Swimming season is in full swing now. Just a few tips to help you maintain crystal clear water and safe chemical usage.
- Running your circulation system 24 hours a day 7 days a week with proper chemical balance is the best method to ensure you do not run into problems.
- Keep your PH between 7.2 and 7.6
- Keep your Alkalinity between 80 ppm and 110 ppm. This buffers your Ph and prevents fluctuation which most time eliminates use of PH up and PH down.
- Keep your chlorine between 1ppm and 3ppm to ensure proper sanitation.
In The Lower Mainland we have very soft water measuring 20ppm. For vinyl liner pools we recommend adding calcium chloride to maintain a level of up to 200 ppm. Concrete pools require a minimum of 200 ppm as the water will draw calcium from the walls and floor to satisfy its need, creating a very rough surface in your pool.
The pool should be shocked once a week with a super chlorinator product to burn up organics left behind by swimmers and the environment. I also recommend adding an enzyme called Phosfree to destroy phosphates in the pool which algae feeds on.
If you use a solar cover, remember that it will cause algae to appear if left on for days at a time. Take it off at least every 2 days when the pool is not in use, to let pool breathe. Also leave it off after shocking the pool as this creates a gas that will melt a solar cover, voiding any warranty that the cover carries.
Have a safe and fun summer!
