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Gallagher Gab

This summer it's time to fall in love with your pool all over again. Some of the biggest complaints we have about pools and spas are that they are too hard to take care of, or too much work. Always seeking to make pools more fun, we have solutions. Automation is available to make your pool operate at the touch of a button. We can install a controller to take charge of all of your equipment so that all you have to do is push buttons to turn various features on and off. We have salt water chlorinators which produce chlorine automatically, saving you the trouble of handling those chlorine tablets. We have automatic cleaners which can help reduce the amount of vacuuming required. You can also get timers and normal chlorinators to save time as well. Find out how we can make your pool do some of the work for you!

Why Sanitize?

Some of our customers put chlorine tabs in so the pool will not get algae. Some customers use proper chemicals so the water will not get cloudy. Some are of the opinion that if they use algaecide and keep their filter running, they do not REALLY have to use chemicals like chlorine or bromine in their spa. Some customers even think that their mineral cartridge or their ozonator will function even with no chlorine in the water. It is important to note that all of these thoughts are only partly correct. One of the most important reasons to put chlorine or bromine into the pool or spa is to prevent diseases and other water borne illnesses. There are numerous microorganisms in water. Some of these are harmless. Others are pathogens, which is to say microorganisms that can make you sick. Sanitizers kill these pathogens, but they require time to work. At proper sanitization levels, the sanitizer you put in your pool is sufficient to kill these pathogens before they get to you. If you do not use sanitizer, however, you are relying on your filter, ozonator or other device to remove them. An ozonator for example will kill bacteria that pass through it, which is helpful in making your sanitizer more effective. If you are sitting next to someone in the spa who has some of these microorganisms these pathogens may have to pass through you to get to the ozonator. If your sanitizer is too low these pathogens will not be killed, and you can get sick from them.

While mineral systems, ozonators, and other alternative units help make your chlorine or bromine more effective, they can not fully replace them (according to the EPA). For this reason, sanitizer is important. With out having a level in your water people can get sick. So remember, Chlorine should be kept at 1.5 to 3 parts per million (bromine at 3-5 ppm). If it is too difficult to achieve these levels on a constant basis, there are things we can install for you like automatic chlorinators and salt water chlorine generators which help maintain a chlorine residual. And remember, that though your pool may be clear, that does not necessarily mean that it is clean. Test water on a regular basis and help everyone fully enjoy your pool or spa.

Information from seminar at the Atlantic City Pool and Spa show in a seminar called "Advanced Chemical Factors that Affect Water Quality" by Ellen Meyer of Arch Chemicals

In the past, we have always used Stain and Scale to chelate minerals. This puts a coating on the molecules of metal which prevents them from staining. This coating eventually wears away. The Purple Stuff takes these molecules and binds them together in a process called "sequestering". These large hunks of sequestered metal are removed from the water by your filter. As they are removed, the Purple Stuff gets used up. By maintaining a measurable level in your water you can effectively sequester all of the metals which may get into your water. We can test the level of your sequestrant at our retail store to make sure you are maintaining this level. The Purple Stuff is even effective at removing existing stains over a period of time, as well. Since the metals are actually removed from the water instead of just protected, this leads to better long term stain prevention and control. We have also selected a Stain Identification kit, which will help us identify existing stains, so that we can use the correct product to remove them. This is an incredibly helpful product as we can treat the specific cause of the stain, such as Iron or copper, instead of doing educated guesses.

February store hours
Monday-Friday 9:00am – 4:00pm
Saturday and Sunday Closed

http://www.gallagherpools.com