What Causes Pool Algae?
If you are considering foregoing chlorine treatments in your pool for the sake of using fewer chemicals, you should consider the risks associated with algae infestation.
Algae are fairly resilient plant organisms that are able to thrive if you don’t practice pool algae control. Algae can get into your pool in a number of different ways:
- Spores carried by the wind
- Rain storms and water run-off into the pool
- Imbalanced water chemistry
- Recurring infestation
- Cross-contamination with other equipment
Although algae can be simply regarded as troublesome, it is important to know your risks, and alternative options, if you are on the fence about using chlorine.
Reason #1: Pool Algae Control Keeps Your Pool Water Clear
The most obvious reasons to engage in pool algae control is that people have an aversion to swimming in a green or yellow pool! Algae are bad for aesthetics, and the “green pool” stigma directly stems from the idea that swimming pools should be filled with sparkling, clear water. Your pool’s clear waters can be infested by any of the following algae:
- Free floating, slime-like green algae
- Wall and stair-clinging yellow algae
- Surface-clinging, stubborn black algae
Reason #2: Algae Blooms Can Get Out of Control, Quickly
An algae bloom can take over your pool overnight if conditions are right. Summertime heat and sunlight, water imbalance, nitrates, or excess carbon dioxide can cause an algae bloom that can result in hours, possibly even a season, of chlorine shock treatments.
Even worse, some varieties of algae can create a “sheet” of organisms across your pool. Letting algae get out of control in your pool is unsanitary and compromises the integrity of the water.
Reason #3: Algae Can Be Dangerous
If you don’t practice pool algae control, algae can become more than just a nuisance. Although the algae varieties themselves are not inherently dangerous- with the exception of being a slip hazard- algae releases waste into your pool water which can feed microorganisms, like bacteria.
Bacteria in the water can cause skin irritations that lead to rashes and hives. Pool bacteria can also cause eye and nasal irritations. In a worse case scenario, bacteria like E. coli can enter the pool via a swimmer and live in an untreated pool off of algae byproducts.
A New Option for Pool Algae Control
The most common way to control algae is to treat the pool with chlorine. However, there is growing concern over the safety and efficacy of chlorine treated pools, and many pool owners are looking for alternative treatments.
Pool owners can now enjoy effective chlorine-free algae control. Copper and silver ionization offers a different type of pool cleaning system that kills algae and bacteria cells- not just suppresses them.
To learn more about ionization for pool algae control, contact Mineral Pure for more information.
Sources
http://www.poolcenter.com/algae
http://www.lesliespool.com/blog/pool-care/pool-algae/top-10-algae-prevention-tips/
http://www.wikihow.com/Eliminate-and-Prevent-Green-Algae-in-a-Swimming-Pool
http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4926254_what-causes-algae-swimming-pools.html
http://swimming.about.com/od/poolandspamaintenance/qt/SwimPoolAlgae.htm
