Do UV systems work for residential pools?

[abehep]

i'm in the process of planning my 1st in-ground pool. I've been worried about negative info on net about chlorine levels which led me to the UV systems like spectralight. are they worth it for a residential pool approximately 20x40'?

[PoolDoc]

1. Most info on the negative info on the Internet about chlorine is by

• journalists who want to write what will they can sell to editors, but who don't know which end of the pH scale is acidic, OR,
• folks who've bought into the whole modern mythos of "Nature" being benevolent and good . . . and don't want to face the fact that "Nature" is often about horror, and not just beauty OR
• folks selling some product that competes with chlorine, OR
• scientifically educated environmentalists who will lie about the facts into to make the political or social point they want. If you have a *specific* anti-chlorine article you'd like me to look at, please post a link. But, there' already a bunch of info on this topic in the China Shop section of the forum.

2. People buying UV systems for outdoor pools often seem to forget (or else don't realize) that the amount of UV from their purchased unit will be only a FRACTION of the UV their pool ALREADY gets from sunlight!

3. We don't talk about Spectralight -- this post explains the situation: http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?15127


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YouTube of Penn (from Penn & Teller) getting environmentalists to sign a petition banning water.

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If the videos below aren't enough to help you get past any idea that "Mother Earth" or "Nature" is sweet and good and benevolent . . . there are lots more. But, don't watch if you are feeling queasy. (Watermom, stay away!!)

Botfly - Guinea worm - Baboon eats gazelle alive

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[Watermom]

(Watermom, stay away!!)

Thanks for the warning! I WILL stay away!!! Not something I want to see!!

[abehep]

PoolDoc,

thanks for the info. I searched the forum hours last night and found very useful information. As I said, I've never owned a pool and am starting the process of getting one. There are so many questions it's nice to find a place to get unbiased answers.

[PoolDoc]

I'm not sure we're unbiased -- everyone is biased, at minimum, by the limitations of their knowledge and history. And we're VERY sure we don't know all that it would be helpful to know about pools!

But, we do make an effort to be honest and accurate about what we do know.

But, I know I personally learn a BUNCH of new things every single year, since I started the PoolForum. Fortunately, most of the stuff I wrote 15 years ago has turned out to be pretty accurate or at least true to what is now known. So while we have changed and extended, we haven't had to go, "Oops, so sorry! We really shouldn't have told you that." very often.