Sanitisers Sanitise your pool water

The sanitise part of the BOAST programme is all about making sure that your pool water is healthy by preventing and killing bacteria. This is achieved by continuously and consistently maintaining a level of sanitiser (disinfectant) in the water with either chlorine or bromine.

Chlorine

Chlorine is the most commonly used chemical to achieve satisfactory bacteriological and chemical purity in swimming pools. It must be present in the ‘free’ form to kill bacteria and oxidise organic matter derived from bathers. Provided the water is balanced, chlorine levels of between 1.0 to 3.0mg/l (ppm) are sufficient to maintain healthy, clean water. A well managed chlorine treated pool will have no odour and levels of combined (spent) chlorine of less than 0.5mg/l.

Combined chlorine is created as a result of a reaction between free chlorine and organic matter such as bather wastes. The latter is mostly produced when the water is not being treated adequately and gives rise to the ‘chlorine’ odour.

Blue Horizons have made it easy for you to maintain your sanitiser level by giving you an extensive choice of products to suit your pool situation, preferred dosing method and budget.

Bromine

Bromine is similar to chlorine in its effectiveness as a sanitiser but there are some important differences:

• Pools sanitised with bromine do not require the addition of chlorine stabiliser as bromine is not lost to sunlight in the way chlorine is.
• Bromine should be dosed into the pool via a chemical feeder (brominator), which is usually installed in the plant room after the filter and heater.
• As it takes 2.2mg/l of bromine to equal 1mg/l free chlorine, bromine levels need to be kept between 3.0 to 5mg/l.
• Bromine retains better levels of efficiency over a wider pH band than chlorine.

Balancers Balance your pool water

Establishing and keeping the correct water balance is important for a number of reasons:

• Chemical efficiency
• Bather comfort
• Protection of pool and plant room equipment
• Water quality and appearance
• Makes it easier and less time consuming to look after the pool

Some people believe that keeping the right pH is all that is needed to achieve the correct water balance; this isn’t the case and although pH is important there are other factors that also need to be considered:

• pH
• Calcium Hardness
• Total Alkalinity
• TDS (total dissolved solids)

Remember that water balance can change with dilution of the pool by rainwater, the introduction of fresh water to top the pool up, the chemicals used to oxidise and sanitise and by the bathers using the pool – so keep checking the levels throughout the swimming season.

Algaecides Algae prevetion in your pool water

Algae are microscopic plant life that can multiply rapidly in your swimming pool water in the right conditions. Recovering an algae infested pool can be time consuming and expensive which is why prevention is always preferable to cure. Blue Horizons algaecides have been specially formulated to help you achieve sparkling clear and algae free water. We offer you a choice of weekly dosed and long life algaecide depending on your particular needs.Recovering an algae infested pool can be time consuming and expensive which is why prevention is always preferable to cure.

In addition to using a Blue Horizons algaecide to support the sanitiser, we would recommend you also take account of the following algae prevention tips:

• Maintain the correct water balance
• Oxidise your swimming pool water regularly
• Maintain a consistent sanitiser (chlorine or bromine) level.
• Brush pool walls and vacuum pool floor regularly
• Ensure filtration and circulation are operating efficiently

Testing Testing your pool water

It could be argued that testing the water should be the first discipline of pool water management but keep in mind that the BOAST programme is a continuous and circular system and testing leads you on to Balancing, Oxidising, Algae prevention and Sanitising.

There are broadly four methods of testing pool water, test strips, pooltesters, comparator test kits and electronic test kits. For the testing of domestic swimming pools it is usually test strips or pooltesters that are used. Regardless of the testing method you choose, it is important that your pool water is regularly tested, ideally every day during the swimming season but, twice a week is the minimum.

Blue Horizons offers a quality range of UK Manufactured 3 and 6 Way test strips for fast and accurate swimming pool water testing.

Oxisiders Oxidise your pool water

Swimmers and the environment via wind and rain, introduce pollution (waste compounds) into your swimming pool water. As these pollutants build up over time, they can start to encourage bacteria and algae growth in your pool water.

This can create unpleasant odours (combined chlorine) and cloudy water. Blue Horizons offers a wide range of traditional and innovative oxidisers to keep your pool water crystal clear and comfortable for bathers.