a thorough cleaning of the filter, balance the critical pool water quality parameters (including the sanitizer level), and enjoy your sparkling clear pool water

Those simple steps cleared up algae and cloudy water problems in customer pools time and time again BUT every once in a while we stumbled across a pool that defied the rules and we had to employ backup methods such as clarifiers, flocculants, non-chlorine shock treatments, etc.

Moral of the story

Our heartfelt condolences go out to the family of the young man who lost his life in Atlanta, GA earlier this week possibly as a result of getting disoriented under the water in extremely cloudy pool water. More than likely that teen did not have to die so please, everyone, if you cannot see the main drain of a pool from the surface you do not need to get in that water.

Swim safe and in clear, clean water this Summer!

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.

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Over the Winter months nasty pool shed Gremlins content themselves with stealing (or hiding) important things like 2-way test kits, test strips, and, of course, the color charts that go along with pool water test kits. One such unfortunate soul contacted us late last night through our Pool Water Test Kit Store asking if we carried the color chart for Aquachek 7-Way Test Strips… and although we do not personally sell the product in our web store, we DO have a copy of the color chart needed to interpret the results given by Aquachek 7-Way Test Strips.

Aquachek Color Chart Online: 7 Way / 7-in-1 Pool Test Strip

We hope this helps not only the gentleman who asked the question, but also anyone else whose Aquachek 7-Way Test Strip color chart got stolen by those fiendish pool shed Gremlins! 🙂

And finally, for those in search of a simple test kit for chlorine and pH — because the dog/cat/ferret/pterodactyl ate your old one — you can purchase those here on the InTheSwim.Com web site.

Simple 2 Way Test Kit for pH and Total Chlorine

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So there you have it, folks. No more can those pesky pool cabana cannibals ruin your pool testing efforts with Aquachek 7-Way Test Strip using thievery — unless, of course, they steal you test strips, too!

Happy Sunday, everyone!

Aquachek Color Chart Online: 7 Way / 7-in-1 Pool Test Strip

We hope this helps not only the gentleman who asked the question, but also anyone else whose Aquachek 7-Way Test Strip color chart got stolen by those fiendish pool shed Gremlins!

And finally, for those in search of a simple test kit for chlorine and pH — because the dog/cat/ferret/pterodactyl ate your old one — you can purchase those here in the Pool Water Test Kit Store.

Simple 2 Way Test Kit for pH and Total Chlorine
Taylor K-1000 pH & OTO 2-Way Test Kit