There’s nothing better than jumping into your pool after a hot day, but many pool owners underestimate the amount of work involved in maintaining a pool. While pools can provide hours of relaxation and entertainment, the water’s chemistry is not to be taken lightly. It is always important to make sure your pool’s chemicals are balanced before anyone takes a dip. Pool chemistry is the ultimate balancing act. To maintain a pool properly, you must keep the water balanced with chemicals specifically for the pool and keep those chemicals at the correct levels. If Calcium Hardness levels are too high, or alkalinity or pH is too low, there could be problems – such as your water becoming corrosive or the formation of scale. Maintaining the proper calcium hardness, pH and alkalinity levels, prevents numerous problems, such as: Discolored or cloudy water Pool surface/equipment corrosion Algae formation Formation of stains and scale Pool Chemistry & Water Balancing Chemicals Maintaining your pool chemistry correctly is all about water balance and keeping elements out of your pool – such as oils and dirt. Although there are others, the most important levels to keep on top of are pH, total alkalinity and Calcium Hardness. But what are these and what do they mean? Here’s a brief explanation of each so you have a better understanding of the important role each one plays. pH pH is the measurement of the acidity or basicity of the water. The scale goes from 0 to 14, with 7 Read the full article…
Here in Florida, rainy season has begun and it almost seems like it’s never going to end! Has it ever been this rainy as well as cloudy for this long in Central Florida? With all of this rain coming down on us, Mother Nature is also throwing a wrench at maintaining our pools and/or spas. While regular maintenance of our pools makes sure our water is safe and clean, rain is definitely an aspect of nature you should be concerned about when it comes to your outdoor water features. It is a fact that our pools and spas chemistry can be affected by rain in many ways – both good and bad. Rainfall’s Effect on Water Chemistry If you’re in charge of maintaining your pool, you know that water chemistry is extremely important. If the correct chemical levels are not maintained, the pool may become unsafe and you won’t be able to use it (the thought! *gasp*). Some rain may be acidic, therefore affecting both the alkaline levels and the pH of your pool water. When heavy rains fall that have a pH balance of about 5.0, it can lower the pH balance of your pool – which should stay at a balance of between of 7.4 to 7.6. On the flip side, there are benefits to heavy rain fall, such as the dilution of chemicals that you cannot treat with other chemicals (such as stabilizer and calcium). Unfortunately, we, nor Mother Nature, can pick and choose which chemicals will Read the full article…
