Swimming Pool and Spa Headquarters
Having a swimming pool can be both fun and frustrating. After you are through swimming in your pool you have to clean the water and make sure that the chemical balance in the water is at the correct ratios. Swimming pool water that has an improper chemical balance can cause harm to the swimmers, swimming pool, and the swimming pool equipment.
Along with keeping the water in a chemical balance it has to be kept free of debris. A swimming pool with dead leaves on the bottom or a fine brown silt covering the bottom is unsightly as well as adds contaminants to the water.
There are thousands of swimming pool websites to sort through when you are looking for a solution to your pool problems or just want to make an improvement. Here at Poolheadquarters.com we are focused on filters and swimming pool cleaners. Here you will find the best pool cleaners, filters, and parts at prices that won't smash your budget.
At least once a week swimming pool water needs to be tested to ensure certain levels of pool chemicals are present in the water to do the necessary work of keeping the swimming pool water sanitary and clear. This is most conveniently done after back-washing the filter if you have a sand filter, or rinsing off your cartridge for cartridge filter owners.
A well balanced swimming pool only needs to have the pH and chlorine levels checked and adjusted on a regular basis, the other chemical values being measured less frequently because they tend to change more slowly. One reason to check all of the chemical levels is after a severe storm that has dumped a lot of rain water into the swimming pool because the rain water will most certainly dilute any chemical in the water.
At the beginning of each swimming season check the test kit and throw out any expired tablets or test liquids. Expired chemicals (reagents) should be thrown out because they tend to give inaccurate readings, resulting in us pouring unnecessary (expensive) chemicals into our swimming pools in some cases or not enough in others. It is just more cost-effective and safer to get a new test kit at the beginning of each season. Always keep the test kit in a cool dry place out of the sun and out of the reach of children.
When testing the pool water, rinse the cells of your test kit thoroughly before filling them with water from at least 12 to 15 inches below the surface of the swimming pool where the water is unaffected by surface debris from the air. When you’re finished the tests, pour the test liquid down a drain. Never pour the test liquid back into the swimming pool.
On a weekly basis you need to check the:
pH and Chlorine
If there are no obvious problems in your swimming pool, the following tests need to be performed every month, or at least every three months. These tests can be performed by a professional swimming pool technician, who comes to your pool, or the tests can be done at many swimming pool supply stores. You will only need to take them a pool water sample (in a clean glass jar!).
Monthly pool water testing consists of the following tests:
1) Total Alkalinity
2) Calcium Hardness
3) Total Dissolved Solids
4) Stabilizer
If the water in your area is free from any metals and your swimming pool shows none of the symptoms of iron or copper presence, such as, brown/gray discolored walls of the swimming pool, the test for these metals is unnecessary.