In this article we try to simplify the process of pool maintenance. Our focus is on chlorine treated pools. Some owners can become a little overwhelmed with the chemistry behind maintaining a safe and hygienic pool, but we confident that once they have a series of practical steps to follow, most find the process straightforward. In fact it shouldn’t take more than a couple of hours a week to keep your pool safe, clear and hygienic. The two main aspects to pool maintenance are filtration and keeping pool chemicals within recommended levels. We tackle these two in turn below:
Filtration – Many pool problems are caused because owners don’t run the pump and filtration systems for long enough each day. If you are in a warm climate, bear in mind that you’ll need to run the pump for around eight hours every day. Make sure that the entire volume of water in the pool has circulated before you switch off the pump. In addition to running the pump, make sure you check the skimmer and pump baskets on a regular basis cleaning out any debris that has collected. A pool vacuum cleaner is a good investment to make in a clean pool and these days there are a good selection of completely automated models on the market. Check out these reviews of robotic pool vacuum cleaners, for example?
Adjusting pool chemicals – It’s a good idea to get into the habit of regularly testing your pool water for pH, chlorine levels and alkalinity. You want your pH levels to be between 7.2 and 7.6. Outside of this range and you’ll pool chlorine will not be working as effectively. Alkalinity should be maintained at around 90-220 ppm. Highly acidic or alkaline water can damage your pool equipment and also be irritating for people using the pool. Alkalinity and pH can be easily adjusted by adding water balancing chemicals. The chlorine levels need to be within the range of 1 to 3 ppm at all times the pool is in use. Never allow a swimmer into the pool if the chlorine levels fall outside of this range. A critical aspect of pool maintenance is to add a pool shock treatment on a weekly basis. You may have to do this more often if the pool is being heavily used. You can choose between chlorine-based and non-chlorine shock treatment. Read more about pool shock at this dedicated site.