Interestingly enough, calcium is essential for your pool to keep the liner intact but in parts of the United States there is an issue of having too much calcium in the water. In some parts of the country they actually sell calcium because it’s recommended to have no less than 200 parts per million (ppm) in the pool. If that happens it can actually cause issues with the structure of the swimming pool. Typically you might even hear the words, “leaching of the plaster” which basically means it’s deteriorating. On the west coast the thought of adding calcium to swimming pools is baffling because our fill water is loaded with calcium.
It’s extremely common to hear how do I get all this excess calcium out of my pool, what is the white line on my tile or why does my pool use so much chlorine. See, our fill water is from the Colorado River which carves its way through the Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon is loaded with limestone which in turn causes our water to be filled with calcium and other hardness minerals. Depending on where you live the hardness in the water can be anywhere from 250ppm, 750ppm or higher. This issue ends up causing major issues if you own a swimming pool. Calcium actually stains the liner, causes a thick band on the water line tile, begins to build up in the plumbing as well as the pool equipment which actually decreases the life span. As water evaporates in the pool the hardness minerals stay behind and overtime they continue to build up which is why it’s most visible around the water tile line. As calcium builds up it acts like a sponge and sucks up chlorine at a very high rate causing cloudy water, potential for algae growth or burning eyes and skin due to high chlorine levels to keep the water clear.
The easiest solution to this was to drain the pool and start over. But as was discussed above the water coming out of the tap is already hard. So we developed a mobile filtration system that actually recycles swimming pool water and is an alternative to draining pools in San Diego. By developing a self-contained filtration system that functions just like reverse osmosis at extremely high pressure it’s possible to conserve 85% of the water in the swimming pool. It’s the perfect alternative to areas in the U.S. where water is at a premium but it also has numerous other benefits to the owner of the pool;
- In standard size swimming pools the process is completed in less than a day.
- No need to rent a pump or call a company to drain the pool
- The water coming back into the swimming pool is drinkable
- The water is softer and better for the hair, skin and nails.
- Your chemical usage will go down
- Water conservation
- If performed on a regular basis (typically every 2 years) it’s possible to prevent the visible calcium ring
The price of the service is extremely competitive with a drain and refill but again because the water is of a better quality it makes your swimming experience much nicer and can really extend the lifespan of the pool.
Recently we recycled a swimming pool in the San Diego area with a customer of ours that has had the service performed every two years to keep his pool functioning properly and looking great. If you notice in the picture above you can’t see any calcium on the tile because the customer is always keeping the best quality of water in his pool.