Flocculants for swimming pools

Flocculant

— chemical agent that enhances water filtration efficiency.

Mechanical filters are capable of trapping only relatively large particles, while small ones pass through them freely. As a result, the filtered water may still be cloudy and unpleasant for swimming. To prevent such occurrences, flocculants are used. Under the influence of these agents, small impurities clump together into large flocks, which are easily trapped by mechanical filters. Furthermore, many flocculants improve the effectiveness of disinfectants based on chlorine or oxygen (see the corresponding sections).

Coagulants have a similar mechanism of action (see the corresponding section), and sometimes no distinction is made between these two types of chemicals. There are indeed no fundamental differences between them; however, flocculants generally produce larger particles, which are better retained by filters, but they require the filtration system to be stopped for the product to work effectively. Nevertheless, the term "flocculant" can sometimes be used to refer to coagulants, so the specific application features of such agents need to be clarified in each individual case.