Use Ph Adjusters For Your Swimming Pool
Adjusting your pH is relatively straightforward.
While following normal pool maintenance routines, it should be taken care of. If not, then use one of the following.
Alkaline Tablets:Suppose the pH level has risen to high. If that is the case, then at an alkaline tablet. Afterward, it should lower quite a bit.
Pool Shock:On the other hand, if things have become too basic, then you should talk about the water. That way, its pH will rise.
Why Are There Chemicals In A Swimming Pool
Swimming pool chemicals play an important role in maintaining clean, clear water. By killing contaminants, maintaining waters chemical balance, and by preventing stains, these chemicals are absolutely vital to creating a safe and sanitary environment where you can hang out with family and friends, or simply enjoy some special relaxing time.
Once the pool is opened and the floor and walls have been brushed the first chemical you should add is chlorine to shock it. It s recommended you add a gallon of liquid chlorine or pound of granular chlorine for every 5,000 gallons of water in the pool. You can also add more chlorine at the end of the opening process.
DO NOT begin by throwing a bunch of chlorine or other chemicals into the water. Adding chlorine and other chemicals in certain circumstances can damage and/or stain your pool surface. Allow the water to circulate at least 8-12 hours so that the water that was added has time to mix with the water in the pool.
How To Balance Pool Chemicals For The First Time Opening Your Pool
Whether youre using your swimming pool for the very first time, or opening up for the season, youll need to take some extra precautions to ensure that youre balancing pool chemicals correctly. For example, if your pool has been closed since winter, you might encounter thick algae on reopening day, which could require treatment with double or even triple the normal amount of pool shock.
If youre opening a new or seasonal pool, we recommend consulting a pool dealer for assistance testing and balancing your water, which can be a tricky process even for experienced pool owners.
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Essential Chemicals You Need To Open A Salt Water Pool
If youve decided to open a salt water pool there are 7 essential chemicals you should consider before the grand opening. Since saltwater is monitored through the use of the electrolyzer, maintenance is easier on these kinds of pools. However, without solidifying the essential chemicals your pool may not be ready for a swim.
Here are the 7 essential chemicals to keep in mind when opening a salt water pool:
Before you begin with your essential chemicals, be sure to test your water for free chlorine, pH, Cyanuric Acid , Alkalinity, Calcium Hardness, Metals, and Salt.
Once youve tested these levels add one more test by determining the salt levels with salt test strips. To avoid testing and monitoring chemicals on your own time, pHin does it for you by working 24 hours to ensure a perfect chemical balance and notifying you when you need to add chemicals, even going as far as providing exact dosing instructions for most brands!
After youve completed these tests youre ready to adjust the essential chemicals for a safe swim.
Chlorine For Pool Start Up
This might be the most important pool chemical that you have to use. Chlorine keeps your water clean and safe for use.
Too much chlorine though, can make your water sting and damage the skin of anyone who swims in it. This is definitely something you want to avoid. Fe people are convinced that the stink of chlorine is worth it for a cleaner pool!
You need to raise your chlorine level quickly during pool start up. This is a type of shock treatment that should get your water clean without degrading any of your other chemical levels.
When adding chlorine, you need to follow the instructions of the manufacturer for dosage and how long to leave the chemical before adding more. It is important to be careful with it.
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Test The Chlorine Level
Chlorine is essential for pool water because it kills harmful algae, bacteria and microorganisms. Unfortunately, chlorine breaks down when exposed to the sun and chemicals from sunscreen, sweat and more. A pool should have a chlorine level between two and four parts per million . Make sure your above ground pool has enough by testing your water about every other day with chlorine test strips, such as these Aqua Chek Test Strips. Learn more about maintaining your pools chemicals.
What Chemicals Do I Need To Open My Pool For The First Time
If the pool is new, and the water fresh, use only a minimum of chlorine and condition the water with CLEAN & CLEAR. It will last all season and you will not have to worry about water balance or algae because it automatically prevents algae growth. Use just enough chlorine to sanitize the water.
Freshwater from a municipality is already carefully balanced and potable . There is no need to disrupt this balance by adding chemicals other than chlorine and CLEAN & CLEAR as a stabilized mineral treatment. These additives merely continue the sanitation and balance levels already existing.
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What Chemicals Do I Need To Maintain My Pool
Many of the chemicals used to open your pool will also be useful for keeping your pool sparkling cleanall season long. For routine pool maintenance, add these chemicals weekly:
- Chlorine in granular or tab form
- Bromine as an alternate to chlorine or as one of the important startup chemicals for hot tubs
- Soda ash, baking soda, or muriatic acid to balance total alkalinity and pH
- Shock after a heavy rainfall or group swim
In addition to these standard chemicals, you may need other specialized pool chemicals at times. If youhave trouble with algae or metal staining, try one of these solutions:
- Algaecide. This chemical prevents and kills algae growth. Keep your pool from goinggreen even in sunny environments by adding algaecide after a shock treatment.
- Metal Remover. During the off season and when filling with high-metal water, metalscan build up in pool water and stain your pool. To remove these stains, add metal remover to yourpool water.
To make sure that chemical levels are balanced throughout the swim season, test your pool water once ormore weekly with a home testing kit or take a water sample to your local pool company for professionaltesting.
Handle Pool Chemicals Safely
What Order Do You Balance Chemicals In
The order you balance your chemicals in is just as important as the quantities you use. For safe and accurate results, you should always test in the following order:
After taking these three steps, you can add sanitizer, test CYA levels, measure TDS levels, and shock the pool, as described above.
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What Is Breakpoint Oxidation
To reach breakpoint oxidation, the chlorine reading must be 10 ppm over your combined chlorine reading.
Your chlorine has two readings: free chlorine and combined chlorine . Free chlorine refers to the chlorine that is free and available to kill.
NOTE: Pool shock products are made with unstabilized chlorine or no chlorine at all. They will go in, do their job, and get eaten up by the suns UV rays very fast. Thats why its important to shock your pool at night or dusk, and let it work for 8 hours throughout the night.
How To Store Hot Tub Chemicals
When storing spa and hot tub chemicals, remember this:
We’ve covered the topic before with some neat spa chemical storage ideas, but the general idea is to, number one, keep chemicals out of reach of children. Secondly, store spa chemicals in a cool, dry location, which usually means indoors. Temperatures of 50-75° F are best for prolonging chemical shelf life, helping to prevent gas formation or the hardening of granules.
Always open, use, and tightly close only one chemical at a time. Tight lids keep out moisture and small children, and also prevents spills, accidental mixing or contamination.
Here’s a very important tip: never allow spa chemicals to mix with each other or become contaminated with any substance . A fire or explosion could result. Also, don’t hang onto old spa chemicals either use them up or dispose of them.
If you live in an earthquake zone, it’s recommended to keep chemicals close to the ground, and not high on a shelf where they may fall and spill their contents. But we’ll say it again make sure children can’t access these chemicals.
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Heating Your Intex Pool
Warming up the water in your Intex pool is easier than you might think. Although options like gas heaters arent suitable, there are plenty of great alternatives.
Since Intex pools are MUCH smaller than inground and permanent above ground pools, theyre more affordable to heat.
The best ways to heat Intex pools are:
- Pool heat pumps
How Do Salt Test Strips Work
Test strips are the easiest way to test pools and they work the same for both chlorine and salt water pools.
They’re made with pads on the end of the strips that are specially treated with a chemical that reacts with pool chemicals.
You just hold the strip under water for a few seconds and then let it set out for a few minutes.
You’ll then read the color on the strip and compare it to the chart in your manufacturers instructions.
Easy peasy!
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Not Covering Pool In Winter: Pros And Cons
Most pool owners in mild climates dont close or cover their pool in the winter. Some of the more common reasons people leave pools uncovered in winter include:
- Many people dont like how pool covers look.
- Some pool owners dont have space to store a pool cover.
- Other pool owners like to have the option of being able to just run and jump into the pool on those rare warm winter day.
- Some pool owners dont want the added hassle of having to roll off their pool cover.
- If you have a saltwater pool, you may go through more salt if you cover your pool.
- It can be difficult to find a suitable cover for irregularly-shaped pools.
- Covers are costly.
- Some pool owners want to use their pool year-round.
Do keep in mind that one warm winter day wont be enough to change your water temperature to make it comfortable for a dip. If you do decide to take the plunge, be prepared to feel more like a polar bear than a summer swimmer.
Standard pool covers, which range in price from $75-$250, are typically made of a tarp-like material, which means that if someone tries to walk on top of it, they will get wet or even worse, trapped. Rainwater can also get trapped on top.
The decision about whether or not to cover a pool in winter generally depends on the homeowner, what the specific needs are and how often the pool is used year- round. If you do decide to leave your pool open for the winter, there are some pool maintenance tasks you will need to perform during the winter.
What Chemicals Do You Need For A Pool
Certain items on the list below are essential to keep on hand, such as pool shock chemicals, which are used to sanitize contaminated water. Others, such as stain removers, may not be necessary for every pool owner. You should consult with a pool care and maintenance expert, like the pool service technicians at Latham Pool Products, to determine which chemical products are right for your swimming pool needs. With that in mind, here are a few common pool chemicals you might want to learn about:
Tile and Vinyl Cleaners: If you own a tile or vinyl liner swimming pool, you may want to look into cleaners to help maintain that day-one shine.
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Once Every Other Day Test The Water
At least three times each week, test the pH level of your water. As long as you test it that often, it shouldnt go out of balance by too much.
Depending on the Results, Use an Appropriate Treatment:
Lets say that the pH level was higher than usual. Then, you should try to lower it. Additionally, if the pH level is lower, then you should raise it.
Usually, We Suggest Using a Litmus Strip:
Perhaps, the litmus strip is among the easiest testing methods. With one of these, you just dip the paper into the water. Then, see what color it becomes. Depending on the results, youll have your answer
Spa & Hot Tub Chemicals For Beginners
This content was previously featured on the Hot Tub Works website. Leslie’s is proud to partner with Hot Tub Works to bring you this helpful content on lesliespool.com.
In today’s post, we follow up on our popular Beginner’s Guide to Spa & Hot Tub Care post, and get more granular with our newest installment:an in-depth look into the basics of spa and hot tub chemicals.
Although there’s currently no such thing as a “Dummies” branded guide book for hot tub chemicals, it doesn’t take much for a beginner to learn more about the chemicals needed for a hot tub. In this post, we’ll explore some basic hot water chemistry topics that might confuse a novice hot tub owner.
In this blog post, we’ll go over:
What types of chemicals are needed for a hot tub?
How do you treat common water problems?
What are alternative sanitizer options for hot tubs?
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How To Close A Pool For Winter: In Ground Pool Recommendations
In ground pool owners in cold climates typically have to completely shut down their pool for winter, which includes an involved process consisting of partially draining their pool, plugging all the returns, adding antifreeze, draining the lines and other steps. However, those of us who own a pool in milder climates dont usually choose to close the pool for the winter. After all, there are some winter days when its 80 degrees outside and we can wear shorts and its warm enough for a dip in the pool.
If you do choose to close your pool for the winter, the trick is knowing your water temperature. The water in your pool needs to be consistently below 65 degrees to keep algae from growing. These conditions exist when the outside temperature is typically in the mid-60s to low 70s during the day and in the 40s at night. If you put a cover on your pool before temperatures drop, you run the risk of having to deal with algae overgrowth.
To close a pool for winter, follow these steps:
Choosing to close your pool during the winter can help with keeping debris out, but remember you still need to follow the pool closing steps we mention above and shock your pool. Between the chemicals, cold weather, protection from debris and dark conditions, algae will be unable to grow. Although in some cases pool owners see algae grow at near-freezing temperatures, development slows to almost nothing when temperatures drop below 50 degrees.
Start With Total Alkalinity
While most startup pool chemical guides suggest starting with pH, we recommend balancing total alkalinity instead.
And heres why: alkalinity is what stabilizes your pH.
Alkaline prevents your pH from fluctuating, which makes balancing your water MUCH easier. So by getting your Total Alkalinity levels right first, youll be able to adjust your pH faster.
Proper levels for Total Alkalinity range between 80 to 120 ppm.
To increase your waters Total Alkalinity: Use an alkalinity increaser . Baking soda also works for increasing alkalinity, although its not as effective.
To decrease your waters Total Alkalinity: Use an alkalinity decreaser . In emergency situations, small doses of muriatic acid can also be used for lowering pH.
Once your alkalinity is within the 80-120 ppm range, its time to start adjusting pH.
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How To Put Chemicals In Your Pool For The First Time
First time opening your pool? Congratulations! You’re about to have endless summers of fun and enjoyment. Before you can get to swimming, follow these steps to put chemicals in your pool for the very first time:
Pro Tip: Be sure to check your filter and return lines for damage, cracks, or leaks. If you have a sandfilter, add sand if needed. If you have a cartridge filter, check the cartridge and clean/replace asneeded.
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Stain Removal And Prevention
Stains and ugly water lines are another issue that most pool owners have to deal with. Pool Stain Removal & Stain Prevention Chemicals effectively remove and prevent stains that can be caused by metals such as copper, iron, lead, silver, nickel, manganese, and cobalt. These metals are a major cause for discoloration and scaling in your pool water pool stain removers disperse these metals from your water leaving it clear and clean. By using stain prevention chemicals on regular basis, the need for backbreaking scrubbing and cleaning will be greatly reduced and it will be far easier to maintain a beautifully clean pool environment.
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Q: How Much Salt Do I Need For A Salt Water Pool
The amount of salt you need will vary for each salt generator and will also be dependent on your pool size in gallons.
But in general, adding 8 lbs of pool salt raises the level by 1,000 ppm per 10,000 gallons of water.
So, if you have a 20,000 gallon pool, you would probably need about 12 40 lb bags of salt to get it to the recommended 3,000 ppm level.
Of course, that assumes you are starting from zero, which most new pools will be at.
