By Kayla Goldberg
Pool Owners
In the desert of Arizona, many homeowners are also pool owners. As the June heat hits and schools are on summer break, families often choose to spend more time outside, enjoying their privately owned or community pools.
Swimming is a great way to be active and participate in quality family time; however, most swimmers aren’t aware that pools are rarely as safe and sanitary as one may assume, and they usually aren’t cleaned in an energy-efficient manner.
Exceptional Water Systems is a company dedicated to ensuring not only that Arizona families can safely enjoy long days of swimming, but also that they can do so in a healthy, eco-friendly, efficient way.
The Downside Of Chemicals
Most pools are kept clean using chemicals like chlorine and acid. These chemicals succeed in eliminating harmful bacteria and balancing pH levels. Unfortunately, they can also result in unwanted odors, skin irritation, asthma, hair loss, and more.
“Another bad part about your pool of chemicals is that not even the wastewater treatment plant wants it! As a matter of fact, there are regulations being created where it’s becoming more and more strict on draining pool water into the sewer systems because it is harder to treat,” the company writes on its website, www.exwsystems.com.
All of these have led to health concerns with pool water—no one wants themselves or their loved ones swimming in water even the sewage companies are shying away from.
This is one reason Exceptional Water Systems is gaining in recognition and popularity. Exceptional Water Systems uses natural elements such as oxygen, ozone, carbon dioxide and UV light to keep pools sanitary and safe. They do so by building, designing, and engineering filtration and chemical feed systems for both residential and commercial pools. This technology allows for chemical automation, high-efficient filtration, variable speed pump control and heating, all of which are important factors to the overall health of a pool.
An Eco-Friendlier Alternative
The company offers many services and installments, one being a chemical controller automation system that lets customers keep track of their pool’s chemistry 24 hours a day via an online portal.
Exceptional Water Systems also utilizes ozone generators that are even more efficient at disinfecting and oxidizing water than chlorine. These, combined with the UV lights the system includes, are used as a secondary form of disinfection to ensure all microorganisms that could potentially be living in a pool are sterilized.
Not only is the pool water clean and safe, but the oxygenated water does not harm those with common skin problems like psoriasis or eczema, which chlorine pools do. This applies to their privately owned pools—their systems are still required to contain a small amount of chlorine when used in commercial pools.
Despite the minimal inclusion of chlorine in those situations, Exceptional Water Systems founder Mike Geyer shares that swimmers who are “hyper-allergic to chlorine, regardless of whether there’s chlorine in our systems or not, do not have issues—they won’t break out in their rashes like they usually would getting into normally chlorinated water.”
Furthermore, oxygenated pools are not only beneficial to its users’ health, but also to the health of vegetation surrounding the pool – oxygenated pools have been proven to nourish the plants around them to the impressive point of them growing up to four times larger.
Daniel Sean Casey, a former collegiate swimmer and professional triathlete who has swum more than 12,000 hours competitively in various competitive pools worldwide, shares that he enjoys swimming in the outdoor Mountain Bridge Community Pool in Mesa, which utilizes Exceptional Water Systems’ products.
“The air on the immediate surface of the pool was ‘cleaner,’” he explains. “Typically you can smell the chlorine gases escaping from the pool water. This smell was not noticeable. After an hour of swimming, I would normally have tight/itchy skin—most notably at night. On this day, with a similar routine, I did not experience [that].”
Other Benefits
Compared to chlorinated pool systems, oxygenated pool systems are also less expensive, especially in large commercial pools.
“An 850,000-gallon pool saves about 50% in expense in just chlorine usage,” Geyer explains. This system, called the Hyper Dissolved Oxygen system (HDO), also results in pools having the feel of a saltwater pool without actually using any salt. This is another benefit, as saltwater pools tend to break down pool interiors, concrete and decorative surroundings quickly, and are more expensive and time-consuming to upkeep. HDO users often comment on how clear their water is, how soft it makes their skin feel, and those with asthma describe an easier ability to breathe and a lack of a need for their inhalers.
The use of oxygen decreases the necessity of chlorine, and Exceptional Water Systems’ pHureFeed In-Line Co2 Injection Systems eliminate the necessity of the other commonly used chemical in pool tech: acid. Acid is used to balance pH levels. Having a balanced pH level is extremely important for the overall health of a pool, but rather than using acid, Exceptional Water System uses carbon dioxide, because it’s a natural element.
pHure Feed is proven to be 97 to 100% efficient and provides a healthier alternative to balance pH then traditional acid. Carbon dioxide also does not have and unhealthy build-up of byproducts, leaving the water better for disposal.
Making Arizona Pools Safer
Exceptional Water Systems is currently working with the City of Scottsdale to make its pools safer and healthier. McDowell Mountain Ranch Aquatic Center has incorporated the technology into all of its pools, including its lazy river, leisure pool and competition pool.
The company has also already expanded into Chandler.
Kayla Goldberg is an editorial intern at Green Living Magazine. She is currently studying English at Loyola Marymount University and in her free time she enjoys reading, working out, and drinking coffee.
Photos courtesy Exceptional Water Systems
