"Biofilm"  -  the bad & the ugly - Continued from page one.

Attachment is just that; the bacteria attaches to the surface. It wants a place to call home and grow. Bacteria want to be in relationships, so that find a nice surface to settle down and join up with a few of their closest friends.

After attaching to the pool surface with their friends, Colonization takes place as bacteria multiply and divide, growing in number. According to studies, it is at this crucial point that this attachment is "irreversible." The bacteria colony is there to stay unless purposefully removed. This stage is typically accomplished in a matter of minutes or hours at most.

In the Protection stage, the bacteria colony or biofilm begins protecting itself against invasion. Invasion from environmental factors, "lethal" chemicals (such as chlorine or bromine), predators, anything that want to destroy it. In technical terms, the bacteria begins to excrete a protective coating called an "exopolysaccharide" film. The film is sticky or slimy and very hearty. Now the biofilm is ready to experience explosive growth.

Growth of biofilms is like a coral reef, the biofilm gets bigger and tougher. Super colonies of biofilm are actually absorbing certain chemicals that were meant to destroy them. The chlorine or bromine may kill the out layers of the colony that are more susceptible to chlorine or bromine, but as the chlorine or bromine is exhausted, the lower, stronger, better protected layers are still living and multiplying. The good news is that as the biofilm colony increases in size, it gets more "unwieldy" and begins to break apart. That's also the bad news.

Now we come full circle to Distribution where these broken parts begin to attach to other surfaces or different parts of the same surface. And the cycle begins anew.

By the way, biofilms are everywhere. Pools, spas, bathrooms, kitchens, the funky look to your patio furniture, on your teeth (plaque is a biofilm), wherever there is a surface that can be damp.

What to do? Resistant to chlorine or bromine. Bonds with biguanides. Ionizers have no effect. You have to remove it. But how?

Learn how to remove biofilms here.