Clean and Safe Pool Water
In the State of Texas and in accordance with the state Health Code, all public pools are required to use chlorine or bromine to sanitize their pool water. There's no way around it! With that in mind, there are steps that can be taken to minimize the use of chlorine while maintaining healthy and clean water. All pool equipment and components in our facility play a vital role in how much chlorine is used. SLP uses a chlorine solution to sanitize the pool water and it is administered through our Chemical Automation System. Monitored by management staff as well as our four Certified Pool Operators 24/7, you can rest assured that we are always using just the right amount of chlorine to maintain safe and clean pool water.
Ultra Violet Light
UV light is another form of disinfection that we use at SLP. After passing through our sand filter, 100% of our pool water travels through our UV machine. This process kills and destroys all organic compounds that pass through including bacteria and viruses leaving nothing behind. We are able to "maximize" the chlorine that is available in the water. Simply put, if your pool water is cleaner, you can use less chlorine because there are fewer things to sanitize, disinfect, or oxidize!
HVAC
Have you ever walked into a pool building and there's that familiar "pool" smell. In actuality, what you're smelling is something called Chloramine gas. Chloramines are a result of "used up" chlorine. It is the by-product of chlorine after it has sanitized, disinfected, or oxidized something. Chloramines will "gas off" into the air and are responsible for that "chlorine" smell in a pool building and can irritate eyes and lungs. We have two ways to eliminate chloramines at SLP. First, we make sure we have adequate air flow around the pool. Our exhaust system can carry away any chloramines present in the air. Secondly, any that remain in the pool water will be destroyed when they pass through our UV machine. As mentioned above, the UV destroys ALL organics and compounds. A well-designed Heating, Ventillation, and Air Conditioning unit will not only create a welcoming environment but will also aid in removing chloramines from your facility.
Circulation and Turnover Rate
Another very important part about minimizing chlorine and maximizing safety is the circulation of the pool water and turnover rate. At least 80% of pool water needs to return to the filters from the surface of the pool, while the remaining 20% can flow through the main drains located at the bottom of the pool. Our full-time staff of certified pool operators monitor all of our equipment daily to make sure our circulation is working correctly. Turnover rate is the term used to describe how quickly 100% of the pool water will flow through the filtration system. The health code requires a 6 hour turnover rate. The faster the water is moved through the filtration system, the cleaner it is, resulting in lower amounts of chlorine.