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The question keeps coming up more and more these days: with all the new technology out there, how do you know which pool sanitizer you should be installing? Are supplemental sanitizers, including AOP and ozone, better at keeping the water clean and clear? Will a salt chlorine generator (SCG) take care of all the harmful things in the pool that can make us sick? But what if it’s not a question of either/or? Believe it or not, the right thing to do is to use both an advanced sanitizer and a chlorine generator. Keep reading to find out why.
HOW AOP MAKES POOLS BETTER
CMP Next Gen AOP™ from the makers of DEL Ozone®
Advanced Oxidation Process (AOP) is the most powerful residential pool sanitizer technology on the market today. Hydroxyl radicals created in the process destroy viruses and bacteria, plus other organic and inorganic pool water contaminants. Next Gen AOP™ sanitizers from CMP work to oxidize these contaminants much faster and more effectively than chlorine alone.
AOP is even more powerful than ozone. It can remove odors and irritations caused by disinfection byproducts, and powerful oxidation helps reduce the total amount of chlorine needed to maintain a safe residual in the pool.
WHAT DO CHLORINE GENERATORS DO?
Powerclean® Salt Chlorinators are a very convenient way to sanitize a swimming pool using chlorine, without needing to keep buckets of tabs and pool shock lying around. You can convert just about any existing pool to salt without a ton of complication, and installing them on new pools is a breeze!
Chlorine is produced onsite using a salt chlorine generator through the chemical process called electrolysis. This process creates “free chlorine” — the most effective type of chlorine used to kill bacteria in the pool. Chlorine generated from a salt generator is also pure and has less chance of degradation. Whereas, pre-packaged forms of chlorine have additives and can lose potency during storage.
Pools using traditional chlorine systems typically experience sharp peaks and valleys of chlorine levels depending on bather load and other factors. You end up having to shock the pool when levels get out of control. Another benefi t to salt is that the chlorine generated creates a consistent “baseline” in the pool, which helps you avoid that need to shock.
HOW CAN AOP MAKE SALT BETTER?
Alright, so AOP and salt both have their “benefits,” but what happens when you combine the two? You can get the most out of a chlorine system — like a chlorine generator — by adding a powerful advanced sanitizer like DEL AOP® or DEL Ozone®. AOP makes salt better by requiring less chlorine and reducing overall chlorine usage. Essentially, you get more bang for your buck from the chlorine generator, extending its life and even reducing cleaning cycles.
By now you may be asking yourself, if AOP is so great, why do I even need to add an SCG? The answer is easy, really. While they do actively sanitize, supplemental sanitizers do not work on their own. You still need to keep a residual sanitizer level in the pool. That’s where Powerclean® Salt comes into play.
Powerclean® Salt - The Friendly Backyard Chlorinator
We mention above that Powerclean Salt produces a residual in the form of free chlorine. A residual sanitizer keeps working in the open water at all times, even when the pump is off. This helps keep swimmers safe the entire time they are in the pool. Unlike a filter or AOP system that the water must pass through to be cleaned, a residual sanitizer is right there in the water and all around the swimmers.
LOWER OVERALL CHEMICAL USE
If you are already using AOP, then you may already be trying to reduce chlorine and other chemicals. Use even fewer chemicals in the pool when you convert to salt. Chlorine levels become more steady, the need to “shock” is eliminated, and fewer overall pool chemicals are needed to maintain those levels.
When you add Next Gen AOP™ to the mix, everything just gets better. With both AOP and salt in your pool, your salt cell works less to keep the industry-wide recommended level of 1 to 3ppm chlorine in the water. It’s possible to accomplish lower chemical use with AOP and traditional chlorine tablets, too, but as noted above, we already pointed out how Powerclean Salt can do it better.
Another great example is CYA. Cyanuric acid (CYA) buildup is a big concern in the pool industry. CYA is added to chlorine in swimming pools to stabilize free chlorine and help protect it from the sun. But CYA often comes with a hitch. CYA negatively affects disinfection rates by binding to free chlorine in pool water. The “trapped” chlorine is eventually freed up by adding even more chlorine, but this happens slowly and gaps in protection are likely to occur. CYA-related issues are also compounded by the use of chlorine tablets and shock.
Powerclean® Salt creates Hypochlorous Acid (HClO), the killing form of chlorine, in the water through a process called electrolysis. It does this with zero additives — no CYA, no clarifiers, no binders. This is the purest form of pool chlorine available. And it’s being generated right in the backyard with no chemical storage.
Powerclean® Salt cell installed on a pool pad.
Because AOP is doing the heavy-lifting — creating hydroxyl radicals inside and knocking out everything right there inside the unit — salt is left to make the good form of chlorine, which goes to work on all that organic matter. Then, AOP “zaps” it away to create crystal clear water.
Running salt and supplemental sanitizers together can also lower the overall cost of well-maintained pools. All of the benefits work together. Swimmers enjoy fewer chemicals, more comfortable water, and less irritation to the skin and eyes.
COMPLEMENTING SYSTEMS FOR COMPLETE BENEFITS
Consider hybrid cars — automobiles that use a combination of electricity and gasoline. There’s the electric component that is doing most of the work (AKA the AOP unit), and gasoline is your backup (AKA the chlorine generator).
Again, you could drive with gasoline only, but that’s old tech. Why not make life easier and switch to new equipment that has so many benefits and is more efficient? That way you can move on to the next job quicker. You get the best of both worlds with the synergy of salt and AOP.
The industry has been working with clean water technology for quite some time, so none of this is new. Chlorine, salt, ozone and UV have all been around for decades. It’s only natural that as we continue to work with the tech and obtain valuable feedback from pool professionals like you, we improve on the equipment used to keep our pool water safe.
COMFORTABLE, CRYSTAL CLEAR POOL WATER
With AOP working as a micro flocculent, even the smallest particles are removed. With the added oxidizing power, the chlorine stays in good condition so-to-speak and is more effective at killing harmful microorganisms in the water. Chlorine levels won’t dip too low, and you won’t smell chloramines. Without a supplemental sanitizer or salt, you will need to shock the pool after a heavy bather load. Vic Walker, CMP Director of Product Design & Marketing, had both Next Gen AOP™ and Powerclean® Salt included in his new pool build last summer.
Next Generation DEL AOP® installed on a pool pad.
“We have a teenage daughter, and she brings her friends over to enjoy the pool occasionally. The other day we had nine girls in the pool one day for several hours. The water was not cloudy at all after all that time. They were covered in makeup and lotions before they got in the pool, too. But at the end of the day, I could still see the screws in the drain cover at the bottom of my pool,” according to Mr. Walker.
FINDING THE RIGHT SOLUTION
Powerclean Salt and Next Gen AOP™ are not only effective, but they are easy to use and service. You can easily see when the salt cell needs cleaning, and the lights on the front panel of Next Gen AOP™ units let you know everything is operational. Top to bottom, these pro-level systems were designed with daily use and care in mind. All on top of their sanitizing power.
The goal should always be to find the best solution for the customer’s pool. When possible, we believe the value and performance of combined sanitizing solutions are greater than the sum of their parts.
Powerclean® Salt and Next Gen AOP™ give you the opportunity to easily combine equipment and create greater efficiency and scale across your business.
For more information about how combining Powerclean® and DEL Sanitizers can help grow your business, visit c-m-p.com/pool-sanitizers or call 800-733-9060.
