Protect Your Pool Over the Cold Winter Season
Swimming pools require a lot of work to maintain. Nature likes to take up residence almost anywhere, including in stagnant bodies of water. Also, various natural forces tend to make a swimming pool cloudy and very alkaline. The right use of chemicals can make your swimming pool not only safe but also clean and sparkling in appearance.
Acid-Balancing Chemicals
- One of the most common concerns that swimming pool owners have is the pH level of the swimming pool water. Water tends to become more alkaline, with standing water usually reaching a pH of 8.5. The pH is lowered using acids, most commonly muriatic acid and sodium bisulphate. These acids are strong enough to burn the skin, so they should not be added in excessive quantities, according to Pool Wizard. The acid should always be added to the water and not the other way around. The acid should be added in small amounts until the pH reaches between 7.0 and 7.6. If the pH gets too low for some reason, the pH can be raised using sodium carbonate.
Chlorine
- Bacteria like to go everywhere, including the swimming pool. Chlorine binds with the bacteria and kills them, according to Home Improvement Web. Next, the pool filters suck both the chlorine and bacteria out of the pool. Chlorine should not be added to the pool until the pH of the pool is just right. When the pH is at the right level, chlorine should be added to the pool in the late afternoon. The chlorine level should be at 1.0-3.0 ppm, according to Pool Wizard. If the chlorine collects in thick amounts in the pool, this collection can be broken up using shock treatment. You can determine this collection of chlorine in your pool by the strong smell of the chlorine.
Flocculation Chemicals
- Filters do not always trap all of the particles and sediment that get into a pool, causing the pool to become cloudy. Flocculation chemicals cause the particles to bind together and sink to the bottom of the pool where they don’t cloud up the water and can also easily be vacuumed up.
Stabilizers
- In addition to the chlorine, stabilizers need to be added to ensure that the chlorine does its job. Stabilizers are made of cyanuric acid. Stabilization is most important with new pools.
Deodorizer
- A swimming pool cover also needs chemicals, specifically a pool cover deodorizer. This deodorizer both sanitizes the pool cover and also removes smells that can get embedded in the pool cover, according to Cheap Pool Products.
Bromine
ยทย Another chemical used in swimming pools is bromine. Bromine is mostly used when a pool owner does not want a chlorine smell in his pool. However, bromine’s own smell is more difficult to wash off because bromine remains active, unlike chlorine.
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