Why It Works:

General Questions | PoolNaturally | SpaNaturally

General Questions

How does this system work?

This system conditions water to produce crisp, clear, odor free water that feels like it comes from mountain stream fed lakes and rivers. It dramatically reduces the amount of toxic chemicals needed to maintain high quality pool and spa water and extends equipment life. The time required taking care of your pool or spa water also drops significantly as well. Our systems are nature’s solution for healthier water. The plant material has been conditioning water in the Northern United States and Southern Canada for hundreds of years.

What is the product made of?

Our products are made from a very specific species of sphagnum moss from among the hundreds of varieties. Sphagnum moss has been conditioning water in lakes, rivers, and ponds for centuries.

How often do I need to change the insert refill?

The refill diffuses its beneficial discharges over a 30 day period and should be replaced at that point to continue to get the conditioning effects.

Why does this product qualify as green?

Our system meets these “green” criteria as developed by “The Natural Step”:
a. Plant based
b. Sustainable production
c. Conserves and protects water
d. Less toxic than products currently available
e. Socially responsible.

Other than being sterilized, there are no manufacturing processes done to the moss plant after it is harvested. The refill itself is biodegradable.

How will I know when the refill(s) needs to be changed?

The appearance of the refill may not change during the 30 days of usage, but our research shows its beneficial effects diminish at that point requiring replacement. We recommend getting in the habit of changing the refill at the beginning of each month.

Why are the refills packaged in this configuration?

The inserts are designed to maximize the surface exposure to the water. This allows for the optimum amount of interaction and diffusion of the active properties in the insert.

What is the shelf life of the PoolNaturally and SpaNaturally Refills?

The shelf life of the refills both for the dealer and the end user is not an issue. Our research has shown that the packaged product will stay effective until exposed to the pool or spa water.

Are PoolNaturally and SpaNaturally systems compatible with all sanitizers?

PoolNaturally and SpaNaturally systems are compatible with all sanitizers except for biguanides such as Baquasil.

Do I still need to use a sanitizer such as chlorine?

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the United States requires that a sanitizer with bacteria killing properties be used in a residential pool or spa. The combination of the SpaNaturally or PoolNaturally systems and small amounts of an EPA approved sanitizer provides the highest quality of water while reducing or eliminating undesirable side effects. We recommend maintaining a sanitizer reading on a test strip of 1-2 parts per million.

How much sanitizer should I use?

We recommend by starting with a reduction of 50% of the amount of sanitizer you have been using. Continue to do regular water testing for the next 2 weeks. Most people find that their measured sanitizer levels are much higher than usual even though they are using less. If you observe this, cut the amount of sanitizer by an additional 50% and retest your water. The ultimate goal of the sanitizer reduction is to maintain 1-2 parts per million while using SpaNaturally or PoolNaturally.

How quickly do SpaNaturally and PoolNaturally work?

In a clean spa, our products start working quickly and continue to improve month after month. Our system has an accumulation of the conditioning effects – the water continues to improve significantly over time. Pool users report noticing improvements in the water as early as five to seven days after implementing our systems.

What does the water feel and look like?

Users describe that the water feels like ‘liquid velvet’. The water is crisp and clear. It doesn’t leave skin feeling dry, discolor or dry out hair, discolor nails or swim clothing.

Why does my chlorine appear to be disappearing? I have to keep adding it and adding it…

The biofilm binds with sanitizers such as chlorine and bromine. When you dip your test strip in the water, you don’t detect the sanitizer trapped in the biofilm. The more biofilm contamination your pool or spa surfaces, plumbing, heater, pumps, filters, etc. have, the greater capacity biofilm has for trapping sanitizers.

When it is trapped in biofilm, the sanitizer can’t kill the free floating (planktonic) bacteria. Sanitizers, in concentrations safe for human exposure, cannot completely penetrate biofilm and kill the bacteria protected within it.

Why do I get a scum line or dirt ring at the water line of my spa that sometimes looks like a calcium residue?

The biofilm on the wall surface of the pool and /or spa provides a sticky surface for attachment of calcium, metals, and other contaminates in the water that are not sticky on their own. Using the PoolNaturally or SpaNaturally system will prevent scale and scum lines from forming. In addition, the use of this product will result in the shedding of the biofilm from the wall surface releasing the scale and other contaminates to be trapped by the filter and eliminating the scum line.

What causes water clarity issues?

In addition to precipitates and foreign objects, we believe that biofilm breaking off and bacteria being released back into the spa water also cause hazy water.

Why do I get an odor from my sanitizer?

When removing the cover from a spa or pool, the unpleasant odors that you smell are caused by chloramines or combined chlorines. “Combined chlorine is formed by chlorine combining with ammonia and other nitrogen-containing organic compounds. Some sources of these compounds include perspiration, urine, saliva, and body oils. These combined forms of chlorine, also called chloramines, are still disinfectants, but they are 40 to 60 times less effective than free available chlorine (FAC). Chloramines kill slowly, so when they are formed in swimming-pool water, the FAC is no longer present for “instant kill” sanitation. FAC and combined chlorine exist together in many pools. There are simple tests to measure the levels of each. In addition to reduced effectiveness against bacteria, chloramines cause eye irritation and the so-called “chlorine odor” that swimmers complain about. Chloramines have a foul, irritating odor; free chlorine in water in normal concentration has no discernable odor.” (NSPF Pool-Spa Operators Handbook, 1990)

Does this system have an effect on algae?

In studies in our lab, the species of moss used in SpaNaturally and PoolNaturally inhibited the growth of algae. Customer testimonials reveal that they don’t have number or magnitude of severity of algae outbreaks that they had before using SpaNaturally or PoolNaturally. Numerous customers have shared stories about leaving their pool over an extended vacation, water evaporating below the skimmers so the water was essentially stagnant for over a week’s time. They returned from vacation to crystal clear water.

Additionally, our research has uncovered that a significant amount of problems that the pool and spa industry categorizes as algae issues have been misdiagnosed. These problems are in actuality bacterial biofilms with differing varieties bacterial populations causing multiple symptoms. PoolNaturally and SpaNaturally have the same beneficial effects on these missed categorized biofilm issues.

Do enzymes have an effect on biofilm?

The simple answer is no! First of all, the word enzyme refers to a molecule that facilitates a chemical reaction. There are thousands of enzymes that do everything from digest your food to help heal a wound. They are very specific molecules that only work on the intended target. An enzyme that breaks down carbohydrate molecules from barley, will not work on other different carbohydrate molecules.

The enzymes marketed to the pool and spa industry are taken from the fermentation process where yeast acts on a carbohydrate. Essentially, these enzymes are the ones that help change the sugar molecules in barley or wheat into alcohol. The complex sugars and other molecules that make up biofilm are very different from those that are in barley or wheat so it is unlikely that they will work on biofilm. We are not aware of any research showing that these enzyme cocktails affect biofilm.

Are PoolNaturally and SpaNaturally compatible with enzyme treatments?

While CWS has not tested every variety of enzymes, we have found that they are generally compatible..