Pools are simply a pond waiting to happen. Your pool tries very hard each day to return to it’s natural state “A POND!” Contrary to popular belief, water is not easily made to be crystal clear and inviting. In fact if left alone in the Texas heat, it will quickly turn into an ugly green alligator pond in less than two weeks! What keeps it from happening are four equally important things:
- Circulation: Your pump has to be working at keeping the water moving through the pool for at least 4-6 hours in the winter, and 8-12 hours in the summer. If you have an air leak, or something in the impeller, or if your motor freezes up..you literally have a few days before your pool starts to turn green.
- Filtration: My mom always used to say…”you can’t wash dirty dishes with dirty water and a dirty dishrag! If your filter is dirty, and has algae growing inside of it, you will continue to have problems with your pool. A side effect of a dirty filter is that it also restricts flow, thus slowing down your circulation (see problem number one). So having a clean filter is crucial, and must be taken apart and cleaned either every 3- 4 months, or more often as needed (even if you have a DE filter).
- Chemical Balance. This is also a critical part of keeping your pool clean. You must have the proper amount of chlorine and have your PH balanced to avoid algae and damage to your plaster. This can be very tricky to do given that every pool is different in size, and how much shade they get. The amount of sun your pool gets can have a huge effect on the life of chlorine in your pool.
- Debris:Once you have taken care of the first three items (circulation, filtration, chemical balance) it is critical you stay ahead of the debris that falls in your pool. Whether it be leaves, dirt, seeds, or even worse something metal like a nail…it is critical you not let yourself fall behind. When you do, it becomes overwhelming, and people often give up because they are too busy. The result is your skimmer baskets clog up with leaves or flower petals, or even worse, a Wal-Mart sack or something from your trash can. The leaves actually can stain or ruin the bottom of your pool as they decompose in the water. If you have a clean shinny nail, or staples, or a hair clip fall into the pool, and you don’t get it out immediately, it will turn rusty and leave a stain within a matter of days.
These are all issues we deal with every day in either rescuing a pool that has turned to a pond, or making sure the pools we take care of on a weekly basis have had all of the above addressed. If you would like more information..feel free to email us at moreinfo@thepoolscrubbers.com or click on “get help now”