Jazzy June
As June approaches, we are all starting to get summer fever! We had a pretty wet spring and are looking forward to some summer fun. That includes getting into the pool for as many days as we can. Let’s go over some basics that you want to understand to prolong the life of your pool surface.
JUST DO IT
Proper water chemistry is essential for pools. It keeps the water safe and comfortable for bathers. It helps to protect against equipment erosion in your filtration equipment and it ensures there are no issues with your surface. Surfaces, both liners and gunite, are susceptible to chemical damage. No matter what type of surface you have, you do not want to just throw chlorine in your pool. First, that is not balancing it. Second, it can lead to surface staining. You never want to throw tablets directly into the pool. Not only is it a safety hazard, but that tablet is going to sit on the surface and the water is going to erode it. As it erodes directly on your surface, it is going to bleach out your surface in that area. Imagine that you took a bottle of bleach and dumped it onto your carpet. It would bleach out that area turning it white. The same is going to happen to your pool surface. So, with tablets, we want to put them directly in your chemical feeder. If you are using another type of chlorine, we want to dilute it (always as the chemical to water, and not vice versa) before adding it to the pool.
JUNKED UP
All pools need a sanitizer or disinfectant in order to prevent people from getting sick while swimming. The most common sanitizers or disinfectants are chlorine and bromine. They both have the ability to kill germs and oxidize bather waste. Most residential applications use chlorine as their sanitizer. If you are using a tablet feeder or salt chlorine generation system (both chlorine), it is important to understand that you still need to shock or even supplement with another form of chlorine from time to time. Additionally, the type of sanitizer you use has an effect on the pH of your pool. For instance, tablets lower the pH of your pool. When you have low pH, it can lead to corrosion of metals, staining and etching of gunite surface walls, and wrinkles in the liner. This is in addition to eye and skin irritation that bathers would feel with low pH. pH has the greatest impact on water balance and needs to be balanced in order to get the optimum results from your sanitizer.
JACK IT UP
We know that June does not bring the highest temperatures of the summer. This is the time when if you have a heater you are going to use it! Now, we can’t blame you. A nice warm pool sounds great for June. But, when you jack up the heat, there are a few things, besides energy conservation, you need to understand. As the temperature increases, it can start to affect your liner making it have a “gum-like” consistency. That can make it more susceptible to tears or rips and prone to leaks.
JUSTIFIABLY JOYFUL
By taking into consideration these basic tips, you can help to prolong the life of your surface and get the most swim days out of it. Regardless of what you do, if you do not maintain your pool properly and abuse it, your surface is not going to have the longevity you may desire. Also, age does come into play as nothing lasts forever. But the better you treat it, the longer you can use it.
