What can facility owners, engineers and contractors do to create the optimal indoor pool environment?   

Creating the optimal indoor pool environment is no easy feat. There are so many critical considerations that can affect the health and comfort of swimmers and their supporters as well as the structural integrity of the building. Read the full article.

Should there be air movement at the water’s surface? 

At PoolPak, we are often asked about the importance of air movement at the water’s surface and whether this contributes to good IAQ in an indoor pool facility. And it does!  

The U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) recommends there be some air movement at the water’s surface to dilute a higher concentration of chemicals where swimmers breathe. Read the full article.

How is the Paddock Evacuator set up with HVAC?

Ensuring Paddock Evacuator Technology is included (if it makes sense given the operating conditions and expectations of the facility) when selecting HVAC equipment designed for the facility is a great way to ensure good IAQ from the get-go. In fact, exhaust air is one of four key factors that have the most direct effect on IAQ and are under the design engineer’s control. The other three are poor air distribution, air change rate and outdoor air ventilation. Read the full article.

What are trichloramines and how do they affect the health of swimmers?

Chlorine is an oxidizing sanitizer added to indoor pool water to keep it clean; it attacks organics in the water, such as hair, skin, urine and saliva. Chloramines, the chemical byproducts of chlorine doing its job, off-gas from the pool water and build up over time. Read the full article.

Better Together

Paddock Pool Equipment Co is helping us provide two children with swim lessons through Step Into Swim for every PoolPak unit sold with a Paddock Evacuator®.

We’re better together. With Paddock’s support, we are not only helping ensure more children learn how to swim, but we are also significantly improving IAQ for swimmers and the Team Behind the Swim Team. Learn more: PoolPak.com/Paddock.

Step Into Swim, in partnership with Every Child A Swimmer, is a Pool & Hot Tub Alliance initiative committed to safe swim education and drowning prevention and is run by Rowdy Gaines, 3x Olympic gold medalist and PoolPak’s 2022 IAQ spokesperson.

What does it mean when there is such a strong “chlorine” smell?

When you walk into an aquatic facility—or any other building with an indoor pool—you might notice an odor you think is chlorine and you might even associate it with cleanliness. What you smell though is not chlorine at all, but harmful chloramines. Read the full article.

How do indoor pool owners ensure that good IAQ is maintained?

Indoor pool owners play an important role in maintaining good IAQ for swimmers and others who use or work in their facility.

Indoor pool owners can also reduce contaminants entering the water and ultimately trichloramines by establishing an effective patron hygiene program. Read the full article.

HPAC Engineering Article on IAQ

The indoor competition pool at Queens University in Charlotte, North Carolina, is an excellent example of a successful natatorium environment that has both HVAC and Paddock Evacuator® Technology working to significantly improve IAQ. Download this HPAC Engineering article to learn the design process. 

Paddock Evacuator Options

Earlier this year, we announced that PoolPak equipment can be built to accommodate Paddock Evacuator® Technology, a source-capture system that pulls trichloramines from the water’s surface and, with the help of HVAC equipment, exhausts them outside the facility to significantly improve IAQ.

Check out the available options and learn more about how the equipment works to improve IAQ for swimmers, their parents and other supporters in the stands, coaches, volunteers and facility managers.

Download the PDF

PoolPak works with Paddock Pool Equipment to improve IAQ, protecting the health of swimmers and facilities

PoolPak® is now working with Paddock Pool Equipment Co., manufacturer of a full line of innovative pool equipment, to help solve poor IAQ, the bane of competitive swimming and the indoor pool industry in general. Together, the companies offer a solution that will protect the health of swimmers and the integrity of swimming facilities from harmful chloramines. 

Developing Efficient Technology for a Changing World

PoolPak has teamed up with Paddock Pool Equipment Co., manufacturer of a full line of innovative pool equipment, to help solve poor IAQ, the bane of competitive swimming and the indoor pool industry in general. Together, the companies offer a solution that will protect the health of swimmers and the integrity of swimming facilities from harmful chloramines.

Chlorine, added to indoor pool water to keep it clean, attacks organics in the water, such as hair, skin, urine and saliva. Many people think when they smell “chlorine” at an indoor pool, it equates to cleanliness, when in fact what they smell is not chlorine at all, but harmful chloramines. Chloramines, the chemical byproducts of chlorine doing its job, off-gas from the pool water and build up over time. Trichloramines, the most volatile of chloramines, are a health hazard known to irritate swimmers’ eyes, skin and respiratory tract. Trichloramines can also cause corrosion to the indoor pool facility.

PoolPak equipment can be built to accommodate Paddock Evacuator® Technology, a source-capture system that pulls trichloramines from the water’s surface and, with the help of HVAC equipment, exhausts them outside the facility to significantly improve IAQ. “Paddock Pool Equipment Co., like PoolPak, has long been committed to improving indoor air quality and creating the optimal indoor pool environment,” said Mark Hines, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Paddock Pool Equipment. “By educating builders and their networks on how to improve the long-standing issue of poor IAQ, everyone benefits.”