24 July 2026

Everybody Blamed the Hydrogen Peroxide... But What Did It Really Do to Trump's Reflecting Pool?

Talking Pools Podcast

About

Send us Fan Mail

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 peroxideWhy concentration matters more than percentageCorrelation versus causation in coating failuresWhat published research says about hydrogen peroxide and cyanobacterial bloomsThe difference between free-floating algae and mature cyanobacterial biofilmsHow extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) protect biofilmsWhy oxidants often struggle against established biofilmsThe biology behind oxidative stressPhotosystem II, lipid peroxidation, and cellular damage explainedWhy mature biofilms deserve to be studied separatelyWhy Rudy believes better questions lead to better scienceThe first step in a proposed research protocol using aluminum sulfateWhy coagulation and physical removal may reduce oxidant demand before disinfectionWhere 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.