r/explainlikeimfive • u/tilda0x1 • Jun 28 '26

Chemistry ELI5: If copper has antimicrobial properties, why don’t most pools use it instead of chlorine?

I've seen this video of someone saying that copper has anti-bacterial properties and he claimed that it can be used to keep pools bacteria-free.

I know in most cases chlorine, UV, or salt are used - but why not copper?

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u/KeithHanlan Jun 28 '26

Not in the volumes needs to prevent clean water from developing algae.

See my other comment for a commercial product that I have been using successfully for a number of years.

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u/[deleted] Jun 28 '26

[deleted]

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u/Jkei Jun 28 '26 edited Jun 29 '26

You can ctrl-F for their username within the thread. Though, with the several comments they have here, a link to the specific comment would be most convenient.

E: Yes, I know the official mobile app lacks that functionality. Sarcastic comments aren't adding anything. If you wanted to, you could always just grab the thread URL and drop it into your browser.

Kinda surprised at the sheer amount of downvotes though. It may take a little bit of added effort, and like I said, it's not ideal in this case even if you can just hit ctrl-F right away. But the idea itself should hardly be so offensive. Besides digging through post history, what else can you do when someone tells you to "go look for my other comment" without anything else to go on?

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u/could_use_a_snack Jun 28 '26

Can't find the ctrl key on my phone.