What does cya mean in pools

Pool owners rejoice when temperatures rise! As you take to the pool for the summer, you might not realize your cyanuric acid CYA levels could also be rising. But add too much, and it keeps the Chlorine from sanitizing. Also known as stabilizer or conditioner, CYA binds to the chlorine to keep it from evaporating. Adding more stabilized chlorine means adding more CYA.

Over time, this can lead to a problematic buildup. If Little Timmy decides to drop a brown torpedo everyone in the pool becomes at risk of contracting E. To keep your pool running smoothly and all the chemicals doing their jobs you must maintain the proper levels of each compound.

The amount of cyanuric acid you use will depend on the size of the pool and the amount of chlorine.

While CYA is nontoxic, anything above 90 ppm could make people sick if they accidentally swallow the pool water. A good rule of thumb is to keep the Free Chlorine at For example, if you put 40 ppm of CYA in the pool you will need to keep ppm of free chlorine. In the case of an accidental fecal matter incident the CDC mandates that the pool is drained and no more than 15 ppm of CYA is used. Any more than this will not allow the chlorine to properly sanitize the water.

Keep in mind that when the pool is drained some CYA will remain in the pool and filtration system. If your CYA levels are too high, first check to see if you are using a stabilized chlorine product that already has CYA in it. As you can see, the benefits of CYA yield a diminishing return the higher you go.

Granted, more CYA can give your chlorine more protection from sunlight for longer, but at what cost? That upper CYA limit? Just 15 ppm. Yes, that may sound low, but there are practical reasons why. This chart basically shows that more CYA in your water means you need significantly more chlorine to have the same sanitization power.

Just look at how much chlorine and acid to re-balance pH is required to achieve the desired sanitation result. To keep water safe, sanitation is critical, and it needs to be practical. If you have read the Orenda Blog, you already know our opinion of CYA is that it is a double-edged sword.

At low levels it provides tremendous benefits, but at high levels, big problems. It slows chlorine dramatically, which lowers ORP. The problem is not stabilization of chlorine, it's over-stabilization of chlorine. Here are three related articles:. Here are some examples:. A timeless question for any homeowner new to Salt Chlorine Generators and salt water pools. Your email address will not be published. This product can expose you to chemicals including Vinyl Chloride which is known to the State of California to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm.

For more information, go to www. Facebook LinkedIn Youtube Email. When purchasing chlorine, look for stabilized chlorine products such as: Sodium dichloro-s-triazinetrione Trichloro-s-triazinetrione Calcium Hypochlorite and Sodium Hypochlorite are two forms that do not have cyanuric acid added to it. AquaCal AutoPilot, Inc. As much as we hate to see summer end, we have to accept the fact….