Rudy, Author at Aquatic Facility Training and Consultants

How Phosphate Removers work

Post author:Rudy
Post published:November 21, 2021
Post category:Chemicals

I'm continuing with the specialty chemical thing. Last week we talked about how enzymes work. This time it's how phosphate removers work. Sadly, this is not something that everyone has…

How enzymes work

Post author:Rudy
Post published:November 14, 2021
Post category:Chemicals Pool News

If you've been following along, I'm sure you've noticed that I've been spending a lot of time talking about specialty chemicals lately. That's because the availability of the critical disinfectants…

Muriatic Acid Alternatives

Post author:Rudy
Post published:July 30, 2021
Post category:Water Chemistry

I guess we can add muriatic acid to the list of pool products that are becoming impossible to find this year. The truth is it's been kind of scarce for…

Coronavirus vaccination record card. Protective mask divided into two parts.Concept of defeating Covid-19. High quality photo

Can your customer require proof of Vaccine?

Post author:Rudy
Post published:July 22, 2021
Post category:Pool News

This came up the other day because a peer was asked, so I thought I would snoop around. As we go through this, I am not a HIPAA Lawyer; I…

BIG POOLS IMMUNE TO CHLORINE CRISIS

Post author:Rudy
Post published:May 28, 2021
Post category:Pool News Pool Operator Talk News

Memorial Day weekend is here, and many pool owners continue to investigate alternative means of disinfecting water in hopes of salvaging what could have been the swimming pool season that…

CALCULATE POOL GALLONS CHEMICALLY

Post author:Rudy
Post published:May 8, 2021
Post category:Pool Service Tips

That's it! One method for calculating gallons will work in every pool, no matter what the shape or size. Rectangle, oval, or amoeba-shaped, you'll have greater accuracy if you calculate…

CMAHC’s Dewey Case Discusses Importance of Virginia Graeme Baker Pool & Spa Safety Act

Post author:Rudy
Post published:February 27, 2021
Post category:Pool Safety

Pool Pro Podcast and Ask the Masters' Podcast Spotlight Critical Requirements and Expiration Dates for Pool Service Professionals and Builders RALEIGH, N.C. – Dewey Case, technical director for the Council…

Public Pool Code Inspections

Post author:Rudy
Post published:February 19, 2021
Post category:Pool News

[responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Male" buttontext="Listen to Post"] Health Department Public Pool Code Inspections. If you have a pool at a property that you maintain I am certain you have realized…

What To Do When Pool Water Freezes

Post author:Rudy
Post published:February 15, 2021
Post category:Pool Service Tips

If you own a swimming pool and have winterized it because you are in an area where that is the common practice - This is NOT for you! You have…

How to Get Rid of Swimming Pool Algae

Post author:Rudy
Post published:February 12, 2021
Post category:Pool News Author Rudy Stankowitz

On the Verge of a More Active Algae Season than Ever Before Due to a Nation Wide Chlorine Shortage - There Are Steps That You Can Take to Prevent a…

Talking Pools Podcast

If you’ve ever stared at a test kit like it personally insulted your family… welcome home.

Talking Pools Podcast is the pool industry’s “pull up a chair” show—part shop talk, part field manual, part therapy session—built for people who actually live on pool decks: commercial operators, service techs, builders, facility managers, and anyone responsible for water that can’t afford to go sideways. The network was created to level up the pool industry with real-world conversations on water chemistry, filtration, troubleshooting, construction, safety, and the business side of keeping pools open and budgets intact.

Here’s the hook: it’s not theory-first. It’s experience-first—a roster of seasoned pros (with 250+ years of combined “been there, fixed that” wisdom) turning complicated problems into practical moves you can use the same day. And it’s not one voice, one vibe, one corner of the industry: it’s a network of shows designed to reflect how diverse this work really is—different regions, different specialties, different personalities.

Also worth saying out loud: women aren’t “special guests” here—they’re on the mic as hosts, from the beginning, with an intentionally balanced roster. That matters, because the best ideas in this industry don’t come from one lane—they come from the whole road.

If you want a podcast that can make you laugh and make you better at what you do—without pretending the job is easier than it is—Talking Pools is the one you queue up before the first stop, and keep on when the day starts getting weird.

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When the National Park Service added hydrogen peroxide to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, the internet immediately decided it had found the culprit behind the peeling coating.

But science doesn't work that way.

In this episode, Rudy Stankowitz takes a research-first approach to one of the most discussed pool stories of the year. Instead of asking whether hydrogen peroxide caused a coating failure, he asks a different question:

Why was hydrogen peroxide chosen in the first place?

Drawing from published scientific literature on cyanobacteria, harmful algal blooms, microbiology, biofilms, and water treatment, Rudy explores how hydrogen peroxide affects microorganisms, why mature biofilms are so difficult to eliminate, and why swimming pool professionals may need to rethink the way they've approached ”black algae” for decades.

This isn't a product pitch.
It isn't a treatment recommendation.
And it certainly isn't clickbait.

It's an evidence-based discussion designed to separate what science has demonstrated from what still remains a hypothesis.

The episode also introduces the first part of Rudy's proposed research protocol—a hypothesis assembled from published mechanisms that has not been validated in controlled swimming pool research—and explains exactly where established science ends and new investigation begins.

If you're tired of opinions masquerading as facts, this episode is for you.

In This Episode

Why the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was treated with hydrogen peroxide
Why concentration matters more than percentage
Correlation versus causation in coating failures
What published research says about hydrogen peroxide and cyanobacterial blooms
The difference between free-floating algae and mature cyanobacterial biofilms
How extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) protect biofilms
Why oxidants often struggle against established biofilms
The biology behind oxidative stress
Photosystem II, lipid peroxidation, and cellular damage explained
Why mature biofilms deserve to be studied separately
Why Rudy believes better questions lead to better science
The first step in a proposed research protocol using aluminum sulfate
Why coagulation and physical removal may reduce oxidant demand before disinfection
Where the published literature ends—and where hypothesis generation begins

Key Takeaway

Science advances by asking better questions—not by rushing to conclusions.

This episode doesn't claim to have solved black algae. It challenges listeners to examine what the published research actually supports, recognize the limits of current knowledge, and think critically about where future swimming pool research should go.

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