How to take control of your pool
I moved into my first grownup house about 4 years ago. I call it a grownup house because it had a swimming pool.
As luxurious as it felt to now be an adult with parking and a pool, I didn’t count on the major downside of…Pool Maintenance.
First off, there are two types of pools: Salt water and Chlorine.
Both have their merits and down sides, and it’s actually up to you what you choose.
For a full discussion and guid to saltwater swimming pools, here are a couple of handy websites that can tell you more:
What is a saltwater pool system?
If, however, you have a traditional chlorine pool, we have a couple of tips to help you maintain that “luxury resort” feeling in your own back yard.
Avoid evaporation.
South Africa is blessed with perfect sunny weather most days of the year and while that’s the whole point of having a pool, it’s not so great for your pool water levels. Under normal conditions a pool should only lose about half a centimetre of water through evaporation each day. This can be affected by heat, wind, and other environmental factors, but if your pool loses dramatically more than this, it’s best to have it checked for leaks. Proper pool water levels should be maintained to allow your weir and pump system to remain submerged and not fall victim to disruptive air bubbles.
To avoid evaporation, you can invest in a lightweight plastic pool blanket that floats on top of the water. This also prevents leaves, dust and other windborne debris to find its way onto your pool.
Get into a routine.
Pools are like toddlers. They need to know the boundaries and have a routine to rely on. Let’s just say…water has a mind of its own. The best way to ensure that your pool stays happy and presentable is to have a proper maintenance routine that you stick to. This can vary from season to season, and obviously the more you use the pool the more you’ll have to keep it in check, but once you have a settled routine the chances of a lawn of algae growing overnight are very small…
Limit foreign inputs.
As much as kids love a swimming pool, they also bring something to the party…It’s a fact that many kids (lets ignore the fact that grown ups do it as well) will freely urinate in pools. While one wee won’t make a difference, a whole pool party of kiddos spending a day drinking cream soda and swimming will be able to negatively affect your pool. Urine binds with chlorine, making it less effective, Algae feeds off of it and it can even impact the smell and clarity of your pool water… not pleasant.
Now look, I don’t like lying to kids, but I know of grown ups who have told pool users that there is a special chemical in their pool that turns bright pink when it encounters bodily fluids…enveloping the culprit in a cloud of embarrassing coloured water.
If this sounds cruel, simply help your young guests by scheduling regular breaks and reminding them to use the bathroom before getting back in the pool.
Be water wise.
With the looming water crisis in many of our bigger cities, most people are investing in some sort of water catchment/rainwater harvesting system. Now while this can be the perfect source of “free” water to top your pool up with, it can also be a major headache if you do it wrong. I have watched my pool turn green within hours from blindly pumping it full of untreated rainwater. I learnt that the right alkalinity could help protect your pool’s pH, which will prevent greening. To take control of this, it’s advised to test your pool’s total alkalinity and then add the right mix of chemicals to get it back on track. This is easy but it does require a bit of work. Luckily most pool chemical brands have various ways to test and guide you towards the right recipe and routine for your pool.
If all else fails and the yuck is making you regret your grown-up pool, you can simply:
