Pool Your Senses – Your 5 Senses Can Detect Water Quality Issues Accurately

Humans are the ultimate water sensors. We may not be able to precisely measure pH, oxidation reduction potential (ORP), or calcium hardness without testing technology, but when it comes to overall water quality, there is no better measure than the subjective sensory data we otherwise know as experience. The key to tapping into our remarkable …

Advanced Oxidation Processes – What Are They And Why Do They Matter?

For the past few years, the aquatics industry has adopted a new concept known as advanced oxidation processes (AOPs). The term, which was first coined in 1987 by research scientist William Glaze, refers to a set of chemical reactions that produce a chemical species known as hydroxyl radicals (OH) or sometimes incorrectly referred to as …

Avoiding Obsolescence – Intelligent Systems Design and Service Stay Relevant

I’d like to ask a provocative question: have swimming pools become obsolete? That might seem surprising coming from an aquatic professional who earns his living in the pool/spa/aquatics industry, and it’s a question I’ve never heard from any other professional, or consumer for that matter. Yet, I think it’s something worth considering as we look …

Regarding Healthy Water – Ignorance Is Not Bliss

It’s one of the truly unfortunate traits of human nature — we tend to ignore what we cannot see. We’re an extremely visual species, and when something is invisible, there’s a strong tendency for us to think that it’s simply not there. What disturbs me the most about this characteristic is that it’s true even …

Most Pools and Spas Are Contaminated – A Solution Exists

It’s become a rite of spring. Every year, for at least the last three years running, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) releases information about the spread of waterborne illnesses through contaminated water in pools, spas, and splash pads. The reports mainly focus on the risk of infection from Cryptosporidium and other …

Evaluating Return On Investment – The Value of Superior Water Quality

Recently, a prospective client asked a very telling question. We were discussing the benefits of using our system, which combines ozone, UV, and small amounts of chlorine, when the client asked, “What is the return on investment for our system as compared to using traditional chlorine-only sanitation?” It certainly wasn’t the first time I’ve been …

The Magic Of Water – A Short Essay

My daughter Georgia likes to sum up my career by saying, “My dad was a chef and then he met water.” Truer words have never been spoken. Yes, I started my professional life as a chef, trained in the fine art of French cuisine. But then I “met water” and became a professional in the …

A Kid’s Eye View of Pool and Spa Water Quality

“My dad was a chef, until he met water.” — Georgia Kenny In one of my previous blogs, I briefly mentioned how important and useful it is to listen to what people using a particular pool or spa say about their experience in the water. If they’re complaining about the smell, or if their eyes …

Building and Designing Pools with Water Quality in Mind

A well-designed, installed, and maintained pool can truly be a thing of beauty. So much so it’s not surprising at all that homeowners and property owners tend to concentrate on aesthetics when they’re in the planning stages of purchasing a new pool or remodeling an old one. We humans are, after all, visual creatures by …

Chlorine’s True Role In Maintaining Water Quality

For more than 100 years, chlorine has been the primary chemical used to treat swimming pool water and public drinking water. It remains in widespread use in spite of the fact that it has stiff competition from so-called alternative sanitizers. For all of its water-treatment supremacy, chlorine is poorly misunderstood. To a large extent, it …