Must-Know Tips For Pool Maintenance
If you’re a pool owner, you know that maintaining a pool requires more than just throwing chemicals in and closing the cover. Having a plan in place can save you time and money while ensuring that you enjoy the season. To help you out, we’ve rounded up some of the most important tips for maintaining your pool using the sources provided. Take a look!
1. Keep It Clean
Keeping your pool clean is one of the most important things you can do to keep it running smoothly. It can help you avoid major maintenance problems or costly repairs down the road. Algae is a common issue that can grow quickly in your pool, forming slimy green coatings on the walls and floor. This can cause the water to become cloudy and clog the filter. Luckily, there are many easy-to-use products that you can use to prevent algae from growing in your pool. These include a clarifier, bleach or muriatic acid.
2. Maintain The Water’s pH Levels
Your pool water’s pH levels are an important part of maintaining the overall chemical balance in your pool. Maintaining this balance is a complicated process that requires constant monitoring and adjustments. A low pH level can cause a number of problems, including skin and eye irritation to swimmers, corrosion on pool surfaces, etching in concrete swimming pools, and eroding pool equipment. To bring the water’s pH back into a healthy range, you can add acids, degreasers, or alkalinity increasers to raise it. Leslie’s Dry Acid (sodium bisulfate) and Muriatic Acid are common chemical options, but be sure to read the product label for dosing instructions and safety precautions.
3. Maintain The Water’s Alkalinity Levels
Maintaining the water’s alkalinity levels is one of the most important things you can do to keep your pool looking beautiful and healthy. When the alkalinity in your pool goes too low, it can cause several problems, including itchy skin and stinging eyes for swimmers, as well as corrosion of metallic surfaces like your pool ladder and liner. In addition, alkalinity also helps stabilize your pool’s pH level so that it remains balanced. This is especially important for pools with high chlorine levels. The best way to raise the alkalinity in your pool is to add baking soda (sodium bicarbonate). You can purchase it in powder form and sprinkle it into the water. It will take around six hours for it to disperse. Afterward, retest your pool’s pH and alkalinity levels to ensure they are still in the proper range.
4. Maintain The Water’s Calcium Levels
Often overlooked, calcium hardness levels are a critical part of maintaining a safe pool. Low calcium levels can lead to dangerous stains on the surface of your pool and equipment, while high calcium levels can cause serious damage to metal fittings and heat exchangers. Like pH and alkalinity, calcium hardness is a chemical that needs to be in balance to protect your swimming pool surfaces from corrosion, staining or discoloration. This is why we always recommend balancing the essential chemicals before making any adjustments to calcium hardness. You can keep your water’s calcium levels from getting out of whack by testing, adjusting and then retesting to make sure the adjustment has been successful. Test your pool water twice a week to ensure it stays in the right range.
5. Maintain The Water’s Total Dissolved Solids Levels
Keeping track of your water’s Total Dissolved Solids levels is one of the most important things you can do for your pool. It allows you to see the overall quality of your water and make sure everything is working properly. TDS is a measure of the amount of organic and inorganic materials that are dissolved in water. It includes a variety of substances like minerals, salts, and ions. TDS can be found naturally in waters, but it may also come from chemicals used to treat water or runoff from roads and yards. You can keep a tab on your TDS level with an electronic TDS meter or test strip.
There are several benefits of having an automatic pool cover. Investing in one can mean everything when it comes to keeping your pool safe, clean, and energy efficient. Automatic pool covers are typically made from vinyl that operates automatically. This means that your pool can open and close with ease.
What Are the Benefits of Having an Automatic Pool Cover?
Here are 5 benefits of having an automatic pool cover:
- Cleaner Pool – Investing in an automatic pool cover means you will have a much cleaner pool. This saves you valuable time having to consistently clean your pool. Automatic pool covers block debris and dirt from getting into your pool. Additionally, you will no longer have to run your pool pump as much throughout the day. Having an automatic pool cover means cleaner water and a filter that will last longer.
- Conserves Water – Automatic pool covers keep water inside your pool. Typically, you can expect to lose up to an inch of water per day on your pool water line. This can equal up to almost four inches by the end of the week. The wind, sun, lack of humidity, and the temperatures outside can primarily cause this. While it is not possible to control every outdoor element, an automatic pool cover can keep some of these elements at bay. For example, automatic pool covers can create a barrier that blocks direct sunlight on the water.
- Energy Efficient – Automatic pool covers are also energy efficient. When the seasons change, you’ll need to use a heat pump or gas heater to keep your pool water at a nice temperature. But, with the help of automatic pool covers, you can easily stretch your swimming season and save money in the process. Who wants to spend more money to keep their pool warm during the fall? An automatic cover can reduce your pool heating costs by up to 70 percent.
- Increase Safety – With pools comes a safety concern, especially if you have young children. Automatic pool covers provide an additional safety net since they are durable and strong. They can keep children and pets from falling in. Automatic pool covers don’t have to be used to winterize your pool. They can also be used for safety during the spring and summer while the pool is being used.
- Convenient – Finally, automatic pool covers are convenient. Unlike manual covers, you have to spread them out over your pool and use an anchor to time them down. Automatic pool covers offer convenience, which could also mean more frequent use.
There’s no need to think twice about investing in an automatic pool cover. While they may cost more to install, they will reduce what you would otherwise be paying over the years to maintain your pool. Automatic pool covers can give you the peace of mind you need with regard to safety, efficiency, water loss, and cleaner water.
Everyone loves a pool and a great backyard pool that is tailored to your likes is a must. There are so many great pool trends that are really popular this year and that can help make your pool not only fun but also something special.
Glass Tile Pools
One of the biggest trends is glass tile pools. This means pools that are designed with glass tiles, beautiful designs, and even full glass tile features. This is something that you can use to help make your pool updated and very upscale, but that is also attainable. If you have an inground pool, using glass tiles on the bottom and sides can elevate the overall look of your pool and also allow you the chance to add some personal elements as well.
Fire Pits and Patio Furniture
Another great pool trend that you might want to look at is fire pits and patio furniture. Fire pits are an absolutely fantastic way to feature the pool and deck area and to make a space where you can hang out when you are both using and not using the pool. This also makes a great space for people that might want to hang out near the pool while others swim, but that might not want to swim themselves.
Glow in the Dark Pool Elements
If you have kids or you just want to have some fun, adding glow-in-the-dark add-ons, mosaics, and other elements is an outstanding way to make a pool even more fun. Using glow-in-the-dark items can also help make the pool something of a feature in the dark and at night as well. These can be large pieces that are beautiful during the day as well as at night.
The swimming pool construction phase is the best time to talk to your contractor about what swimming pool features you might want to add, and what might work for your pool.
In the Water Furniture
The last trend we want to look at are pieces of furniture that can be used in the pool. This can include floats, chairs that are meant to be added to the shallow or wading area, or even other pieces of furniture that can be used to help make your time in the pool that much more exciting. These are a wonderful way to make the pool even more fun and to help make your time in the pool more relaxing as well.
If you have a pool, you can do just about anything that you want with it. Any extra that you do or any accessories that you use are meant to help make your time in the pool more fun and can help you genuinely love and enjoy your pool.
A cool swim in your pool is among the most relaxing ways to spend your long hot summer days. However, the pool water is likely to heat under the hot sun, especially with the rising heatwave. Instead, of a cool swim, it will turn into a hot tub bath when you fail to take adequate care of your pool during the summer. Fortunately, several core strategies will keep your pool cool during the scorching hot summertime. These strategies include:
Using a Swimming Pool Aerator
Swimming pool aerators are simple add-ons that are fastened to the current return lines and, by using the pool’s pump, spritze jets of water into the pool. This has a cooling effect on the water because the landing droplets of the sprayed jets of water collect oxygen in midair. Though this only reduces the water’s heat by a few degrees, the difference is significant on a hot summer day.
Keeping the Water in Motion
You can achieve this by installing an aesthetic fountain in the pool. The fountain will serve the function of cooling down the pool water. It would be best to operate the fountain in the nighttime and disconnect during the day to ensure that the fountain effectively serves this purpose. Operating the fountain during the hot daytime will have the counter-productive effect of heating the water.
Operating the Pool Filter in the Evening
At night, the air tepidity is lower. Running the filter of your in-ground swimming pool during the nighttime will cool the water slightly since the pipes are located in the cool ground underneath.
Covering the Pool When Not in Use
Maintain the desired water temperature in your pool by keeping it covered when not in use. Covering the pool helps by stopping the water from overheating. Avanti Pools Inc. provides top-notch pool cover installation services, including the modern automatic covers, at your convenience. Pool covers are also essential for your pool as they make your home safe for small children and pets by keeping them from tripping and drowning in the pool.
Running Solar Panels Through the Night
There is a contrary cooling effect when the pool water flows through the solar panels at night because as it draws back to the pool, it will have cooled.
Using Evaporative Coolers or a Pool Mister
As the mist forms, the pool water evaporates, hence cooling down. It is an uncomplicated, affordable and fun way of cooling your swimming pool. It uses the pool as its water source, making up for the lost evaporated water by generating an evaporative cooling sheath.
Installing Sun Shades or Pool Canopies Around Your Swimming
They hinder the hot sun’s rays from reaching the pool’s water surface, reducing the heating up of the pool water. The strategy is also beneficial in preventing bugs and flying debris from reaching the pool, thus enhancing security and hygiene.
These strategies will help to keep your pool cool during the summer. Adopting these different strategies together will maximize the cooling effect. Avanti Pools Inc. will help you with professional pool cover installation and all pool solutions in Los Angeles, CA, and its surrounding areas.
