Indoor pool air quality and white water mold?

[chelseaj]

Hi all,

Came to this site in search of some help and opinions! My question is this: Does the quality of air contribute to white water mold in an indoor swimming pool? The air is somewhat stagnant and I'm wondering if more proper ventilation would help in preventing the mold again! Any help is appreciated, thank you

 

[jblizzle]

Welcome to TFP!!!

I do not think the surrounding air will have any impact on WWM occurring in the the water. It is due to chemistry problems.

Can you describe your methods of maintaining the pool and post up test results?

Also, please add your pool details to your signature as described HERE as it will help us help you.

 

[chelseaj]

Thank you for your help, that's actually all i needed. The pool has been drained, cleaned and chemically treated (the water was getting old, high TDS and CYA, guessing it was a demand problem) and there is no sign of mold, but i just wanted to know if the surrounding air had anything to do with it! Sorry about the lack of signature, couldn't figure that part out. Thank you again!

 

[zea3]

It doesn't affect water quality but indoor pools need good air circulation for the health of those using the pool. It is the nature of pool chemicals to out-gas as they perform their functions which can aggravate conditions such as asthma and chronic bronchitis.

 

[Kiss4aFrog]

Welcome to the forum

Sorry about the lack of signature, couldn't figure that part out.

Just go to the top of the page and over on the right hand side is the button for "Pool School". Right under it is "settings", click on it. Over on the left side of the page that opens are three boxes, My Messages, My Subscriptions and My Settings. Under "My Settings" click on "Signature" and then you'll have a box to add your info into.

 

[thedrew8]

I would recommend better ventilation and air filtering if you have stagnant air with an indoor pool. I don’t know enough to speak to what it will or won’t do for the pool water but I do know something about other air issues. Indoor air quality is one of the design principles for rating environmentally friendly building construction (part of what I do during normal work back home). While we focus a lot on VOCs, we also look at mold (which loves high humidity and stagnant air) and other chemical off-gassing and pollutants. There are significant problems that can result from poor indoor air quality. As Zea said, it can aggravate asthma. It can contribute to nausea, eye irritation, headaches, rashes, and allergic reactions. Studies routinely show that poor indoor air quality leads to more sick days. Over time, excessive exposure to air pollutants and chemicals can lead to more serious health problems.

I’m not trying to come off as frightening or preachy, just want to pass along some knowledge. Every situation is different and you don’t have to have a tornado to avoid stagnant air. To ‘fix’ indoor air problems you can address: 1. Source, 2. Ventilation, 3. Air cleaning (filtering), or 4. Exposure. The source being the pool and the chemicals used there; not much you can do here other than keep a good chemical balance (TFPC ) and look at where you store chemicals. Ventilation usually means increasing the amount of outside (clean) air you bring in and/or improving air distribution. The downside to this in an area like Denver can be increased heating bills in the winter but better distribution alone can do a lot (think about how the returns circulate the water in the pool and avoiding ‘dead’ spots, sometimes just changing an angle can make a big difference). Air filtering can be as simple as installing a HEPA or a higher MERV filter (you may have to change it more often but, IMHO, it is worth it). Exposure is simply how much time you spend in that air.

For a home I would make sure I had good diffusers, use a better filter, and consider increasing the ventilation in that area.

Anyhow, not really what you were asking for so I’ll get off my soapbox now. Sorry for the wall of text and I hope everything goes well for you.