Pool Care Economics... Part II - Chlorine Demand

11/25/2022

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Reduce the Demand & Save

Chlorine has three important jobs to do in your pool :

Killing germs
Oxidizing contaminants
Preventing algae.

What if you could reduce the need for chlorine by giving one of its jobs to another chemical?

Specialty Chemicals

Specialty chemicals are used to aid chlorine or completely takeover one of its jobs.

Algaecide

As part of a regular maintenance program, algaecide stops algae before it starts. This reduces the demand for chlorine. There are many algaecides to choose from. Some are added weekly, some once ever 3 months.

Shocks

Shocking a pool on a regular basis destroys organic contaminants like swimmers waste, plant material or even soil. These contaminants are the main source of “Chlorine Demand”. Eliminating this build-up will maximize the conversion to Free Chlorine and minimize Combined Chlorine.

Phosphates

Algae is a plant and plants need food. They make sugars through a process called “photosynthesis”. Phosphate, when bonded to sugars, provides part of the energy to make different kinds of sugars, carbohydrates and starches. These are then transformed into all of the organic compounds of the plant. No phosphate means no algae. No algae means a lower chlorine demand.

Enzymes

Have you ever noticed a brown, sticky build-up at the waterline of your pool? This is a sub-category of organic contaminant called “swimmers waste”. Eww. It consists of body oils, sun block, lotions, soap residue and hair products.

This is why your pool becomes cloudy after a party. Though shocking the pool will clean this up, the use of an enzyme will prevent it from happening in the first place.

In conclusion, reducing the chlorine demand through the use of specialty products will minimize the need for chlorine. If you use a Salt Cell to produce chlorine, these products will prolong it’s life.

Next week…PART III - Mineral Purifiers

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Pool Care Economics Part I - Reducing Chlorine Costs

11/18/2022

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Reduce Chlorine Costs

Maintaining a consistent day-to-day Free Chlorine level is one of the best ways to reduce chlorine demand. Click here for more info.

Allowing your Free Chlorine level to dip below 1ppm gives algae, bacteria and other nasties a chance to flourish. Adding chlorine at this time will destroy all but the most resistant pathogens. Unfortunately, these are the pathogens that can do the most harm.

Here are a few methods you can use to prevent the "yo-yo effect":

Test the Free Chlorine level at least 3 times a day. Maintain it at 3-5 ppm and never let it dip below 2 ppm. Don’t forget to fix the pH first!
Don’t use the pool.
Install a device that will add chlorine for you.

Number 1 is a non-starter. That’s a full-time job. Number 2 is nonsense. That leaves Number 3, a chlorinator.

SANITIZING SYSTEMS
A sanitizing system is a device that is installed in your pool’s filtration system. It continuously adds chlorine to the pool through tablet erosion, injection or self-contained chlorine production. because it has less hidden costs, we’ll talk about the latter, a.k.a. Salt Chlorine Generators.

Salt Chlorine Generators (SCG’s) - How do they work?
As salt water travels through the swimming pool’s circulation system, it enters the salt chlorine generator and passes through a salt cell. As the salt water flows through the cell, a low-voltage current is applied to plates inside the cell, initiating electrolysis. Through electrolysis, salt and water break up into hydrogen gas and hypochlorous acid. The hydrogen gas simply leaves the swimming pool water in the form of small bubbles. The hypochlorous acid sanitizes the swimming pool water and ultimately reverts back into salt, and the process repeats. Click HERE for more.

Depending on where you live, a SCG over it's lifetime, Can save you up to $4,000. Of course, this is based on a well maintained pool.

There are many variables that affect both chlorine demand and the life expectancy of a typical brand name salt cell.

Water Circulation - A SCG will only produce chlorine when the pump is running. Lack of circulation will allow the build-up of organic matter and promote algae growth. This increases chlorine demand and negates all the benefits that SWG’s offer.
Unmanaged pH - High pH decreases the effectiveness of the chlorine. Click HERE for more info.
High Cyanuric Acid - Also known as conditioner or stabilizer, cyanuric acid prevents chlorine from being rapidly destroyed by the sun. A level of of 20 to 50 ppm should be maintained. Studies show that at 30 ppm, the benefits of cyanuric acid begin to slow. At 50 ppm, it begins to actually inhibit how the chlorine works. For example, what a free chlorine level of 3 ppm used to do now requires a level of 6 ppm. To compensate for the reduction of efficacy, pool owners often turn to costly chemical solutions. Click HERE for more on this subject.
Scaling - Scaling is the depositing of calcium carbonate on pool surfaces. Scale occurs when hard water meets high alkalinity (high pH) and warm temperature. This allows the dissolved minerals to leave their dissolved state and re-solidify. In other words, when the pH and temperature are high enough, hard water’s minerals can harden and attach to surfaces. The inside of a SCG cell is the perfect environment for this. Scale covers the plates inside the cell, blocking flow and interrupting the electrolysis process. To clean the salt cell, the use of muriatic acid is required. However, this wears out the coating on the plates, shortening the life expectancy of the cell. To learn how to prevent this, click HERE.

In conclusion, a Salt Chlorine Generator can save you ton of money. An SCG will not save you a lot of time but it’ll make your pool safer and prevent costly clean-ups.

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Pool Care Economics... Part II - Chlorine Demand

Reduce the Demand & Save

Algaecide

Shocks

Phosphates

Enzymes

Pool Care Economics Part I - Reducing Chlorine Costs

Reduce Chlorine Costs

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