Essential Products for Maintaining Your Swimming Pool
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Owning a swimming pool is super fun. You can host pool parties, summer barbecues and have your own tranquil oasis to relax after a long day at work.
However, while the benefits of having a pool in your yard are endless, it’s important not to neglect pool maintenance. An absence of proper pool cleaning and maintenance can result in you or your family members suffering from a whole host of illnesses. This can include ear infections, rashes, diarrhoea and more.
To ensure your luxury swimming pool is hygienic and safe to swim in, there are a number of great products you can purchase.
Pool Water Testing Strips
It’s a good idea to regularly inspect your pool. Sometimes you’ll be able to visually spot the build-up of bacteria – but not always.
Testing the pool water’s pH levels is important if you’re to keep it at an optimum level. A pool’s pH must remain between 7.2-7.8 in order for the chlorine to work effectively, a too low or too high pH can bring problems.
If the pH is too low, it means the water is too acidic and therefore corrosive. This can damage several elements of the pool, including metal surfaces, pool ladders, railings and pumps. People in the pool could begin to suffer from adverse reactions to the acidic water, too. They may begin to notice stinging eyes, dry skin and itching.
Conversely, if the pH becomes too high, it means that the chlorine won’t be able to disinfect your pool as efficiently – meaning bacteria can thrive and cause harm to swimmers. If you begin to notice irritable eyes, dry skin, and even damage to goggles and bathing suits, then it’s a sign that your pH is too high.
You should test your swimming pool’s pH on a weekly basis, simply dip a strip into the water and it’ll indicate the pH levels.
Pool Water Balancing Products
If your pH levels are not between 7.2-7.8, you’ll need to add a product to balance them. At Claffey Pools, we can provide fantastic products that can help your pool achieve this necessary balance. Poolife pH Plus will raise the water’s pH levels, while Poolife pH Minus will lower them.
For inground swimming pools, calcium hardness levels also need to be maintained. Calcium hardness helps to maintain a pool’s lining. The perfect range of calcium levels is between 200-500ppm. Anything below this is likely to cause corrosion and damage to metal and plastic surfaces, so using a product such as Poolife Calcium Plus (93%) is a must. As a rule of thumb, you should use calcium products on your pool on an annual basis.
Pool Sanitizers
A fundamental part of the pool maintenance process is sanitizing. The role of a sanitizer is to instantly kill any bacteria as soon as it enters a pool, meaning it cannot spread and cause harm to people.
Chlorine sanitizers are the most popular, and sanitizing your swimming pool should be part of your weekly pool maintenance routine. At Claffey Pools, we have a range of pool sanitizers available, including Poolife Active Cleaning Granules that can destroy bacteria, algae and other pool contaminants.
Pool Shock Products
If you notice an unpleasant odour coming from your swimming pool, it is probably an indication that it requires a shock treatment. The term ‘shocking’ refers to the process of adding chlorine or non-chlorine based chemicals to your pool, with the aim of raising the decontamination level so it will be able to destroy any bacteria or contaminants.
The main difference between shocking your pool and adding chlorine/sanitizer, is that a shock will provide your pool with a sharp burst of chlorine in the hope of quickly raising the levels, whereas, sanitizer will help maintain this level.
Both products go hand in hand and it’s important to do both on a weekly basis. There are a whole host of shock products to choose from.
Having spent over 30 years building luxury swimming pools, the team at Claffey Pools regularly crafts exceptional pools that make our clients’ dreams come true. Working across Southlake Texas, Colleyville & Coppell, whether you know exactly what you want your dream pool to look like or require a bit more guidance, Claffey Pools can help. We also offer custom remodelling services for existing pools, and our online store provides a variety of essential pool care products. For more information on our services, contact our team today.