rfamily Posted April 25, 2011 Report Share Posted April 25, 2011 Is some sunscreen or sun tanning oil brands better to use or more user friendly for the pool water then others? If so what should one be aware of or look for? During the swim season should we be testing or adding any chemical to offset the oil that will accumulate in the water? If so what would that be? Does the oilor sunscreen by products have a greater or lesser effect on cartridge or sand filters? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chem geek Posted April 26, 2011 Report Share Posted April 26, 2011 I don't know which ones are better, but I do know that most are oils that are not fully soluble in water so will tend to form a film on the surface of the water and eventually get sucked into the skimmer and caught into the filter. When I clean my cartridge filters each year, by far the largest component in them is suntan lotion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
footie Posted May 1, 2011 Report Share Posted May 1, 2011 I wonder if biodegradable suntan lotions would be better than normal ones for this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chem geek Posted May 2, 2011 Report Share Posted May 2, 2011 I wonder if biodegradable suntan lotions would be better than normal ones for this? From what I can tell, these products are mostly aloe vera gel (and water plus a small amount of UV absorbers), but that is mostly polysaccharides, mannas and anthraquinones, none of which are nitrogenous compounds (nor are methyl ketones)and seem unlikely to break down by chlorine. There are also lectins in aloe vera gel that are proteins and those are nitrogenous compounds that should get at least partially broken down. So overall, I think these won't be much better that traditional suntan lotions. Biodegradable is not the same as what can get oxidized by chlorine. Bacteria have enzymes that can break down polysaccharides and other natural organics (i.e. from living things). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.