OZONE: Ozone has been used since the late 1800's to purify water; ozone became a prominent method to purify swimming pool water in the late 1940's and has been used successfully ever since.

In its natural state, ultraviolet, or UV, light from the sun's rays converts natural oxygen molecules into ozone molecules. Without getting into a prolonged Chemistry 101 lecture, just let it be understood that once produced by this combination of UV light and oxygen, ozone occurs naturally in the earth's atmosphere to purify and clean our water (and our air); ozone is the earth's natural purifier. This natural process has been successfully replicated to use ozone to purify and clean pool water. A special lamp gives off a specific wavelength of UV light, which converts oxygen molecules into ozone molecules. Again, without getting into another prolonged Chemistry 101 lecture, just let it be understood that this process occurs instantly inside a device, which is called an OZONATOR and the end result is clean, clear, blue, sparkling, and safe pool water for your enjoyment.

An ozonator is plumbed inline with your other pool equipment (the pump, the filter, and the heater). In fact, the ozonator looks like this:

Connected to your pool, the ozonator operates in this way:

The pump will draw water out of the pool. The pump will then send this water to the filter, where any dirt, debris, or particles will be trapped. The water will then be sent to the heater, where it will be heated to the desired pre-set temperature. The water will then pass through the ozonator, where it will be purified and cleaned. This filtered, heated, purified, and cleaned water is then sent back to the pool for your enjoyment.

Ozone does not replace chlorine or bromine. Rather, ozone is a supplement to be used with chlorine or bromine (albeit, very trace amounts) to fully sanitize the pool water. In combination, the end result is clean, clear, blue, and sparkling water at a fraction of the cost of using traditional chlorine. In fact, ozone has repeatedly been proven to purify, clean, and sanitize pool water faster and more effectively than traditional chlorine or bromine alone. Therefore, many pool owners still install a chemical feeder (chlorinator or brominator) inline with their pool equipment.

In conjunction with chlorine or bromine, ozone will kill all bacteria, living organisms, ammonia, swimmer wastes, algae, dirt, debris, and other contaminates virtually on contact. There is also no odor with ozone. Ozone does not leave any by-products in the water, other than life-sustaining oxygen.

Regardless of the manufacturer, make, or model of the ozonator, they are expensive upfront. But, use of ozone will save you considerable money each pool season, as its use necessitates less chlorine or bromine and less water balancing chemicals (ozone is pH neutral). Ozone, then is a viable supplement to be used with your chlorine or bromine, and, after the initial expense, you will save considerable money each year in chemicals, while at the same time, having clean, clear, blue, sparkling, and safe water, making ozone a recommended purchase.