A premium product for premium pools
Bromine has long been a premium treatment used in hot tubs and hydrotherapy pools because it is less irritating and less sensitizing than chlorine and simply feels better to swim in. But it has been too expensive to use in larger swimming pools. Swim Research has developed a better and cheaper bromine product that changes that.
The catch with bromine tablets
Bromine tablets are used in small pools for sensitive swimmers — therapy pools, resort hot tubs, hotel spas. These tablets are made of an expensive compound called bromochlorodimethylhydantoin (BCDMH), which is economical for a small spa but far too expensive to dose a full-size swimming pool.
Worse, over time residual chemicals from the tablets — dimethylhydantoin (DMH) and chlorodimethylhydantoin (CDMH) — build up in the water and cause irritation known as 'bromine itch' or 'bromine rash'. It's not bromine itself that causes this; it's the breakdown products of the tablets. To keep them in check, bromine tablet pools have to be regularly drained and diluted — not something you want to be doing with a full-size pool.
And with tablets you lose the convenience of an automated salt system entirely. You need to add them manually and keep testing your bromine levels by hand.
Bromine rash and bromine itch are caused by tablet residues, not by bromine itself. Swim Research Catalyst uses a simple bromine salt — no BCDMH, no residues, no rash.
Swim Research's Catalyst
Swim Research's Catalyst is a naturally occurring bromine salt present in seawater, added to your pool at roughly the same concentration it exists in the ocean. When your chlorinator produces chlorine, it reacts with the Catalyst to make bromine. At the end of the day the Catalyst reforms, so you rarely need to top it up.
This is much cheaper than bromine tablets, produces no irritating residues, and works with your existing chlorinator — its controller maintains your bromine levels automatically, just as it would with chlorine.
Running a bromine pool
You can run a bromine pool at the same pH as a chlorine pool if you prefer. But bromine really comes into its own at higher pH, where you rarely need to add acid — and at that range you won't need buffer or calcium either. For most pool owners, switching to bromine means mostly stopping the addition of other chemicals altogether. All you need to do is maintain your salt levels.
Long the preserve of spas and therapy pools, Swim Research brings bromine to backyard pools at an affordable price. It's easier to run than a chlorine pool, works with your existing chlorinator or automation system, gives you beautiful non-irritating water, and doesn't cause the bromine itch that comes with tablet-based systems.