The Water Cleanser

[dollard]

Is anyone familiar with this Australian product?
http://www.thewatercleanser.com.au/theproducts/Poolsamp;Spas/poolsspas/tabid/310/Default.aspx

 

[Richard320]

Never heard of it before. Sounds sketchy, though. The MSDS shows it as just being candle wax.
http://www.thewatercleanser.com.au/Portals/marine2012/CaseStudy/MSDS.pdf

 

[RobbieH]

Hydrocarbon wax blocks? No thanks!

 

[Bama Rambler]

Wow! $100 for 2 lbs of wax! That's more than ridiculous!

 

[Patrick_B]

I think not, thanks very much.

 

[dollard]

I tend to agree with the above comments but our manager insists there is merit to it and that it could work in our large communal swimming pool.

 

[ranger_ric]

The Water Cleanser kinda sounds like The Horse Whisperer..... Just sayin.....

My Oldest Son calls me the Pool Whisperer... LOL

 

[pepsiholic]

Hahaha, the Pool whisperer. At least thats a good term, my daughter calls me the pool nazi....lol...not a speck of dust allowed in there.

 

[svenpup]

From their website:

How Does it Work?

Organic pollution is constantly being introduced into yout pool from leaves, swimmers and other matter.
Organic matter can cause algae and cloudy water.
The Water Cleanser helps healthy microbes to breed and decompose organic matter rapidly. Your water will remain healthier and clearer.​

Does it stop algae?

Algae requires two elements to survive, sunlight and organic waste.
The Water Cleanser starves algae of its food source, organic waste.
Therefore in most cases, the algae will disappear. However some algae that sticks to pool walls require sunlight only. These will need a little chlorine to remove.
​

Will it work with Ultraviolet (UV) lighting system?

No. UV lighting systems work by killing all forms of bacteria and microbes (even the good ones).
The UV light will kill the beneficial microbes needed to eat the organic waste in your water, making The Water Cleanser ineffective.
​

Will it affect my chemical usage?

Yes it will. Testimonials and tests show us on average most pool owners can cut their chemical additives significantly and drop down their pump time. Each pool will have a different set of variables.
Note that chlorine or another sanitizing method is needed to protect your pool from pathogens such as amoebae or human-borne bacteria which can cause disease. This is absolutely critical in a public pool.
​

Can I go chemical free?

No. Your pool must have a degree of chemical use, as there are laws governing pool maintenance, that include mandatory chemical use for the control of diseases. Also, if your pool is completely natural you effectively have a pond. Mother nature will come and inhabit your pool (ie frogs and tadpoles). Also some leaves stains and algae require chlorine to eradicate them.
Please read out testimonials to discover the reductions in pump and chemical use achieved.
​

How often do I need to change The Water Cleanser?

It is imperative that you replace your product as per the timing specified on the packaging, otherwise you will break the breeding cycle of the microbes. The recommended lifespan is 3 months for the balls and 6 months for the 1kg block.​

So if "Chemical Use" is a euphemism for chlorine (and it does state that chlorine is needed) how are these healthy microbes thriving?

UV light kills good and bad microbes, but apparently chlorine is targeted to only kill bad microbes? Hogwash.

Also, since when do microbes need paraffin wax to breed?

 

[poolnoob.ca]

It should be called the "Wallet Cleanser"

 

[S1ngram]

I second what Sven pup said. I don't believe there are "selective" microbicides....or whatever they may be called.

 

[markuszoom5]

What do we want? Bleach! When do we want it? At least every day....

 

[ranger_ric]

Maybe something like this

 

[Swampwoman]

Dollard, if you are being encouraged to try it, albeit against your will, please do report back. While it may "sound" like snake oil, there is always the chance that there is a germane enzyme/hydrocarbon effect that reduces chlorine demand. Just because a product is developed for the pool industry doesn't automatically guarantee its **** It may well be **** but I think its a bit premature to say so without a better understanding f the product or any evidence, or lack of evidence, of efficacy.

With repect to the hydrocarbons, it sounds like they are in the wax in order to stimulate the growth of the microbes (feed them). It might be interesting to see whether there's any evidence of residual hydrocarbon contamination after years of use...but I would suspect that the hydrocarbons are consumed...this is the approach used in cleaning up oil spills.

The real question would be whether chlorine use at the ratios of TFP would contraindicate or nullify the effect. Whie te website doesn't really address this, it does so seem to suggest the process increases oxidization....and other oxidation methods such as hydrogen peroxide fight chlorine.

Way outta my depth here...maybe ChemGeek could weigh in...is there something on the surface that immediately suggests the notion would be ineffective? That its pur snake oil? Or that it might in fact reduce chlorine consumption without negatively affecting sanitation?

I would happily pay the $32 every three months to use the equivalent less of chlorine to reduce the "lugging" factor. And perhaps folks with swg would appreciate the reduced output requirements were any of it true. YMMV.

 

[chem geek]

Well if it's used with chlorine in the water then any "healthy microbes" they are referring to would get killed by chlorine. They pretty much said the same about using a UV lighting system. So this is just pure hogwash for swimming pools.

As noted on their main page, the product is also used for ponds, tanks and aquariums as well as dams, lakes, septic tanks and rivers. None of these are chlorinated so there's more possibility for it working in those environments as basically a biological converter of organics into probably biofilms of bacteria. The How Does It Work? page where they basically describe giving bacteria "energy" (i.e. food) to grow faster. As noted in the MSDS, 100% of the product is "Paraffin waxes, Microcrystalline waxes and Hydrocarbons". Of course, how they can target growth for "healthy microbes" as opposed to unhealthy ones is a mystery and probably not happening, but in a pond nobody cares. They sound more focused on having bacteria grow more in order to push out algae growth to prevent alage blooms.

Of course, there are other things a product can do (not this one, however) to reduce chlorine consumption such as add copper to the water as an algaecide allowing for a lower chlorine level (but at risk of metal staining) or the product could contain enzymes which in high bather-load pools can reduce chlorine usage. However, this idea of having "healthy microbes" is ridiculous. As we know from bacterial degradation of CYA, microbes can certainly break down organics converting them into other organics (namely growing their population), but there is nothing to limit this to being "healthy microbes" vs. fecal bacteria or viruses or protozoa (or their oocysts).

 

[Swampwoman]

Thank you! So the answer to this question

The real question would be whether chlorine use at the ratios of TFP would contraindicate or nullify the effect

YES

For fun when I get back to the country I think I'll write the inventor and point this out The test case studies have his address.

Dollard, what this means for your boss is "That would only work if we were under-chlorinating our water in the first place."
(To explain the testimonials )

 

[karmabiker]

Maybe something like this

View attachment 32575

 

[zea3]

I tend to agree with the above comments but our manager insists there is merit to it and that it could work in our large communal swimming pool.

Be sure and point out this section from their website:
Will it affect my chemical usage?
Yes it will. Testimonials and tests show us on average most pool owners can cut their chemical additives significantly and drop down their pump time. Each pool will have a different set of variables.
Note that chlorine or another sanitizing method is needed to protect your pool from pathogens such as amoebae or human-borne bacteria which can cause disease. This is absolutely critical in a public pool.



Plus in order to keep the minimum FC in the pool on a daily basis, you will be killing off the "beneficial microbes". Hopefully your manager will understand this fact. You may as well just stick $100 in the skimmer basket. It would do just as much good there as the water cleaner.

 

[dollard]

Thanks to all for the very informative comments.
It is interesting that when you do a Google search for this product no negative comments come up. I guess that says something about Google.

 

[chem geek]

The product is used in ponds and other water where there is no chlorine so you wouldn't expect negative comments for those uses. Also remember that reviews are not vetted on most sites so the company itself can write reviews posing as customers.

If your boss forces you to use this product then you can do tests before and after on chlorine usage and see if there is any difference. Then you can write your own reviews and see if they stick or get deleted.