Is CYA going away?

[bedelliott]

I just ran into a pool store owner (don’t worry, i’m A TFPC die-hard!) who said CYA is about to be illegal and already is in places like Kentucky. I asked him how FC would be managed without CYA (especially in the Texas sun) and he said something about borates playing a role. Has anyone heard anything to this effect and if it’s true, what would TFP’s guidance be regarding FC protection without CYA?

 

[HeyEng]

I couldn't find anything on Kentucky, but in NY, it is illegal when used in public pools. From the relevant code section:

• (4) Use of cyanuric acid-based chlorine (or any other chlorine stabilizer) is prohibited. Pools found using or containing any cyanuric compound shall be closed, drained and refilled prior to continued use.

Part 6, Subpart 6-1 Swimming Pools

 

[dw886]

Interesting. This got me searching the web. The only government thing that I can find is in regards to "fecal incidents" and the CDC recommendation of keeping CYA under 15ppm located here:
https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/swimming/pdf/fecal-incident-response-guidelines.pdf

 

[JoyfulNoise]

It is highly unlikely CYA would ever be “banned” and, as far as regulations go, those ONLY apply to commercial/public pools. The CDC has been running a committee for a few years now developing a Model Aquatic Health Code (MAHC) that can be utilized by state and local authorities as a template for pool code regulations. The MAHC fully supports the “appropriate use” of cyanuric acid and even answers many of the “myths” surrounding CYA and pathogenic control.

My guess is that particular pool store owners doesn’t know what he’s talking about and/or is engaging in scare-tactics for whatever reason.

 

[cfherrman]

Hard to ban cya when it's the pool store primary sell with pucks

 

[bedelliott]

Thanks for y’alls thoughts, makes sense that CYA as a product isn’t going away. So back to the borate question - has anyone done much testing or general use of that to have a feel for its benefits? I’d always rather have fewer chemicals in my pool than more, so just wondering if it’s worth it or if there’s no downside other than cost...?

 

[mknauss]

Borates work to moderate the pH rise in pool water. Once the pH rises to the level you wish to drop it it takes more acid to lower the pH. But overall, the same amount of acid is used with or without borates.

Borates have no effect on chlorine.

 

[Donldson]

Actually, thinking further about the comments of that pool store owner are really funny. Several countries are beginning to more stringently regulate borates due to its toxicity in small mammals. So to say that CYA is being banned but borates will replace it (which itself doesn't actually make sense) is more the opposite of what might actually happen in the future.

 

[JamesW]

Any time that someone tells you something that you have reason to question, always ask them where they got their information.

Ask them to send you a copy of the information so that you can evaluate it yourself.

If they can't give you a legitimate reference, then it has no credibility.

If they say anything like the following, then they probably don't know what they're talking about.

"Um, well, I think that I heard someone say something about it and they seemed to be sure. So, it must be true. "

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Thanks for y’alls thoughts, makes sense that CYA as a product isn’t going away. So back to the borate question - has anyone done much testing or general use of that to have a feel for its benefits? I’d always rather have fewer chemicals in my pool than more, so just wondering if it’s worth it or if there’s no downside other than cost...?

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