What about products which mix enzymes with existing chemicals or cleaners?
Enzymes can be mixed with other chemicals to improve the performance profile of the product. For instance, surfactants, which employ their own grease and oil cutting abilities, can be mixed with pool and spa enzymes to create superior performance for eliminating water line and other oil accumulations.
Typically, surfactants are chemicals with a high pH, which are capable of lowering the surface tension of oils and greases. The decrease in surface tension allows for the oil to be pulled into the water where it can be destroyed. Coupling a surfactant with enzymes gives a dual action capability to keeping a pool clean and clear.
A natural occurrence
It has been established that enzymes provide the response times necessary to speed up life sustaining reactions. And, since enzymes occur naturally in everyday life, it has opened the door to more products featuring them. As a result, by using enzymes, many pool and spa chemical manufacturers have answered the call to produce high quality, effective chemicals that are also environmentally friendly.
Given enzymes are highly effective at breaking down contaminants and originate from natural resources, they have become an ideal supplement for any pool or spa owner with a desire to make their maintenance program greener. In addition to being green, they also offer two qualities that are not usually paired together: flexibility and specificity. Being flexible allows enzymes to work well with all halogen (i.e. chlorine and bromine) systems. They ease the strain on sanitizers and shocks by eliminating grease and oils. This can be especially advantageous during peak usage times. Further, clarifiers, shocks, and sequesterants pose no compatibility problems for enzymes. The ability to combine enzymes with surfactants creates uniquely effective cleaners and pool maintenance products.
What about specificity? Pools and spas are prone to certain types of contaminants. The oils and greases commonly found in pools and spas as a result of the environment and bather waste can be targeted by the enzymes. Thanks to product compatibility, specificity to contaminants, and all natural quality, enzyme water treatment can be beneficial for any pool or spa.
Claudio Azurmendi is a technical services analyst for BioLab Inc., a Chemtura Company. He received his bachelor of science in chemistry from Georgia State University and joined BioLab in 2009 as a customer care technical solutions specialist. He moved over to technical services in 2010. He can be reached via e-mail at claudio.azurmendi@chemtura.com.
