Talking Pools Podcast

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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.