Sweating the small stuff: Kiddie pools require special attention. (Chemistry Corner).(Brief Article)

Warm, shallow water, combined with high activity and incontinent children, can complicate a pool operator's quest to maintain proper sanitizer levels in kiddie pools and wading pools.

Kiddie pools must employ reliable chemical controllers and automatic feeders. With the health and safety of our children at stake, there's no excuse for operating a pool with inadequate sanitization or an inadequate circulation system. If operators lack the ability to correct deficient systems for any reason, they should shut down the pools.

Keeping pools sanitized

Urine and fecal discharges can greatly impede the maintenance of proper chlorine levels in kiddie pools. Swim diapers help keep solid, healthy feces from fouling the water, but they do little to hinder the discharge of urine or diarrhea.

Diarrhetic fecal matter can result in dangerous bacteria spreading throughout the water. Bacteria such as E. coli is relatively easy to control and kill, but cryptosporidium and giardia are difficult to control in pool water, even with seemingly high levels of chlorine.

Additionally, excessive urine in the water burns up a great deal of sanitizer, making the feeder work overtime to maintain proper residuals.

Operators have many sanitizer choices, but most have drawbacks. Sodium hypochlorite (bleach) loses its strength quickly during storage and often requires a large amount of ancillary chemical use. Trichlor and dichlor both contain stabilizer (cyanuric acid), which can lead to overstabilization problems. Bromine and lithium hypochlorite are relatively expensive.