• First of all, repair any and all visible leaks right away. Even the smallest leak point can result in large amounts of water leaving a pool… and depending upon the location of the leak that runaway water could potentially erode the ground under your pool causing all sorts of other problems.
• Should your pool pump’s operating pressure rise by about 10 psi (pounds per square inch), clean the filters elements (fingers, cartridges, etc.) or backwash the system. Take care NOT to allow wash water or backwash water to run into a storm water drain, stream or other natural body of water.
• Warmer water will evaporate faster than cooler water so keeping your pool water temperature around 78 degrees Fahrenheit will make it pleasant to cool off in and less likely to evaporate.
• Increased wind over a pool’s surface also increases the evaporation rate so if possible, plant trees and shrubs around the pool to protect it from blowing winds. Just make certain not to plant anything that drops leaves, berries or other things that would wind up in the pool.
• Use of a solar cover to insulate the water in the evenings will help to reduce evaporation. Worried that you can’t get the cover on and off? Solar cover reels install easily on most pools and make moving solar covers easy enough for one person to do the job.
• This last one takes the heart of a lion, we admit: Discourage excess splashing of water out of the pool… if possible. Kids WILL be kids and cannonballs ARE fun (even for us adults!) but if conserving water is the goal, cutting back on the cannonballs will have to happen. 🙂

In short, swimming pools offer a wealth of fun in the sun (and after dark if the temperature stays right!) and keeping them running right and doing our best to reduce water loss comes as part of the package. Another part of the package involves safe, responsible use and disposal of the chemicals used to keep pools operating safely and cleanly. Have FUN in the pool, definitely, but try to keep the water and chemicals where they belong: In the pool.

If simply drained into the streets the water winds up in storm drains which lead sometimes lead to local waterways where the chlorine could cause serious harm to aquatic life.

Draining pool water into sanitary sewer systems — the same ones that handle waste water and toilet water — could cause those systems to get backed up since many do not have the ability to handle large volumes of water.

So… How should I dispose of pool water?

From what we have read, environmental experts and department of public works employees suggest allowing the pool water’s chlorine level to dissipate as much as possible before releasing water into the environment or storm water systems. Make sure to keep the pool water circulating with the pool’s pump/filter during the dissipation process since doing so should aid in making the chlorine dissipation process go a little faster.

How will I know when the chlorine level drops close to zero?

Simple dip-and-read test strips for TOTAL chlorine, not free chlorine, work well and your basic 5-drop OTO pool water test kits work well, too.

Q. Can I get a bacterial infection or get a virus from a public swimming pool or waterpark?  They have to have chlorine so I should be safe, right?"

A. Regrettably, not all public pools and water parks get the sort of proper maintenance they require.  Poorly maintained swimming pools and other water parks may contain dangerous levels of bacteria, viruses, and parasites that, for some people, may result in ear infections, colds, pneumonia, stomach illnesses, 

Before you jump in, check to see whether the pool looks clean (you should be able to see the bot­tom), the pump and filtration equipment are working (you should hear them humming), and the pool walls should not feel slimy.

Many public pools have publicly displayed water test results on chalkboards or dry erase boards that also tell the time of the last test.  As a general rule, chlorine levels should be around 1 to 3 parts per million and the water should have a pH between 7.2 and 7.8 ppm.

So... if all chemicals are at the correct levels I'm OK, right?

Again, and most regrettably, not always.  Some strains of bacteria and types of viruses can withstand chlorine attacks and may linger in pool water longer than we'd like them to.  That is why swimmers are advised to stay out of the water if they have had diarrhea or gastrointestinal problems recently.

And it goes without saying that NO ONE SHOULD EVER PEE IN THE POOL!

Every swimming pool situation has its own unique twists, but the California Urban Water Conservation Council put together a list of water saving strategies that pretty much every pool owner should keep in mind:

• Use some sort of pool cover to slow down the evaporation rate — especially in the evenings when the air temperature can drop far below the water’s temperature — and potentially drop your water loss due to evaporation by as much as 30 percent.
   
• Fix and and ALL leaks in the pool as well as in its accompanying filter system. Small drops lost here and there can add up to large losses over time.
   
• OK, so no one really likes jumping into a frigid swimming pool (except those weird polar bear club members…), but keeping the water temperature from rising too high helps to reduce the evaporation rate since cooler water evaporates at a slower rate.
   
• Swimming pool fountains look beautiful and for those with waterfall features, well, those are even MORE beautiful (in our humble opinion)… but with the added beauty comes increased evaporation since aeration causes increased evaporation.
   
• No one we know has ever REALLY wanted to clean their swimming pool filters by hand, yes we know, but did you know that the average swimming pool backwash cycle can use hundreds of gallons and possibly a whole lot more depending on the size of the pool? Manually cleaning pool filter elements uses far less water.

Though located out in California and intending for their advice to reach local residents, the San Diego County Water Authority offers a number of resources that we feel could apply to residents from other areas, as well, on the following web site: www.WaterSmartSD.org.

This year’s simple pool test kit lineup includes the Pool Check 3-Way, 4-Way, 5-Way, and 6-Way test strips.

We also carry the Taylor Basic Phenol Red (pH) & OTO for Total Chlorine (K-1000), Taylor Basic Phenol Red (pH) & DPD for Free Chlorine (K-1001), and the Taylor Troubleshooter (K-1004) test kits.

No matter which test kit you select, please keep in mind that a test kit will do you absolutely no good if you never use it. Also, waiting until a problem starts to develop before you test will also do you no good.

Pool water testing alerts you to water quality deficiencies that could result in water quality issues (i.e. cloudiness, algae, stains, etc.). Catching the deficiency before it turns into a problem can save you hours of aggravation and quite a bit of money in chemicals that treat algae, cloudiness, staining, and other water problems.

Preferred water quality levels

Another question we get each year: “What levels should my pool water have?”

Below you will find a list of basic pool water parameters along with their optimal ranges:

• pH: 7.2 – 7.8
• Free Chlorine: 1.0 – 2.0 ppm
• Total Alkalinity: 80 – 120 ppm
• Calcium Hardness: 180 – 220 ppm, though some say 200 – 400 ppm for plaster and/or gunite pools..
• Cyanuric Acid: 25 – 50 ppm
• Total Dissolved Solids: 500 – 5000 ppm

Please note, however, that not all pools will require the exact same water chemistry to stay safe for swimming and crystal clear so if you have doubts about specific pool water quality concerns, definitely get in touch with a pool water professional (i.e. service company or staff in a local pool store) before adding water treatment chemicals.

Adding the wrong chemicals can make a problem much worse and often times a lot more expensive to correct!

What do you mean by ‘regular basis’?

We will address this question first by giving a list of definite reasons to test one’s pool water:

• Brand New Pool – Better to run a full battery of tests that includes things like dissolved metals in your source water and remove any you find or risk having those metals come out of solution and stain your brand new pool when you add chlorine/bromine. Also, you will want to know exactly what to add (i.e. pH adjuster, alkalinity adjuster, hardness, etc.)
   
• Opening Your Pool – After adding source water, and before adding chemicals, test the water to make sure you have no dissolved metals and also so that you do not add other pool chemicals (i.e pH, alkalinity, hardness, etc.) unnecessarily.
   
• After a Natural Event – Test your water for the basics (i.e. sanitizer level, pH, alkalinity, hardness, etc.) after periods of heavy rain, heavy winds, etc.
   
• When Nature Calls – Should you ever realize that someone has taken a ‘phone call from Nature’ in your pool, get everyone out and follow suggested pool shocking practices which usually require maintaining sanitizer levels at or above a certain level for a specified period of time before allowing anyone back into the water.

  You will need to test for those elevated sanitizer levels in order to know that you have followed the procedure… and then you will need to test to make sure those have sufficiently decreased before allowing bathers to re-enter the water.
   

• In the Event of Algae and/or Cloudy Water – If either of these two pool water conditions afflicts your pool then you should certainly test the water to find the problem, obtain the correct chemicals to correct the problem, and test to make corrected the problem.
   
• After the Crowd Has Left – The larger the bather load, the greater the likelihood of a shift in a pool water chemistry balance. Suntan oils, sweat, and, um undetected ‘liquid accidents’ all have an effect on the water’s pH, alkalinity and sanitizer levels
   
• Closing Your Pool – Always test the water and correct any problems with the water before closing the pool because water problems that exist at the end of the season will only get worse when the pool sits idle over the Winter months.

Getting to the actual question in the title of this article, though, we suggest testing the water as often as you can. In all honesty, with the correct pool water testing product, taking a quick snapshot of your pool’s water quality ought not take more than about a minute.

We suggest daily pool testing, but let’s face it… kids, school, work, chasing the neighbor’s cat out of the yard, and darn near 1 million other things rob most of us of any remaining, few, and precious seconds of ‘free’ time as it is — so how about testing each time you go out to check the skimmer?

Or, for those with automatic chlorine or bromine feeders (very useful gadgets, by the way!), how about every time you go poolside to fill up your feeder?

In the end, though, just like the owners of private water wells, no government agent will come out and make you test the quality of your water. Therefore, it becomes a personal choice as to whether or not a pool owner wants to test regularly and potentially stop pool water problems before they get out of hand (cloudy water, algae, bacteria, parasites, etc.) … or spend money to correct each of those problems after they occur.

Economics of pool water testing?

A bottle of Pool Check 6-Way Test Strips costs around $12 and provides 50 fairly comprehensive pool tests… with each test taking a bout a minute.

On the other hand, not testing a pool regularly can result in a pool owner having to spend an estimated $4 to $6 per 10,000 gallons of pool water for shock (liquid or powdered), no less than $5 or $6 for a gallon of standard algaecide ($20+ for the concentrated stuff!), and in really bad cases… $20+ per quart for stain remover.

Did we mention that correcting pool water problems usually also involves time spent brushing down walls, backwashing (and possibly having to acid wash) filters clogged with algae, and getting a real workout scrubbing stains off of pool surfaces?

And in conclusion…

You do the math on whether or not regular pool water testing makes sense.

For more information on pool water testing, please check out the pool water section/category of this site.

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

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.