Does adding copper in pools really work?
I am sure that by now everyone has come across the video on tiktok which went viral. The video is of a guy who put copper pipe into his weir and claims it keeps his pool blue all year round.
Now that to an extent using copper in pools is true but it is also a false statement. Back in the old days it was used yes but it was stopped as the copper pipes left stains on the pools lining and turned peoples hair green. If someone has extremely high iron in their body, you would see those people wearing a copper braclet to draw the iron out. This would always leave a green mark around their wrist. The same thing applies to pools.
Chlorine is used because it can oxidize organic waste. Copper cannot do this. It will dissolve and suspend in water. The Copper Ions are positively charged, Algea and bacteria are naturally negatively charged so there is an attraction that brings the copper to the bacteria to mess with their metabolic processes and kill them. Copper is a great sanitizer in water (if ionic) but it cannot oxidize. Essentially, copper can kill germs, but not clean the water of the germ waste.
Copper is also persistent. You can treat a pool with chlorine, and if it leaks into a nearby stream, the chlorine will evaporate without doing to much damage. If you treat it with copper salts, it will kill everything along the length of the stream. If you use copper ionizers then different story but again this costs more than chlorine so what is the point? In South Africa our borehole water contains high amounts of iron and yes in a case like this by all means add copper as it will decrease the iron level but on normal municipal water it will just stain the pools lining.
So is using copper in pools worth it? No I do not agree at all to be honest. If you looking for a quick fix for your swimming pool rather hire a pool cleaning company to look after your pool. We take the hassle out of keeping your pool sparkling all year round.
