Green Hair Problem After Using Bioguard Smart Shock

[waterbear]

The SeaKlear product is a chitosan based clarifier. While it will remove a tiny amount of metal ions from the water by absorption and then, in theory, but allowing the absorbed metal to be filter out, it is by no means anywhere near as effective as a sequestrant like HEDP which chelates the metal ions and deactivate them so they cannot react chemically.

Also, for future reference, to remove the green from the hair you can put two teaspoons of citric acid (sold in some grocery store spice sections as "sour salt" used in Kosher cooking, in 8 oz of warm water and pour it through the hair and let it sit until the green is gone, rinse for a full five minutes with warm water, shampoo and condition. If all the green is not lifted you can repeat the process.

[Watermom]

Ben,
Correct me if I am wrong, but I don't think it is necessary to change out the Culator pack monthly??

[PoolDoc]

Monthly change out is what Periodic Products (the mfg) recommends, but I suspect that recommendation has more to do with their sales goals, than with necessity.

From their own data, it appears that color intensity indicates when the product is 'consumed'. In the pictures above, the CuLator looks to me like it still has a LOT of use left.

A cautious approach might be to put a new CuLator in beside a month old one. That way, if the older one really is failing, the pool is protected. But if it is NOT failing you'd be able to determine that, as the older unit continues to darken in color.

[SnoopysGirl]

The SeaKlear product is a chitosan based clarifier. While it will remove a tiny amount of metal ions from the water by absorption and then, in theory, but allowing the absorbed metal to be filter out, it is by no means anywhere near as effective as a sequestrant like HEDP which chelates the metal ions and deactivate them so they cannot react chemically.

Also, for future reference, to remove the green from the hair you can put two teaspoons of citric acid (sold in some grocery store spice sections as "sour salt" used in Kosher cooking, in 8 oz of warm water and pour it through the hair and let it sit until the green is gone, rinse for a full five minutes with warm water, shampoo and condition. If all the green is not lifted you can repeat the process.

Thank you so much for the comments about the clarifier and the info on the green hair remedy. We used ketchup, and it did work somewhat. I will try the salt suggestion if we have more problems.

Ben,
Correct me if I am wrong, but I don't think it is necessary to change out the Culator pack monthly??

Monthly change out is what Periodic Products (the mfg) recommends, but I suspect that recommendation has more to do with their sales goals, than with necessity.

From their own data, it appears that color intensity indicates when the product is 'consumed'. In the pictures above, the CuLator looks to me like it still has a LOT of use left.

A cautious approach might be to put a new CuLator in beside a month old one. That way, if the older one really is failing, the pool is protected. But if it is NOT failing you'd be able to determine that, as the older unit continues to darken in color.

It does say to change it out monthly. I thought the powder looked pretty "used," but I don't have much experience with it.

I have a question about copper in the pool. Since my original post (I believe it was June) I have not added any more of the bioguard product (the one that contained copper). The new Culator packet that I just added on August 1st is already turning blue (I can see it through the outside of the cloth bag). Also, I am still accumulating stains on the pool, even though I have the Culator and the HEDP Kem-Tek product that I am adding with each water fill. I thought that the brownish stains on the pool were iron (possibly from fill water), but could they be copper? This is the first year that we have really heated the pool, and I am wondering if possibly we are also getting copper in the pool from the heating element, which might cause the brownish stains on the pool? Unfortunately, the pipes go from the pump, through the filter, through the heating element, and then back through the pool. There is no way for me to run the water past the heater, even if the heater wasn't running.

Thanks for any feedback.

[PoolDoc]

It's possible -- even likely --that you have BOTH iron and copper in your pool. Brown stains ARE iron (or if dark coffee brown, manganese, but that's unlikely unless you have well water).

If you keep the pH above 7, it's unlikely you are dissolving copper into the pool. But, iron's another matter. Is your pool water exposed to iron or steel anywhere?

[SnoopysGirl]

It's possible -- even likely --that you have BOTH iron and copper in your pool. Brown stains ARE iron (or if dark coffee brown, manganese, but that's unlikely unless you have well water).

If you keep the pH above 7, it's unlikely you are dissolving copper into the pool. But, iron's another matter. Is your pool water exposed to iron or steel anywhere?

Well, I HAD thought that possibly iron was entering the pool via our city water (we've had drought conditions this year), but now I am thinking that perhaps there is an exposed screw or something else that might be causing the staining. Earlier in the summer I noticed that there was some staining under one of the skimmer intakes. Also, around the steps there are some darker reddish spots (like rust), and those could be coming from something near the steps. Thanks for the suggestion - I'll investigate a little bit further and see if I can find the source.

[PoolDoc]

OK. Let us know what you find.

[waterbear]

Thank you so much for the comments about the clarifier and the info on the green hair remedy. We used ketchup, and it did work somewhat. I will try the salt suggestion if we have more problems.

Ketchup will overtone the green coloration somewhat with a reddish orange stain from the lycophene (which acts as a vegetable dye) but not really remove it. Citric acid will reduce the metal (change its oxidation state and make it soluble and colorless) so it will rinse out of the hair. I was a hair colorist for many years in Miami and we saw a lot of green hair since there were a lot of pools there. This is more or less how we removed the green (and was also what I taught when I was a cosmetology and barber instructor in later years)