Commercial Swimming Pool Water Quality
Are you concerned about what you’re swimming in when you go to friend’s houses or swim in commercial pools, water parks or community pools like resorts? Well, we think you should be and we hope this blog post gives you some insight into the reasons why you should be and what you can do about it. Unfortunately, just because a swimming pool is clear and blue doesn’t mean that it’s always safe to swim in. There are a variety of waterborne diseases that can be present in swimming pool water and we want to make sure you’re safe as well as give you valuable information to think about before you swim in commercial pools. First and foremost, for kids, it’s easy to swallow water and as a parent, this should be your biggest concern. Educating your kids about this is extremely important because, in large bodies of water, the following are the most common waterborne diseases:
- Campylobacteriosis is a bacterium with symptoms of diarrhea, abdominal pain, and fever.
- Cholera is a bacterium with symptoms of muscle cramps, vomiting, and diarrhea.
- Cryptosporidium (Crypto) is a bacterium with symptoms of diarrhea, stomach cramps, upset stomach and slight fever. – This is the most common waterborne disease
- Shigellosis is a bacterium with symptoms of bloody stool, diarrhea, and fever.
- Typhoid fever is a bacterium with symptoms of fever, headache, constipation, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite and an abdominal rash.
These waterborne diseases most commonly get into the water because of urination or defecation. As parents, when swimming in commercial pools this should be of a concern because even with high amounts of chlorine these waterborne diseases will not be killed. So, any type of oral contact could cause one of the above so we ask you to keep those symptoms in mind and if your children exhibit any of them, you will want to contact your doctor, urgent care or head to the emergency room. On a side note, if your child is sick they should never swim in commercial pools because of low immunity and chances of infecting others. Another tip is to make sure you always use the shower to wash off before you get in the pool!
Another water quality issue that needs to be discussed is Calcium Hardness and Total Dissolved Solids (TDS). Our water in the Greater Phoenix area is loaded with calcium, magnesium, and other hardness minerals. Our water comes from the Colorado River which carves its way through the Grand Canyon. That area is loaded with limestone which makes our water extremely hard. Since most commercial swimming pools use liquid chlorine, this causes salt levels to rise in pools which in turn causes a rise in TDS levels. When either of these levels gets high, it can be more challenging to manage water chemistry as well as water quality! So, what should you do?
At Tucson Pool Water Recycling, to make sure your swimming pool water is of the highest quality and free of any waterborne diseases, we offer The Puripool Process, which lowers the following:
- Calcium Hardness
- Total Dissolved Solids
- Cyanuric Acid
- Phosphates
- Salts
- Waterborne Diseases
Commercial swimming pool water quality is a major concern and to make sure you and your family are swimming in the best, contact us today.