Be In-the-Know with these Swimming Pool Maintenance Tips

Professional swimming pool maintenance technicians offer the advantage of their knowledge, training, and experience. They obviously have a deeper understanding of what’s going on with a pool than the average pool owner. Even when leaving pool care to the experts, savvy pool owners become familiar with the ins and outs of how to keep a pool safe and running at an optimal level. The more you know, the more helpful you can be at ensuring that your pool and pool equipment can be maintained in top condition. The following are some insights that could help make you more in-the-know than you already are.

Free Chlorine versus Total Chlorine

When you test your pool water and discover that more chlorine is needed, it will help you to understand that different circumstances dictate how much chlorine should be added. What’s needed to keep your pool pristine is “free chlorine.”

A simplified yet accurate definition of free chlorine is that it is the portion of chlorination in the water that has not already reacted with any contaminants in the water and can, therefore, still help with killing any other contaminants in the pool, such as bacteria. Pool water should be maintained at a free chlorine level of 1.0 to 3.0 parts per million (ppm).

“Combined chlorine (CC)” is another way of saying “chloramines.” Chloramines and nitrogen are formed in the reaction of chlorine coming into contact with ammonia and nitrogen compounds in the water, such as sweat and urine. Combined chlorine is not effective at killing bacteria.

Total chlorine is a measure of free available chlorine and combined chlorine. The free chlorine level should always be greater than the total chlorine level. Your pool water will turn green if it runs out of free chlorine.

Reasons for an Increase in Chlorine Demand

For the inexperienced and uninformed, it can be exasperating to work with the balance of pool chemicals. If, for example, the amount of chlorine you previously added no longer works, there are quite a few different reasons that might be happening. The following are some reasons the demand for chlorine may increase in your pool:

· Your chlorine levels may be depleted by recent rain.

· The cyanuric acid level in the pool may be too low.

· The filter media is aging, plugged, or dirty.

· The pool may be exposed to more sunlight than previously, and direct sun depletes the chlorine more quickly.

· Such things as pollen, leaves, sticks, debris, and grimy children all create the need for additional chlorine.

Use a Solar Blanket Every Night

If reducing the cost of operating your pool is appealing, one of the best things you can do is to cover the pool every night with a solar blanket. This practice reduces the amount of heat your pool loses nightly by drastic measures. It also significantly reduces the amount of evaporation that occurs, which reduces costs of chemical maintenance. The only reason people don’t tend to use this cost-cutting option is because it’s hard work. Leaving it rolled up at the end of your pool or elsewhere defeats the purpose of having one.

For help from the best pool cleaning service around, contact Pool Works today.