Chemicals-1st time buyer questions

[chem geek]

Right now it is unclear whether this actually sequesters (binds to and reduces the effective concentration of) calcium which is what Clorox was implying or whether it just inhibits the growth of calcium carbonate crystals just slowing down the rate of scale growth but not changing its potential to form which is what was said in the link I found. This is what I asked Clorox so let's wait until I hear back from them before deciding on the effects of this chemical.

I suspect that in any event the quantity is so small (even accumulated over seasons) that it has minimal effect on the relatively large Calcium Hardness (CH) levels in pools. Based on waterbear's comment, this chemical may clarify the water and get filtered out (he also talks about this compound in this post). So I think there is a good chance that this sodium polyacrylate doesn't sequester calcium, but we'll see (Wikipedia here says that acrylates bind to metals, but take this with a grain of salt, so to speak).

Richard

[chem geek]

I just received the following response from Clorox:

Sodium polyacrylate was added to the product to bind with impurities in the water such as iron and manganese. Unfortunately, I have no information available on how it reacts with calcium. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Clorox Germicidal Bleach does not contain the Sodium polyacrylate. Unfortunately, this product is not usually available through most retail outlets. Occasionally, it may be available through club stores or home improvement stores.

So unfortunately we still don't know what this does with calcium. This link seems to indicate that calcium does get bound to sodium polyacrylate causing it to collapse (form balls) but that excess sodium reverses this. So in a pool with a higher level of (sodium) salt, there would be less sequestering of the calcium. The problem is I have no idea of the quantities we are talking about here.

As Carl says, it's safer to use an off-brand Ultra bleach that is less likely to have this additive, or the Clorox Germicidal Bleach that Clorox mentioned. I'll still try and find out more.

Richard

[mbar]

Thanks Richard, it's so nice to have someone explain it all