10 Tips to Keep Your Swimming Pool Safe for Your Skin
Every year around the country, a number of people become sick from pools that are not properly maintained. In many instances, the pool owners do not apply the appropriate mix of products, which can then allow algae and larvae to fester within the swimming pool. This cannot only affect the health of the swimming pool but can also make you and your pool guests sick. If you are looking to enjoy your swimming pool this summer and still remain safe and maintain healthy skin, make sure to follow these 10 easy tips so that your pool water is properly maintained.
1. Test Your Pool’s Chemical Balance Routinely
Testing your swimming pool water is one of the most important actions that you can do for your pool. You can purchase a testing kit from any of our locations to make sure your pool chemical levels are consistent. After receiving your kit, you can fill it with pool water and add a few drops of the solution provided within the kit. After a few seconds, the color in the testing beaker may change, which will tell you what products that you should add to your pool.
2. If You Are Too Busy: Hire a Professional
Many pool owners believe they can cut costs by maintaining their pool themselves. However, over time, they may forget to add important water sanitizers, oxidizers, and balancers, ultimately costing more money in the long run by damaging the pool or its systems.
Initially, forgetting to add these items and not cleaning your pool properly may not have drastic results. Unfortunately, as time goes on, the constant neglect can affect the chemistry of your pool leading to an array of more serious water quality issues.
3. Cleaning Your Pool Filter And Baskets
Your swimming pool’s filter is one of the most important parts of your pool because it constantly removes items that do not belong in it, such as bugs, dirt, and algae. Be sure to clean out your skimmer basket and strainer basket at the pump whenever they are filled with debris or at least weekly. You normally just remove the lid and throw away the items in the baskets. If you routinely clean out these baskets, then it will allow your pool filter to run more efficiently. You also need to backwash your pool filter whenever the flow of water back into your pool is weak or the pressure gauge on your filter has risen 7 pounds higher than the starting pressure reading. Backwashing removes the dirt that the filter has accumulated from the pool. If the filter is not backwashed and remains full of dirt, the circulation of the pool is greatly affected. Additionally, this can also negatively affect your summer skin care.
Link - How To: Clean Your Pool Video
4. Apply an Appropriate Amount and Type of Chlorine
In all swimming pools, applying the appropriate amount of chlorine can be extremely important. Applying too much chlorine can affect your skin care and cause an array of health issues such as skin and eye irritation, as well as respiratory problems.
At Seven Seas Pools and Spas, our pool maintenance professionals can help you decide which type of chlorine to utilize in your swimming pool. From quick acting to extended release, we have various different types of chlorine to suit your pool’s needs. Generally, you want to maintain a chlorine level of 1-3 ppm to maintain both proper summer skin care and a healthy swimming pool.
5. Maintain a Proper Level of pH
Maintaining the proper pH level can be especially important to any pool. Generally, the pH level of a pool should fall within the range of 7.4-7.6. A pool below that level may be too acidic and above it may be too basic. If that occurs, you will want to rely on pH balancers to maintain the proper level. Acidic water can be corrosive and water that is too basic can cause scale formation.
6. Choose the Correct Cyanuric Acid
Cyanuric acid should be placed in all pools, especially if you live in a sunny area. This product works to protect chlorine from sunlight. Without this product, once the sun appears, it can cause chlorine to quickly wear away, which can cause bacteria to grow. In most areas, a normal reading for cyanic acid is around 50 ppm.
7. Remember To Shock Your Pool Regularly
Routinely shocking your swimming pool is very important. Shocking occurs when you temporarily raise the chlorine level to what is called breakpoint chlorination to kill unwanted bacteria. Most professionals suggest that you shock your pool at least once a week to eliminate unwanted waste from sweat, suntan lotion, or whatever unnatural substance may invade your pool. Shocking your pool will break up or oxidize out organic compounds that can bind to your chlorine as well as chloramines. If you notice your pool has an irritating chlorine smell, the pool has not been adequately shocked and chloramines are present At Seven Seas Pools and Spas, we have a wide selection of shocking products from BioGaurd® to suit your chemical needs.
8. Skimming and Scrubbing Your Pool
Ultimately, you want to also continue to keep your pool clean to maintain good swimming pool health. This means you should routinely remove leaves, branches and any other substances that may fall into your pool. Make sure that your skimmer lid is not cracked and is functioning well. You may also want to continuously skim the pool with a handheld net to prevent floating debris from falling to the bottom. Additionally, you will want to brush the outer walls and bottom of the pool to prevent algae from growing. Many pool owners invest in a pool vacuum as well, which can do most of the brushing for you. Make sure to choose the right vacuum and use it weekly.
9. Maintaining Your Pool’s Water Level
In general, evaporation will cause your water level to lower during the summer months. So, what is the appropriate water level for your pool? You can always use the skimmer as a guide to determine your water level. The water in your pool should be at least halfway to ¾ of the way up on the skimmer faceplate on the inside of your pool.
If your pool water gets too low, then it can affect your pool system. In this case, make sure to fill it using a garden hose. In many instances, this can cause a pump motor to burn out, costing you thousands of dollars in repairs for a replacement pump.
It is also not good to overfill your pool. If your swimming pool water gets too high, then the skimmer may not catch the floating debris in the pool, which can affect the health of the pool water. Always monitor your pool water, especially after heavy rain or a pool party when the bather load has been unusually heavy.
10. Check Your Pool’s Pressure and Gauges
Throughout the summer, make sure to routinely check all your gauges to see if they are functioning correctly. On your filter, there should be a series of gauges so make sure they register as operating normally. In some instances, the gauges can tell you if your equipment needs replacing or cleaning. If you have trouble monitoring your gauges, then make sure to hire an industry professional who can monitor it for you.
Ultimately, you want to make sure to properly maintain your pool this summer so that you can use it whenever you are ready! If you apply products incorrectly and do not give your pool the proper attention, it may begin to harbor dangerous bacteria and algae, which can make you sick and affect your skin care. It can also wear down the liner in your pool and cause your equipment to malfunction, which will cost you more money in the long run. This summer, consider purchasing BioGuard® and other chemicals from Seven Seas Pools and Spas so that you can enjoy your pool this summer while still maintaining radiant, healthy skin!
