Organizations including the Centers for Disease Control and the Water Quality and Health Council’s Healthy Pools initiative are urging swimmers and parents to start checking their public pools for proper water treatment.
How are these groups educating swimmers to do this?
The CDC’s guidelines include the following steps:
- Check the pool’s inspection results.
- Use pool test strips to check pH and chlorine or bromine concentration are correct.
- pH 7.2–7.8
- Free chlorine concentration of at least 3 ppm in hot tubs/spas and at least 1 ppm in other places with treated water
- Free bromine concentration of at least 4 ppm in hot tubs/spas and at least 3 ppm in other places with treated water
- Make sure no chemicals are out in the open.
Healthypools.org is offering free test strips and enables users to submit pH and free chlorine results online to see whether their pool is healthy. In addition, Healthypools.org is providing educactional content like this chloramine infographic that teaches swimmers about the causes of pool smell.
Consumers aren’t just being taught how to test their pools — they are also being taught how to avoid introducing bacteria by following guidelines like showering before swimming and not entering a pool when they are sick.
Aquatics facilities can further support these efforts by offering education to members. Better educated patrons can mean a healthier pool, causing less risk and stress for staff and swimmers. In addition, aquatics facilities can upgrade their sanitation systems from traditional chlorine to Clear Comfort’s hydroxyl-based advanced oxidation system, which destroys Cryptosporidium and other contaminants on contact.
