Pool Water Testing Blog

Amelia from Connecticut asked an interesting question:

“We have owned a pool for more than 15 years now and each year come Spring my hubby and I go through the same routine: Get the cover off, clean debris out of the pool with the leaf rake ‘cuz a family of chipmunks chewed a whole through the darn cover as usual, shock the pool with a ton of chlorine, add algaecide, balance the water chemistry, add clarifier, etc., etc. Isn’t there any way to make the whole routine easier?”

Thank you, Amelia, for emailing us a question that has most of us scratching our heads — and not because we have fleas, either!

Quite frankly, we have opened more pools than we care to remember and gone through that exact same routine pretty much each and every time. Recently we have heard talk about a product called ‘Spring Pill‘ which supposedly packs an all-in-one punch that helps to simplify the Spring start-up process, but we have heard/read no testimonials (good or bad) about them as of yet.

With so many different water chemistry possibilities and potential problems with a body of pool water at the beginning of swimming season we cannot, for the life of us, figure out how one single pill will clean up a freshly opened pool which may contain boatloads of algae, a plethora of metals, enormous amount of phosphates, etc.

Having said that, you can read more about the ‘Spring Pill‘ on the Amerimerc Online Pool Supply Web Site… or you can just keep reading this blog entry since we plan on telling you what they say about the product in the next few paragraphs.

And now, for your reading pleasure, some promotional text about the ‘Spring Pill‘. Enjoy!

SpringPill All-in-One Formula is an Exclusive 4-Part Blend to make spring openings faster and easier than ever! It clarifies the pool water and prevents scaling and staining. SpringPill is enzyme enhanced. It naturally destroys all organics, preventing water ring, enhancing filter performance and improving sanitizer efficiency. Saves you money & time. Safe for use with all pool surfaces & filters. One Pill Treats Up to 30,000 Gallons.

• Easy-to-Use, All-in-One Pool Start-Up – Simply Drop in Pool’s Skimmer
• Quickly Improves Water Quality and Appearance
• All-Natural, Hypoallergenic Formula
• One Pill Treats Up to 30,000 Gallons

( source )

Though not related at all to pool water testing, improper actions in a public pool that has designated lap lanes can definitely test some people’s patience! For that reason the Washington Post recently published an article entitled “The Misfits: Swimming Pool Lane Etiquette” and since we know you have better things to do than read a whole article, we have extracted the part you need to know:

The basics of lap-swimming are fairly simple. Two people can split a lane down the middle and stay out of each other’s way. Once another person jumps in, the pattern automatically switches to circle swimming (that means stay to the right in a counterclockwise pattern). You can pass on the left after tapping the foot of the person ahead of you.

It’s also critical to understand the lay of the land — er, water. Almost all pools have their slowest lanes on each side and get progressively faster toward the middle. Many pools have signs designating the speed of a lane, but figuring out where you belong is a bit subjective. What is “slow”? “Medium”? “Fast”? “Very fast?” No one really knows. It’s up to you to scope out what’s happening around you and determine whether you need to switch.

The walls at the ends of the pool may look like a good place to take a quick break, but they’re also where other folks plant their feet to do a flip turn. It’s fine to rest there; just be sure to scoot over to the side and keep the middle of your lane as clear as possible.

Not too complicated, right? But when people don’t know the rules, or decide not to follow them, it can make quite a splash. “One time, there were two guys on the verge of a fistfight in the pool. Definitely words were exchanged,” says 27-year-old Travis Rothway, a coach on the National Capital Y’s Masters team. ( source )

If you’ve opened up your shed or pool house and discovered that somehow, and most probably magically, your 2-way test kit or your 5-way test kit has disappeared or gotten smashed into little plastic bits, then you have come to the right place. Below you will find Pentair 2-Way and Pentair 5-Way test kits for pools and spas:

One of the most asked questions of all time when it comes to pool care: Do I need a solar cover?

Answer: No, pool owners do NOT need a solar cover, but they do offer some pretty nice benefits.

(1) Save Water: One water district in the Las Vegas, NV area claims on their web site that pool owners can reduce pool water evaporation by as much as 90% by covering their swimming pools when not in use. ( source )

(2) Save Money: Less evaporation means less water loss over the season and that means fewer times a pool owner has to stick the garden hose in the pool, which raises the water bill, or call for a water truck, which also costs money.

Pool owners also save money in the form of chemicals (i.e. chlorine, bromine, etc.) since a covered surface cannot off-gas as readily. Less off-gassing means the chemicals a pool owner paid for and added to their pool will stay in the water longer and not need replenishing as often.

(3) Extended Swimming Season: Simply put, the water in pools with a properly used solar cover will stay warmer for a longer period of time after the peak Summer heating days have passed and people can continue to enjoy a pool for a few extra weeks.

(4) Less Cleaning: Solar covers offer a bit of protection against blowing debris such as leaves, dirt, etc. Instead of landing on the pool’s surface and immediately sticking and/or sinking to the bottom, some debris will just bounce off and continue on its way.

So as you can see, a small investment in a solar cover has the ability to make your swimming pool experience a lot more enjoyable. Below you will find links to solar covers in all different shapes, sizes and thicknesses:

• 12′ ROUND SOLAR BLANKET 8 MIL 3 YR WARRANTY
• 15′ ROUND SOLAR BLANKET 8 MIL 3 YR WARRANTY
• 18′ ROUND SOLAR BLANKET 8 MIL 3 YR WARRANTY
• 21′ ROUND SOLAR BLANKET 8 MIL 3 YR WARRANTY
• 24′ ROUND SOLAR BLANKET 8 MIL 3 YR WARRANTY
• 28′ ROUND SOLAR BLANKET 8 MIL 3 YR WARRANTY
• 30′ ROUND SOLAR BLANKET 8 MIL 3 YR WARRANTY
• 33′ ROUND SOLAR BLANKET 8 MIL 3 YR WARRANTY
• 12′ X 18′ OVAL SOLAR BLANKET 8 MIL 3 YR WARRANTY
• 12′ X 24′ OVAL SOLAR BLANKET 8 MIL 3 YR WARRANTY
• 15′ X 30′ OVAL
• 16′ X 24′ OVAL SOLAR BLANKET 8 MIL 3 YR WARRANTY
• 16′ X 32′ OVAL SOLAR BLANKET 8 MIL 3 YR WARRANTY
• 18′ X 33′ OVAL SOLAR BLANKET 8 MIL 3 YR WARRANTY
• 18′ X 40′ OVAL SOLAR BLANKET 8 MIL 3 YR WARRANTY
• 18′ X 44′ OVAL SOLAR BLANKET 8 MIL 3 YR WARRANTY
• 21′ X 41′ OVAL SOLAR BLANKET 8 MIL 3 YR WARRANTY
• 12′ X 20′ RECT. SOLAR BLANKET 12 MIL 5 YR WARRANTY – BLUE
• 12′ X 24′ RECT. SOLAR BLANKET 12 MIL 5 YR WARRANTY
• 14′ X 28′ RECT. SOLAR BLANKET 12 MIL 5 YR WARRANTY
• 16′ X 24′ RECT. SOLAR BLANKET 12 MIL 5 YR WARRANTY
• 16′ X 32′ RECT. SOLAR BLANKET 12 MIL 5 YR WARRANTY
• 18′ X 36′ RECTANGLE BLUE SOLAR BLANKET 12 MIL 5 YR WARRANTY
• 20′ X 40′ RECTANGLE BLUE SOLAR BLANKET 12 MIL 5 YR WARRANTY
• 20′ X 44′ RECTANGLE BLUE SOLAR BLANKET 12 MIL 5 YR WARRANTY
• 24′ X 40′ RECT. SOLAR BLANKET 12 MIL 5 YR WARRANTY
• 30′ X 50′ RECT. SOLAR BLANKET 12 MIL 5 YR WARRANTY
• 15′ ROUND MAGNI-CLEAR SOLAR BLANKET 12 MIL 5 YR WARRANTY
• 18′ ROUND SOLAR BLANKET 12 MIL 5 YR WARRANTY
• 21′ ROUND SOLAR BLANKET 12 MIL 5 YR WARRANTY
• 24′ ROUND SOLAR BLANKET 12 MIL 5 YR WARRANTY
• 28′ ROUND SOLAR BLANKET 12 MIL 5 YR WARRANTY
• 12′ X 24′ OVAL SOLAR BLANKET 12 MIL 5 YR WARRANTY
• 15′ X 30′ OVAL SOLAR BLANKET 12 MIL 5 YR WARRANTY
• 16′ X 32′ OVAL SOLAR BLANKET 12 MIL 5 YR WARRANTY
• 18′ X 33′ OVAL SOLAR BLANKET 12 MIL 5 YR WARRANTY
• 12′ X 24′ RECT SOLAR BLANKET 14 MIL 6 YR WARRANTY
• 16′ X 32′ RECT. SOLAR BLANKET 14 MIL 6 YR WARRANTY
• 18′ X 36′ RECTANGLE CLEAR SOLAR BLANKET 12 MIL 5 YR WARRANTY
• 20′ X 40′ RECTANGLE CLEAR SOLAR BLANKET 12 MIL 5 YR WARRANTY
• 20′ X 44′ RECTANGLE CLEAR SOLAR BLANKET 12 MIL 5 YR WARRANTY
• 30′ X 50′ RECT. SOLAR BLANKET 14 MIL 6 YR WARRANTY

OK, so you survived another brutal winter w/o incident and you find yourself ready to enjoy some nice, warm Spring weather — but the cover on your pool didn’t fare quite as well. Apparently the neighbor’s dog, or a snow-crazed squirrel, ventured out onto the cover at some point, got scared, and ripped the cover in numerous places as it scampered hastily back to the side of the pool.

Lucky for you we compiled a list of replacement winter covers last Fall:

• Winter Pool Covers Save You Money in the Spring

You can also find great selections of Winter covers at the following online swimming pool supply stores:

• www.PoolCenter.com
• www.InTheSwim.com
• www.Amerimerc.com

We recently spoke with the folks over at Pool Center, an online merchant of pool and spa supplies since 1995, and they filled us in on what Aquachek Test Strips and Meters they plan to carry for the 2010 Pool Season.

Perhaps the most advertised name in the pool test strip industry, Aquachek offers a wide selection of pool & spa testing products specifically calibrated to work in conjunction with the unique sanitizing chemicals, necessary balancing chemicals, and natural elements found in pool and spa water.

Want the very best in waterborne pathogen elimination technology? If so, then you will definitely want to consider investing in a UV Water Filter System for your pool. Take a look at some of the benefits offered by UV Water Filters:

• Reduction in chemical use
• Kills/Destroys micro-organisms that chlorine and salt systems cannot
• Generates no chemical smell
• Does not cause eye irritation
• Does not dry out skin or damage hair and clothing
• Extremely easy to maintain
• Completely non-corrosive
• Environmentally friendly or ‘Green’
• Works with pretty much any pool system
• Extremely effective against viruses, bacteria, algae, yeast, mold,
  etc.

With the arrival of Summer comes the desire to hang out in the sun, have fun all day, and hope at the end of the day that we have not gotten sunburned. Time and time again we keep doing it to ourselves because we have no idea how to gauge when we ought to cover up and/or go inside… or do we?

Lucky for all of us sun worshippers, poolside party people, and unfortunate folks that work in the sun on a regular basis that someone finally invented a personal UV meter so we can know when we have exposed ourselves to a dangerous amount of UV rays.

Personal UV Index Monitor & Exposure Alarm (DW-75488) Temperature, UV & Time	DW-75488
Personal UV Index Monitor & Exposure Timer (UV112) Displays Temperature, UV Index & Time	UV112

OK, so everyone knows it gets hot in the Summer… but some people do not think about the effects of humidity on the way our bodies handle heat. For that very reason hospital emergencies routinely deal with people suffering from heat exhaustion in the Summer months.

Ironically, some of the people admitted to hospitals started to feel the effects of heat exhaustion… while cleaning or working on their pools.

The human body cools itself by sweating and if the humidity gets too high, sweat does not evaporate off the skin fast enough and the body starts to retain more heat than it can handle. Therefore, when working outdoors in high heat and high humidity, use caution because the thermometer does not always tell the whole story.

As the new year’s swimming season gets ready to roll around for most of us, in a couple months, let us not forget to pick up replacement reagents for our Taylor Test Kits — else run the risk of using old, outdated and potentially ineffective testing reagents to make sure our pools contain safe, clean water.

Below you will find links to pretty much any Taylor Test Kit reagent you could ever need. So whether you need something as simple as replacement DPD Reagent or as sophisticated as Cyanuric Acid Reagent, we think you’ll find what you need right here.

• TAYLOR #2 COPPER REAGENT 3/4OZ
• TAYLOR #2 DPD REAGENT 2OZ.
• TAYLOR #2 DPD REAGENT 3/4OZ.
• TAYLOR #2 IRON REAGENT 3/4OZ. R-0852-A
• TAYLOR #3 DPD REAGENT 2OZ.
• TAYLOR #3 DPD REAGENT 3/4OZ.
• TAYLOR #6 BASE DEMAND REAGENT 2 OZ.
• TAYLOR #6 BASE DEMAND REAGENT 3/4 OZ.
• TAYLOR #7 THIOSULFATE REAGENT
• TAYLOR #7 THIOSULFATE REAGENT 2 0Z.
• TAYLOR #8 TOTAL ALKALINITY 2 OZ.
• TAYLOR #8 TOTAL ALKALINITY 3/4 OZ.
• TAYLOR #9 SULFURIC ACID 2 OZ.
• TAYLOR #9 SULFURIC ACID 3/4 OZ.
• TAYLOR #11P CALCIUM INDICATOR POWDER R-0011P-I
• TAYLOR #13 CYANURIC ACID 2 OZ.
• TAYLOR 3/4OZ DEOX (MONOPERSUL-FATE) REAGENT PACK K-2041
• TAYLOR DEOX REAGENT PACK(MONOPERSULFATE) 2 OZ
• TAYLOR PHENOL RED 2OZ
• TAYLOR PHENOL RED REAGENT
• TAYLOR REAGENT ACID DEMAND 2OZ
• TAYLOR REAGENT ACID DEMAND 2OZ R-0853-C

What’s that? You said you can’t find your test kit? The dog chewed up and destroyed your testing vials? Gremlins swooped in from Mars and squirted all your reagents on the walls of the shed? Hmmm…

Well if any of that ’stuff’ happened to you, then you might have a need for a brand new Taylor test kit for your pool!