HTH Dry Chlorine


When Kitty Wilkinson opened the first public washhouse in Liverpool around 1850, she would not have realised just how important and widespread her idea would become. Laundries would eventually use electric machinery with heated dryers and ironing machines. Then, at the start of the 20th century came the public swimming pool. Most pools at first were built with a slipper baths section, and towels used by both swimmers and bathers would be laundered on site. Male swimmers wore modesty garments and mixed swimming was not introduced until the 1920's. Hot water from the steam generated coal boilers was plentiful the year round, though during the winter swimming would cease when the pool was covered to provide dancing and Christmas parties. The baths manager in this era had to be skilled in all aspects of engineering, boiler maintenance, laundry chemistry and plumbing, pool water management being only a small part of his responsibility. (The masculine form is used intentionally since females were absolutely unheard of in baths management until the latter quarter of the last century). The Institute of Sport and Recreation Management was formed in 1921 by the Government Department of Public Health and began to educate their members and share information with each other. The Public Health Act of 1936 encouraged local authorities to build more pools and after World War II, as public hygiene and health became more important, baths and washhouses became a fundamental part of any community. The pre 1960's manager in the smaller town swimming pools was often the engineer, lifeguard, cashier, swimming instructor and helped with the cleaning as well! Understandably, the pool water didn't get the best of attention at all times and remember the technology and design wasn't that great either. Nevertheless, the swimming pool service that is offered today is built on the foundations laid down by the pioneers who passed on their knowledge from generation to generation. Today, each new swimming pool is built with the very latest technology and innovation, not only in its water treatment but its structural and aesthetic design a great example being the Water Cube in Beijing for the 2008 Olympics. Kitty Wilkinson would marvel to see how her idea of simply providing a place for people to clean themselves and their clothes has grown into a major part of our everyday lives.

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