Chances are, one of the things you learned after getting a pool is that there is a lot more to it than you may have initially thought. One of the main things that pool owners will need to stay on top of is pool chemistry. This refers to the balance of chemicals in your pool that acts to keep the water sanitized and safe. It might seem like it should be as simple as occasionally filling up some tanks of chemicals, but unfortunately, it is more than that.
There are a lot of factors that contribute to how effective the chemicals you put in your pool are. Some conditions will render things like chlorine ineffective and thus, even if you are regularly adding chlorine, if the problem isn’t addressed, your pool will be unable to maintain safe levels of chlorination. Factors like the amount of traffic your pool gets, the intensity and duration of sunlight, and the amount of rain you get can all have a dramatic effect on the ability of your pool chemicals to do their job.
What this means is that it takes recalibration and assistance to keep a pool safe and clean, even if you have an automatic chemical feeder system. Sometimes conditions can get so out of balance that the system is unable to address or keep up with the chemical needs and can lead to further issues.
Measuring Water Quality
To know what kind of chemical “cocktail” your pool needs, you need to know the current water conditions. There are two main types of water tests and, whichever you use, it is incredibly important to do regular, daily water tests. These easy and quick tests will give you fast readings on the levels of chemicals and other substances in your water, giving you valuable information to keep the chemicals in balance and to address any issues the water test might raise.
The two main types of water tests are litmus tests and reagent dropper tests. Litmus tests are the easiest to use. You simply dip a special piece of litmus paper in the pool water and the paper will turn colors, indicating the levels of chemicals in the water. While these are simple to use, they do not measure all the different things you need to measure and they aren’t as accurate as of the reagent dropper tests. Litmus tests are fine, but if you use these exclusively, it is recommended that you take an occasional sample of pool water into your local pool store to be tested.
Reagent dropper tests are more accurate and the different reagents give you the ability to test a much broader array of water conditions. To use these, you will obtain a sample of water from the pool and follow the manufacturer’s instructions on how many drops to use. You then match the water to the provided legend which will tell you your chemical levels.
Keeping It All in Balance
Water tests are the pool owners best friend. They let you know what your water quality is like and give you information on what may need to be addressed. But to keep things in balance, you, of course, have to know what range you are targeting for specific chemicals.
pH balance is incredibly important to both the water quality and visibility. Having too high or too low of pH can make it harder for chlorine to sanitize and can also leave your water cloudy or even irritating to the skin and eyes. You want to keep your pH within 7.4-7.6. If you are outside this range, you can take a look at the articles on how to raise or lower your pH available on this site. Your alkalinity, which is closely related to pH level should be within 100-150/ppm. Chlorine, since it acts as the sanitizer for your water, is incredibly important. You want to keep your chlorine between 1.0-3.0/ppm.
You will also want to ensure that your water isn’t too hard. Hard water is water that is higher in dissolved calcium. Hard water can lead to pipe scaling and other issues, and most noticeably, it will leave your water cloudy.
Having Everything You Need On Hand
Chlorine and muriatic acid are the two main chemicals you will use in your pool. Having these on hand makes it simple to keep the levels of drums topped off and give you the ability to shock your pool when necessary. There are also pH reducers and increasers that effectively manage pH levels without a ton of guesswork. Stabilizers, clarifiers, and flocs are also excellent solutions for keeping your pool water clean and safe.
Don’t Slack on Regular Pool Care
Part and parcel to keeping your pool’s chemistry in balance is proper pool care. This means regular water testing. You can’t address water quality problems if you do not test the water quality. It also means regularly brushing, netting, and vacuuming the pool to keep it clean and help the system work at optimal performance. Slacking off on these things can reduce circulation and it can reduce the effectiveness of the filtering system and the ability of the chemicals to sanitize. These things will almost certainly lead to wild fluctuations in chemical levels and make it difficult for you to keep it in balance.
Another thing that causes a lot of pool owners problems is their not leaving the pump on enough for it to do its job. This system has to be on for it to work. Most commercial pools are on 24/7 and while a homeowner might not want to do this, the pump must run for at least 8 hours a day. If you have an automatic chemical feeder, it will not work if the system is off. The water is not circulated or filtered when the system is off. This, naturally, can lead to problems.
As we mentioned earlier, a long period of intense sunlight or excessive rain can render chlorine ineffective or dilute the pool water respectively. During these types of weather conditions, you will want to check your water more often so that you can keep up with its chemical needs without things spiraling out of control and leading to a pool in need of shock or draining.