Summer is here and it is time to enjoy your pool. Biologics, rain and dust can make your pool pretty dirty if not maintained on a regular basis. Increased use means that you have to carefully monitor your pool chemistry. Using the correct chemicals in the right concentrations is very important. Prevention of problems is a lot easier than trying to correct them. Keeping good records and a routine that includes shock treatments at key intervals is very important. In addition you will need to physically clean your pool using your pool vacuum to keep everything looking good and inviting. Proper and timely cleaning will reduce the amount of pool chemicals and energy necessary you will need to manage your pool.
Most in ground pools have a skimmer located at the edge of the pool to remove floating debris like leaves and bugs. A pool drain inlet is normally located at the bottom of the pool and is used to remove dirt and waterlogged debris that has sunk to the bottom of the pool. When the pool vacuums system is running the skimmer and bottom inlet are feeding dirty water to the pool pump. The pool vacuums pump works just like your vacuum in your home. The pump creates suction that pulls the dirt to a canister or filter tank that removes the dirt and filters the water and returns it to the pool. A timer turns the vacuum pump on and off each day as scheduled.
Pool vacuums are very much like a canister vacuum in that the have the ability to use a hose and wand to sweep the side and bottom of the pool to remove dirt that is adhered to the pool walls. The process of sweeping a pool can be time consuming and may take up to more than an hour. Using the long wand or pole that may be 20 feet long is really quite boring. You must be patient, if you sweep to fast the dirt will become suspended into the water column and the pool vacuum will not remove it.
Depending on local conditions a pool should be swept at least once a week to keep it clean. Automatic pool sweepers that move across the pool bottom are a good alternative to manual sweeping. The pool vacuums suction cause a valve on the sweeper head to open and close causing the sweeper to crawl around the bottom the pool. The crawler sweeper normally has brushes to help the pool vacuums to do their job of cleaning. Basically you could not have a clean and sanitary pool that you would be willing to swim in without the pool vacuums assistance.
It is a lot cheaper than purchasing expensive chemicals to bring your pool back into balance. Again routine scheduled cleaning will a lot to prevent problems. Then you can enjoy your pool knowing that it is a safe and clean place for your family to swim.
Every pool owner has to manage with chemicals at some point in time. When dealing with chemicals, there are some important things that you should know. Regardless of how many chemicals you have, you should never attempt to mix them all-together. Also, you should never try to add water to dry chemicals or powdered ones of any form. Last but not least, you should never, under any circumstances attempt to handle chemicals with your bare hands-- use the necessary equipment.
Throughout your time of owning a pool, there are three (3) chemicals that you simply must have for your pool. These chemicals are very essential, as you will be using them quite frequently specifically as a swimming pool cleaner or sanitizer..
Chlorine tablets-- come in dimensions of either 1 inch or 3 inch. Chlorine tablets go in your skimmer, normally 3 - 4 tablets in a specific time. During the summer, when you run your pool on a daily basis, you will need to change out your tablets weekly or so. If you are planning to use 2 skimmers, you will need around 8 tablets every week. You can buy chlorine tablets by the bucket, containing 30 to 50 tablets. They can tend to get expensive, around $80.00 a bucket, so you will need to have plenty of money to invest in your pool in summer.
Alkaline powder-- even though chlorine in your water will help to kill off germs and make your pool sanitized, it can also raise the acidity level in your pool. If you are not using enough alkaline, parts that contain metal will start to corrode, turning your water a misty green color. On the other hand, if you are using too much alkaline powder, the water will be very cloudy, raising the level of germs in the water - which can lead to very hazardous health issues. In order to put the right about of alkaline powder in your pool water, you should always use brand name alkaline powders in the amount recommended by the package inlcuded.
3. Chlorine powder Chlorine powder is imperative to killing germs such as algae and bacteria that exist in your pool and multiply at very fast speeds. To kill off these germs, you will need to utilize a huge amount of chlorine powder in your water. Depending on the size of your pool, you may need to utilize more powder than others. Chlorine powder tends to be expensive, so you should always check how much you need before you purchase.
There are other swimming pool cleaners or sanitizer that you can utilize aside from these chemicals like dolphin pool cleaner-- a robo-cleaner-- that can effectively clean and sanitize your pool.
Both Ray Lam & Stephen Campbell are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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