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Basic Saltwater Pool Maintenance
Contrary to popular belief, saltwater pools do contain chlorine, unlike the widespread misconception purports. Suburban swimming pools have remained largely the same for decades, using nearly the same systems to keep them safe and comfortable for aquatic enjoyment. Pools were traditionally quite big, taking-up much of a backyard, but, over the last several years, the rise in popularity of saltwater pools continues to grow. These fixtures are generally smaller in size, but can be more aesthetically pleasing, and, are more healthy for skin.
What’s more, saltwater pools, though containing chlorine, do use less chemicals than traditional swimming pools, have a lower cost of upkeep, and only need minimal maintenance. That however, does not mean any maintenance, as saltwater pools do need care just like regular pools, and also like regular, or chlorinated pools, still need attention even during the months you aren’t swimming on a daily basis like you do in the summer.
The Difference between Salt Water Pools and Regular Swimming Pools
Let’s face facts, a swimming pool is a wonderful creature comfort feature to have at home, but, it’s far from hands-off, maintenance-free. There are many things to deal with to maintain the quality of the water, which include regular skimming of floating leaves and other debris, rainwater pouring down, reclaimed water runoff, and more. All of these can wreak havoc with the oh-so delicate pH balance and needs to be shocked. It takes some time and effort out of upkeep, which, for many homeowners, is a welcome proposition.
Saltwater pools don’t take care of themselves.You still have to add acid to keep the pH balanced. Just because it seems natural like the ocean — it’s not. In fact, saltwater pools have 1/10 the salt of the ocean , so they’re more like a tear drop than a good salt soak! The salt breaks down into various components including hyrdrochloric acid or chlorine gas. Regular pools don’t have that much chlorine. —CNBC.com
In a regular pool, chlorine is manually added and dissolves. It then circulates through the water but must be added again manually to start the whole chlorination process over again. Salt water pools automate this task, employing a purification system that practically eliminates the need for a homeowner to buy sanitizing chemicals.
Chlorinated pools can be converted by adding a mild saline solution, bringing the water to a mixture equal to about 1/10th to 1/12th of saltiness of Sarasota Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. Next, a chlorine generator is installed and this is what helps to maintain the water’s salt/chlorine concentration. This system uses electrolysis to push salty water over an electrically charged special metal cell, creating chlorine. The created chlorine then breaks back down into salt and the cycle repeats itself, over and over again.
Basic Saltwater Pool Maintenance
Though saltwater pools have less maintenance than regular chlorinated pools, these fun water retreats don’t completely free you from at-least some level of upkeep. You’ll need to stick to a regular system in order to keep it functioning well and maintain the water quality and quantity. These steps should be done once a week, once a month, and once a quarter to give your family and friends a great experience:
- Once per week, check the water for free chlorine and pH levels. Using a strip or drop test kit, check the free chlorine level, which should test between 1 and 3 ppm (parts per million). The pH level ought to range between 7.2 and 7.6. If the pH level is off in your saltwater pool, use muriatic acid to lower its level or raise it using soda ash or sodium bicarbonate.
- Once per month, test your pool’s salt, alkalinity, stabilizer, and calcium levels. Every month, use a strip test kit or drop test kit to test the salt, alkalinity, stabilizer, and calcium levels. Check your owner’s manual for normal readings and act accordingly if the levels are high or low. In addition, you should also test for the presence of such metals as copper, iron, and manganese.
- Once every quarter, visually inspect the cell and clean, if necessary. Every three months, you should manually take the unit apart and visually inspect the cell carefully. You’re looking for any deposit buildup, which of course, reduces its efficiency and causes the chemical levels to become unbalanced. If you notice a buildup, then use a high pressure garden hose to spray it down and clean off the debris.
- Every three months, check and clean the filter, pump, and skimmer. These three components are absolutely vital for your saltwater system to work properly. If any of these are clogged with debris, the system will not make as much chlorine, reducing the amount of salt generated, and therefore, putting a strain on the system. Check and clean the filter, pump, and skimmer to ensure all are in good working order and are not clogged with foreign deposits.
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When should I Add Pool Shock?
We’ve just looked at basic saltwater pool maintenance. Now, it’s that time of year again. Here in beautiful, sunny Sarasota, swimming season is definitely upon us, with temperatures reaching into the mid 80’s and the Gulf of Mexico and Sarasota Bay warming nicely. We can round up some good eats and icy cold beverages, head out to the white sands and watch the sunset over the horizon. For those who have a swimming pool right in their backyard, it’s time to break out the grilling utensils and get the pool ready for family and guests.
This might be the year you install or upgrade an outdoor kitchen, complete with plenty of landing and working space, as well as all the conveniences of appliances and storage space. It’s also time to get the pool ready for a cool and relaxing retreat. There’s nothing like taking a dip and floating about on those warm, balmy days that we all know so well here in on the west coast of Florida. Getting your pool ready for use includes checking the equipment, including the pump and heater, even if you’re not going to be using it for the next several months.
Your pool has likely been dormant for many months and you’ve wrestled with those pesky leaves and all that pollen that’s fallen recently. What’s more, there’s more organic and chemical waste that’s been permeating in your swimming pool water, from pet waste, rainfall, and pesticides, as well as herbicides. Bugs, twigs, leaves, and all kinds of stuff falls or runs into your pool and even if you’ve been diligent in skimming the water, there’s still a lot more stuff at the bottom you don’t necessarily see.
What is Pool Shock?
As the nearby quote explains, pool shock is composed chiefly of powdered chlorine or granular chlorine. The chemicals are key to maintaining a healthy and safe pool environment, particularly the quality of the water. These chemicals are used to combat the many contaminants found in swimming pools, which include such things as bacteria, algae, and other microscopic contaminants. These all have an adverse impact on swimmers’ health, as being exposed to these can cause illness.
Pool shock treatments are essential when opening your pool in the spring, along with pool maintenance during the swimming season. Also known as granular chlorine or powdered chlorine, pool shock can be used to kill algae, remove bacteria and other micro-contaminants, and is also used when chlorine is low and needs a quick boost. —In the Swim.com
In addition to chemical treatments, you can also use non-chemical treatments to keep your water free of contaminants. Either choice will make the “free chlorine” level rise and the water will appear more clear. The reason to shock, or super chlorinate, a pool is to break-up what’s known as the chloramine molecule, that’s the stuff which causes red eyes and gives pools a strong chlorine smell. Though this is usually necessary when you first open your pool in the spring, it’s not something you have to continue doing on a weekly basis, though there are homeowners who do just that.
Times When You should Shock a Pool
A pool should be shocked or super chlorinated when you first begin using it as the weather warms the water temperature. Just a few weeks of daytime highs reaching into the mid to upper 80’s will bring the water temperature up substantially. The ideal swimming pool water temperature is 84 degrees to 86 degrees, though here in Sarasota, pool water does reach higher temps. That might be enough to kill off some things, but it’s not nearly enough to do the job.
What’s confusing is the formula that’s used to know when it’s time to shock your pool. The best times to super chlorinate are when algae blooms begin to appear, the level of free chlorine falls to zero, the combined chlorine level rises to or above 0.5, or you’re opening your pool for its first use of the year. The goal is to reach what’s called the “breakpoint chlorination” level, or, when the parts per million of chlorine reaches 10 times the amount of chloramines in the water.
To shock your pool with the right amount of chemicals, you first need to calculate its size, if you don’t remember its size. This can be done by multiplying the length, times the width, times the average depth, and then times 7.5. The results of the L x W x Average Depth x 7.5 will determine how much shock is necessary to get the levels right. Most manufacturer also provide you with on the package instructions, which include pouring the chemicals into a bucket and then adding pool water, stirring it until well blended, then pouring the mixture into your pool. You should distribute the shock evenly across the surface so it reaches all the water.
When do do shock your pool, do not mix the shock with any other chemicals, always use the whole bag, and don’t spread it down wind.
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Is Rain Water Harmful to a Pool?
Living in the Sunshine State on the west coast in beautiful Sarasota is laid-back living at its best. The weather isn’t the only attractive thing about this sub-tropical paradise, it’s got plenty else to offer, from world-class beaches, to fine museums, to nightlife, and all sorts of outdoor recreational opportunities. Biking, canoeing, hiking, golf, tennis, boating, and so much more are always just around the corner.
Because of the fine weather, which does tend to heat up to toasty temperatures during the summer, rain storms are part of the equation. The rain is soothing, creating a comforting, lazy sound that falls on rooftops. It also helps to keep swimming pools quite full, but that’s not a real benefit because rain is certainly not a pool’s best friend. Though it might keep evaporation levels flat, it does far more harm than good. Most homeowners really don’t stop to think about this, but it’s the truth.
Though rainwater might be natural, just because it’s organic, falling from the sky, it nevertheless contains acidity. While most light rains won’t move the pH balance needle, a good drenching can easily do just that. Since we live in such an active area, rain storms are quite common, particularly during the summer months, when inch upon inch can fall for days.
Why Rainwater is Harmful to a Pool
In its composition, rainwater contains acids, powerful enough to throw-off pH balance and that’s not all. It also compromises the effectiveness of chlorine. When chlorine is diluted, it no longer functions as it should to keep pool water clean. What’s more, rainfall creates runoff. Though pools are often surrounded with a rim, the splashing effect can be enough to introduce fertilizers and other landscaping chemicals into a pool.
Maintaining the proper chemistry in a swimming pool can be very difficult. Heavy rain can greatly influence the chemical balance of pool water in several ways, including a serious effect on chlorine levels. While readjusting your pool water balance after a heavy rain can be frustrating and confusing, it is important to maintain your water chemistry because an unbalanced pool is unsafe to swim in. —San Francisco Chronicle
While this is typically minor, combined with pests, decomposing leaves and other debris, it becomes more problematic. The presence of rainwater alone lowers chlorine levels and that has a two-pronged effect. It not only dilutes, allowing bacteria to grow, but also create an environment which algae can begin to grow. This compromising state makes the water unhealthy to swim in and even exposes the pool’s finish and equipment to harm.
How to Keep Your Swimming Pool Well Maintained
After a steady or hard rain storm, your pool’s pH, alkalinity, and sanitizer levels, can all be affected enough to be off by considerable margins. As stated above, a light rain shower isn’t likely to move the levels off by much, but if that light rainfall happens for a few days, the chances of those levels falling off increase somewhat remarkably.
Once the rain has gone and the forecast is clear for the next several days, you should take steps to maintain your pool to return it to good health and to protect swimmers’ health as well. Here are some things you should do:
- Clean your pool. Skim your pool and rid it of floating debris, such as bugs, leaves, pollen, and anything else that’s in it. In addition, you should manually vacuum your pool or set the automatic vacuum to run a full cycle.
- Test the water chemical levels. Once clean of all debris, it’s time to check the pH and alkalinity levels. These might be off significantly if the rain event was hard or lasted for a long time. It isn’t uncommon for alkalinity levels to be quite different from pH levels.
- Check the sanitizer and chlorine levels. The sanitizer and chlorine levels will also probably be off because rainwater introduces contaminants into the water. Return these to normal to again sanitize your pool.
- Check the water level. Rainfall, of course, increases the water level in your swimming pool. Because it does, your pool might be overfilled. Simply use the “waste” setting on the filter to bring the water level back to normal.
If the rain event lasted for more than a day or was significant in amount, then you might consider shocking your pool. This isn’t absolutely necessary, but it is a good idea after a big rain storm. This is a good extra measure to take to ensure that the water is safe to swim in and help to guard against the next rain storm.
Should the water be cloudy or contain algae, shocking it is a necessity. Always avoid swimming in a pool after a rain storm, because it’s highly likely that contaminated runoff water is permeating through the water.
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