Hurricane Dorian has finally passed and, luckily, didn’t make landfall in Florida. While Central Florida was spared, many coastal communities still experienced strong hurricane and tropical storm force winds. With another tropical storm in Florida’s path, and hurricane season still in full force, this topic is still on our minds. We previously talked about how to prepare your pool for a hurricane, but what do you need to do for your pool after the storm passes? The chemistry of your pool and spa is greatly affected by the rain and debris that come with heavy storms. Here’s what you need to know to properly get your pool to back to swim-worthy after a storm. Post Storm Pool Clean-up 1. Skim Leaves and Debris The very first thing you should do after severe storm is remove any floating debris on the surface of the pool as well as any that has settled on the bottom. You’ll want to do this with your skimmer/leaf net on an extendable pole so you can rake and scoop up the leaves and debris from the surface and bottom of the pool. Concentrate on the larger debris at this point as any small dirt particles will be vacuumed up later in the process. The greatest concern with leaving debris in your pool after a heavy rainfall is the growth of algae. Rainstorms bring pollen and plant matter that encourage the growth and spread of algae. Algae growth in the pool water that is left untreated for Read the full article…
Maintaining Your Pool During the Winter Months As the holiday’s approach, winter maintenance for your swimming pool is probably not the main topic on many people’s minds. You also may, or may not have, heard of “winterizing” your pool. That’s because the term has different meanings depending upon where you live. In the northern states, it is somewhat common practice to drain and cover a swimming pool as the winter months approach to prevent pipes from freezing. In Florida, however, there is an entirely different set of important steps to keep our pools properly maintained year-round. The following is a list of the top four things that every Central Florida pool owner should do to maintain their swimming pools during the winter months and the beginning of the spring season. Continue to Clean Your Pool Maintaining your cleaning routine, even if you’re using your pool less or not at all, is still very important during the winter months. Leaves continue to fall this time of the year, so debris traps can become clogged and dirt can build up, obstructing your pool’s filtration system. Old leaves can also cause stains on the sides and floor of your pool and promote algae growth, both of which increase your effort and costs when swim season comes back around. Continue to keep your filter clean, use a leaf skimmer to remove debris and leaves from the pool’s surface and clean up any sunken debris with a pool vacuum. Your pool and your wallet will Read the full article…
