Pool Chemicals Guide Introduction
Balancing your water’s pool chemical is one of the most important steps you can take to ensuring that the water in your pool is safe, healthy, and clean. Therefore, we created this must-have pool chemicals guide for you, the homeowner! Pool maintenance is even more critical during the warmer months when you and your family get the most use out of your backyard oasis. Keeping your pool chemically balanced is crucial to the health of your pool and your family!
Knowing how to test and maintain the pool chemical levels in your water allows you to ensure that the water in your pool is perfect (and safe) for swimming. Let’s take a closer look at chemical balancing, testing, and everything else that you need to know regarding the chemistry of your swimming pool.
How often should I test my Pool Chemicals?
Many factors contribute to how often you should test the water in your swimming pool. For example, Florida chlorine levels tend to fluctuate quite often due to the unpredictable climate and weather. Testing your water on a regular basis is essential to maintaining your pool’s health. During the peak swimming season, it is crucial to test the levels in your pool’s water on a weekly basis. Weather events, such as heavy rains, can significantly impact the chemical levels within your pool. If you are expecting inclement weather, it’s best to test your water before and after the event. If your levels are unbalanced, you should continue to test the water every day until all chemicals are back to their appropriate levels.
Understanding Pool Chemistry
The key to a clean pool is its chemistry and knowing how to keep it balanced. This is why it is essential to have a pool chemicals guide to help you keep track of everything you need to look out for when testing and balancing the water in your pool. Here is what you need to know:
- Chlorine is one of the most popular pool sanitizers as it is effective and relatively affordable. It comes in two forms, granules and tablets, and should read between 1.0 and 2.0 ppm.
- The levels of pH in your pool need to be balanced to protect your pool from damage. Everything that gets into your pool can affect its pH balance, including dirt, rain, leave, and even you. The ideal range for the pH level in your pool is 7.4-7.6.
- Alkalinity is a chemical that helps to stabilize the pH levels in your pool. A pool’s recommended alkalinity range is between 100 ppm and 150 ppm. Knowing how to reduce pool alkalinity and how to add alkalinity increaser to your pool is essential in maintaining your pool’s pH levels. If your pH is out of range, you need to adjust your alkalinity first.
- Other levels to maintain for perfect swimming pool chemical balance include calcium hardness, cyanuric acid, and total dissolved solids.
Helpful Tips To Maintain Your Swimming Pool Chemical Balance
One thing to keep in mind as you begin to tackle the chemical in your pool is the water’s temperature. This can influence the efficacy and effectiveness of your pool’s chemical levels. For example, higher water temperatures promote bacteria and algae growth. Additionally, keep in mind that regularly shocking your pool can help prevent significant algae growth. Pool Shocking is using a mixture of pool shock chemicals and water to help refresh, rebalance, and sanitize the water. After completing a pool shock, you should test your water after six hours to identify and adjust any imbalances.
Contact Alligator Pool Services
All of the testing, trips to the pool store, and adding chemicals to your pool require a significant amount of time. Pool maintenance and the time it takes are among the most common complaints among families who have their own pools. You should spend your free time enjoying your pool, not trying to ensure that its chemistry is perfectly balanced. If you live in Miami-Dade County, contact us today to get a free quote and learn more about how our team at Alligator Pools can eliminate the time and energy spent maintaining your swimming pool. If you enjoyed our pool chemicals guide, but need a second opinion, we provide services in Miami, Kendall, Palmetto Bay, Cutler Bay, and other surrounding cities.
