Special Concerns for Indoor Pools... continued from page 1

Oxidation. The bottom line is indoor pools need to be shocked as often as, if not more often than, outdoor pools. In the oxidation process (shocking or super chlorinating), unfiltered or not filterable waste (greases, body oils, body powders, perfume, nitrogen) are oxidized (burned off) are released into the atmosphere or surrounding air. For indoor pools with "higher" levels of chloramines, we recommend using BioGuard Easy Shock & Swim weekly and BioGuard Burn Out Extreme monthly.

But the pool is indoors. What happens then? That’s exactly the point. Many of those “gassed-off” wastes can’t fully gas off.  What essentially happens is that these wastes literally hit the ceiling and fall back down into the water. The problem is made worse in cases of poor ventilation. Ventilation can be in the form of fans, open doors & windows, ventilation systems, whatever it takes to change the air and bring in fresh. 

A similar situation exists with spas & hot tubs where insulating covers trap heat, but also when not removed for extended periods of time (several hours per week), odors and chloramines, bromines & other unwanted odors accumulate.

Even in the middle of winter it is a very wise idea to do a monthly super shock (2 to 3 times the normal amount of chlorine or shock), remove the solar blanket or automatic cover, open the windows and let all of that stuff just get out of the house.

Oxidation also occurs via direct sunlight. UV light is an excellent oxidizer. The more direct sunlight you can get on the pool, the better. This is one the real problem areas with indoor pools; there’s just no sunlight on the pool for 5 or more hours each day. Direct sunlight can dramatically cut down on the amount of water mold and even algae (notice that most of these problems typically start in “shady” areas of the pool).

UV (ultra violet) units? The jury is still out.

Bather Load.  Bather load is exactly that: how many people are using the pool at a time. Obviously, hotels, condominiums and other commercially operated pools have greater use.  The more people using the pool, the more stuff is being put in (as mentioned above). The more a pool is used the better from a circulation & even from a “cleaning” (feet & bodies rubbing and touching the pool surfaces) point of view.

In commercial pools, shocking may need to be done 2 to 4 times each week to break up swimmer waste, chloramines and other stuff. This is especially necessary after large events with above average swimming use.

Similarly in residential pools, even though the bather load is less, it still must be shocked. Weekly at least.

Do not put the solar blanket or automatic cover back on for at least 3 to 5 hours to allow proper gassing off the waste.

General Maintenance. A little more care in maintenance is needed with indoor pools. Why? Three general of reasons: lack of sun, year round use, perception that “it’s indoors, nothing’s getting there.”

We’ve already looked at the lack of sun. Regular oxidizing of the pool is paramount.

Year round use is just that. The pool is available 24/7 wherever you are. The filter needs to operate 8 to 12 hours each day. Period. With that in mind, the pool needs good, regular cleaning. That means weekly vacuuming of the pool interior. If you don’t feel vacuuming is necessary, then at a minimum brush the pool walls and bottom weekly.  Brushing aids in breaking up biofilms, algae, water mold (even though you may not see these problems).

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