Get Your Water Checked Before You Go
Take a sample of your pool water to your local pool store and get it professionally checked.
Make sure when you get it checked that you correct any issues before you go. You want to make sure that your pH and alkalinity are properly balanced and your sanitizers levels are correct.
- pH: 7.4 to 7.6
- Alkalinity: 100 parts per million to 150 ppm, with 125 ppm being ideal
- Calcium Hardness: 175 ppm to 225 ppm, or 200 ppm to 275 ppm for concrete and plaster pools
- For Chlorine Pools: 1 ppm to 3 ppm
- For Bromine Pools: 3 ppm to 5 ppm
- For Biguanide Pools: 30 ppm to 50 ppm
- For Salt Water Pools: 0.5 ppm of chlorine
- For Mineral System Pools: 0.5 ppm of chlorine
Also, make sure your pool is clean and crystal clear before you leave.
Important Tips To Consider When Clarifying Your Pool
- Read and understand the instructions on the pool clarifier you wish to use. You should follow the instructions provided by the manufacturer of the said product, including aspects like water balance, application method, correct dosage, and pool filtration post-treatment followed religiously.
- Do not overdose the pool with clarifier polymers. Overdosing might change the charge of the particles suspended to positive increasing turbidity of water.
- Do not turn off the water filter pump 24 hours a day until the treatment of the pool is complete. This circulation ensures all residue is trapped.
- If you are experiencing an algae problem, kill the organisms first. After eradicating the Algae is when you can safely use the Clarifiers you choose.
- As compelling as it is to clean the filter pump, avoid doing so. Only clean or backwash the filter if there is a pressure increase, usually when the pressure gauge is above 9 lbs.
- Check on the water balance and chlorine levels after treatment. The acidic and basic nature of the clarifiers alters the pH of the pool. A test kit or simply a test strip might prove effective in determining chlorine and water balance levels.
A cloudy pool is a danger to the swimmers and should be treated with the seriousness it deserves.
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What Kind Of Vitamin C To Use For This Diy Swim Spray
Two kinds of Vitamin C neutralize chlorine — sodium ascorbate and ascorbic acid.
While either version of vitamin C – ascorbic acid or sodium ascorbate – will work for this after swim spray, there are several reasons why sodium ascorbate is the better choice here.
First, ascorbic acid will lower pH, while sodium ascorbate will not. When you are spraying something on your skin, better to spray the non-acidic item than the acidic one.
Secondly, sodium ascorbate dissolves much more readily than does ascorbic acid.
This spray is great because it’s very inexpensive to make. You can, of course buy it pre-made, but this is the easy peasiest of the easy peasiest.
And it doesn’t sting.
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Vitamin C Neutralizes Chlorine
Apparently what happens is that the vitamin C reacts with chlorine to form dehydroascorbic acid and hydrochloric acid.
Hydrochloric acid? That’s stomach acid. And while I love it for helping out with digestion and it worked wonders on my rosacea, do you really want this on your skin?
Don’t worry – – from what I have read, the amount produced here is not of concern.
Saltwater Pools For Health
Swimming in a saltwater pool may be better for someone who has asthma or allergies. Thats especially true when it comes to indoor pools. You might notice a strong chlorine smell upon entering an indoor pool area. Thats because of the chloramines, the mix of chlorine and ammonia. In an outdoor pool, the smell quickly evaporates, whereas its contained indoors.
It usually is most strong around the surface of the pool, where swimmers take their breaths. If you have trouble breathing, you may find swimming in an indoor chlorinated pool irritating.
One 2003 study found that young children who swim regularly in an indoor chlorinated pool were at greater risk for lung inflammation and developing asthma. But more research is needed to determine if a saltwater pool is the best alternative.
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Tips To Ensure Best Results With Diy Clarifiers
To get the best cleaning results from your homemade pool clarifiers, follow the tips below:
- Know how to dilute them to get the strongest cleaning effect without damaging the pool or your hands.
- Use protective gear at all times.
- Note the effect of the cleaning agent on the chemical balance of the water.
With these tips, youre sure to keep the pool clear
Further Reading
Is It More Cost Effective To Use Bleach Than Chlorine
Finding the best deal can be a matter of what is available in your local area and for what price. One thing that you want to remember is that the price of household bleach may look like a better deal than liquid chlorine until you factor in the strength of the chlorine.
A gallon of liquid chlorine will take up less space and may cost less than two gallons of bleach, for example.
Of course, if youre comparing household bleach to chlorine pucks or granules, bleach may be comparatively cheaper.
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Cause #: Environmental Effects
If your cloudy water has nothing to do with the chemicals or the filter system, then the only reasonable explanation left is that its being caused by the surrounding environment.
Yep, Mother Nature can be a real b*tch sometimes. Here are some of the likely environmental causes:
Leaves & Small Debris
While leaves will be easy enough to remove before they dirty up your water, its really the build up of smaller dust and particles that can get you into trouble.
Small Animals & Insects
Insects and small animals will always find their way into your pool eventually, but the biggest things to keep an eye out for is droppings, particularly bird poop.
The Dreaded Algae
Insects and small animals will always find their way into your pool eventually, but the biggest things to keep an eye out for is droppings, particularly bird poop.
Surface Runoff
Heavy rain can cause water to accumulate on the ground, in some cases making its way to your pool bringing plenty of other nasties with it .
Dont forget On top of all this, you also have to account for the countless things that we humans take into the pool every time we decide to go for a little swim. Thats right, youre not as clean as you like to think.
How To Safely Add Chlorine To A Swimming Pool
Chlorine is the most popular pool sanitizer. Its responsibilities include sanitization, disinfection and oxidation. Needless to say, having a good residual of free chlorine is essential to having a healthy and safe pool to swim in. This article will explain how to add various types of chlorine to your swimming pool. Let’s get started.
First and foremost, a word of caution. NEVER mix different types of chlorine together. Even storing them near each other can be dangerous. Chlorine is a volatile oxidizer and when mixed with other types of chlorine, it can be deadly. Always use protective gloves and glasses, and use caution. In fact, as a rule of thumb, NEVER mix chlorine directly with anything else.
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What Can I Do About The Chlorine Shortage
Chlorine serves multiple purposes in swimming pools. It kills germs because its basically the same as bleachjust at a much lower concentration. And it keeps your pool water clear, which in turn keeps your pool safe. But for as useful as chlorine is, it isnt your only option for maintaining a healthy pool.
Chlorine Alternative #1: Bromine
Bromine is a sanitizing chemical that, like chlorine, kills algae and other gross stuff in your pool. Its slightly more expensive, but slightly less irritating than chlorine. Both bromine and chlorine are halogen elements that are chemically related, but exist in different states of matter at room temperaturechlorine is a gas, while bromine is a liquid. Bromine is the only chlorine alternative that doesnt require you to purchase additional equipment.
Bromine arrives as sodium bromide, usually powdered, with specific instructions for the right amount to use for your pool size. But before you get to that, youll need to test pH and balance your pool to 80-120 total alkalinity, according to Hunker. To do that, grab a pH testing kit and adjust up or down using baking soda or diluted hydrochloric acid. Your bromine concentration should be at least 80 parts per million, and you can periodically refresh it with a small amount of household bleach.
Chlorine Alternative #2: Saltwater
Chlorine Alternative #3: Ozone
Chlorine Alternative #4: Copper and Silver
The Benefits Of Swimming Pool Salt
Using swimming pool salt instead of chlorine delivers greater swimming comfort:
- Swimming pool salt does not give off an unpleasant odour as chlorine does.
- It is much less harsh on hair and skin.
- It does not cause your eyes to sting.
- It not only makes water clear, but soft as well.
Other than that, swimming pool salt does the exact same thing as chlorine in every other sense: it makes sure the water inside your swimming pool is free frombacteria and algae.
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Cause #: Circulation & Filtration Issues
Pool water that isnt being properly circulated is always at risk of becoming cloudy water.
Thats because circulation pushes your pool water through your filter system, so without it, the filter cant work its magic and keep your water squeaky clean.
There are a few moving parts to this, so lets go through them.
Is Your Pump Powerful Enough?
A pool pump is a core part of your filtration system as it cycles your water through the filter in order to remove debris and maintain circulation, this prevents the water from stagnating which eventually breeds other problems.
With that in mind, you need to make sure your pump has the ability to cycle the entire contents of your pool at least once per day. Whats more, youll need a pump that can complete a turnover in an 8 hour period.
The speed at which a pump completes a turnover is based on two factors:
Note: Flow-rate tells you how many gallons of water pass through the pump each minute, and its appropriately measured in gallons per minute .
To properly size your pump, divide your water volume by 8, then divide again by 60. What youre left with is your pools required turnover rate in GPM. The flow-rate of your pool pump should be at least the same.
Is Your Pump Suited To Your Filter?
You wouldnt put all that effort into correctly sizing your pool pump only to neglect your pool filter, would you?
Are You Maintaining Your Equipment?
Why Is There A Chlorine Shortage Right Now
Blame two factors for the chlorine shortage, says CNBC. One, unsurprisingly, is COVID-19: Last summer, sales for swimming pools skyrocketed as people all over the planet stayed home during the pandemic, leading to an increased demand for prepared chlorine products.
But the other cause is more surprising: In August 2020, a chlorine plant just outside Lake Charles, Louisianaresponsible for making a bulk of the U.S.s chlorine tabletsburned down in the wake of Hurricane Laura, putting a huge dent in the production of chlorine tablets.
The BioLab facility will reopen in 2022, but in the meantime, its absence leaves just two domestic manufacturers of chlorine tablets: Occidental Petroleum and Clearon Corp. Even if both manufacturers increase production, theyd have to ramp up roughly 50 percent each to fill in the gap during the chlorine shortage.
Experts say the chlorine shortage will cause empty shelves in stores and extreme markups, which, because of the seasonal nature of pool usage, is about to come as a rude awakening to many outdoor pool owners. The financial services company IHS Markit says chlorine prices are expected to spike 70 percent this summer, compared to 2020.
If your average 50-pound bucket of chlorine used to cost $75 to $85, it now costs $140 and is expected to hit $158 in the near future, Scotty Heer, the owner of the Las Vegas-based Scottys Pool Service, told CNBC.
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Chlorine Alternatives For Sanitizing Your Pool
However, as science continues to advance, more and more chlorine alternatives for your pool are appearing on the consumer market. For example, ozone pool systems work by blending electricity with oxygen, which removes calcium, iron, and other metals from the water. Another popular chlorine alternative is a UV pool system, which uses ultraviolet light which is completely invisible to the human eye to fatally damage the DNA contained within viruses and parasites.
With this in mind, its important to understand that many chlorine alternatives ultimately require you to add chlorine separately in order to ensure thorough cleaning. For instance, if you use an ultraviolet light system or ozone system to sanitize your swimming pool, you will also need to add a certain amount of chlorine in order to ensure the destruction of harmful bacteria.
What Causes Cloudy Pool Water
There are a number of reasons your pool water can become cloudy, and understanding the potential cause will not only help you fix it, but also prevent it in future.
So lets talk about ways to fix the root of the problem before treating the symptoms because were not about to slap on a bandaid and call it day.
Here we go
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Swimming Pool Salt As An Alternative To Chlorine
Were you aware that there is an alternative to chlorine to keep your swimming pool ship shape and Bristol fashion? Saline electrolysis does away with unpleasant chlorine odours and effectively counteracts bacteria and algae. The result? Optimum swimming comfort! Read on to discover the benefits of swimming pool salt.
Does Swimming In Saltwater Burn More Calories
Swimming in a saltwater pool doesnt burn more calories than a regular pool. Still, swimming is an excellent form of exercise. No matter which type of pool youre swimming in, wear goggles to protect your eyes and avoid swallowing water. Want to learn more? Find out how many calories you burn swimming.
Its important to regularly test a saltwater pool. Weekly, test for free chlorine and pH using a drop kit or test strips. Monthly, its important to test for:
- salt level
- calcium
You may need to make adjustments.
Every three months or so, you need to test the salt chlorine generator for buildup and clean it off. Also watch for signs of deposits and erosion, and perform maintenance as needed.
At any pool, its important to practice basic safety measures:
- supervise children at all times
- secure your pool with a fence so kids cant get in the water unsupervised
- enroll anyone who doesnt know how to swim in swim lessons
- enforce rules like no diving or no running near the pool
- when swimming laps, stop and take a break when youre out of breath
- warm up before entering the pool and stretch afterwards
- avoid drinking alcohol when youre in and near the water
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Pool Skimmers And Returns
If your pools filter is its liver, then your skimmers and returns are its veins and arteries. Your skimmersnot to be confused with a net skimmer, the cleaning tool attached to a telescoping polepull water into the filter for cleaning, while the returns push the cleaned water back into your pool. And like your veins and arteries, they work best when theyre clean and clear of obstructions.
No two pools are alike, and youll no doubt encounter pool maintenance challenges specific to your pool as time goes on. But if youve got a firm grasp on these four pool components, youll be well equipped to face down most upkeep challenges.
Natural Alternatives To Pool Chlorine
The best way to naturally keep your pool sanitized is to reduce the amount of oils or bacteria that enter your pool by showering before swimming. One way to sanitize your pool without adding chemicals is to create your own chlorine with a salt water generator. In addition, there are several ecologically-friendly products on the market that could work well with your pool. Make sure to consult a local Latham dealer before making any drastic changes to how you treat your pool.
No matter how you choose to sanitize your pool, keeping your water balanced and your pool free from dirt and debris will reduce the amount of sanitizer used.
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Wait Just How Cloudy Is Your Pool
Cloudy is a pretty vague term, and you should know that there are different stages of cloudy pool water. And yes, it goes from bad to worse.
Personally, Id break cloudy water into three categories:
- Flat. The least severe form, in that your pool water still has its color but it doesnt have the sparkle it once did.
- Hazy. The water is starting to lose its color and its now difficult to make out small details on the pool floor.
- Milky. The water is no longer translucent, meaning the pool floor is not visible at all. This is pretty much as bad as it gets.
Magnapool Based On Magnesium
Treating water with magnesium is based on 2 processes: on the one side, we have MagnaPool® minerals, made up of magnesium, which act as a water treatment, and on the other, a new filtering medium which must replace the existing one . This complete system allows for the enriching of the water in terms of minerals it is thus healthier and more environmentally friendly.
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