Just a Few Pool Maintenance Reminders

By Marcus Sheridan

With the Dog Days of summer now here, and temperatures constantly in the 90's, I feel it important to re-emphasize some basic maintenance tips so as to ensure that everyone maintains water clarity during the latter stages of the swim season. Our retail store in Tappahannock is inundated every August with calls from homeowners battling water cloudiness and algae. Although many people might say these problems just naturally come as a part of pool ownership, I would beg to differ. By following just a few maintenance tips, most problems can be averted. This article will break down these basic steps for Baquacil, Chlorine, and Salt users.

Baquacil:

1. Add Baquacil Shock/Oxidizer on a bi-weekly basis (not every 30 days as the manufacturer recommends). Shock levels should always be over 30, and without maintaining this level or higher, a pool owner is almost guaranteed to have algae and water clarity issues.
2. Add at least 3 ounces (per 10,000 gallons) of Performance Algaecide (Algaecide 60) on a weekly basis.
3. Maintain PH levels between 7.0-7.2. Algae grows much easier when the ph is high, or basic. Keeping the ph at a lower level makes the water more acidic and greatly deters algae's ability to spread.
4. Leave your filter system running all the time, not just 8-12 hours per day as some "professionals" may recommend.

Chlorine:

1. Maintain a free chlorine level of 1-3 parts per million.
2. Shock the pool on a weekly basis
3. Maintain ph between 7.0-7.2.
4. Add a weekly dose of algaecide.
5. Allow filter system to run 24/7

Salt:

1. Check cell and salt level on a weekly basis so as to ensure everything is working properly.
2. Check the water with a chlorine test strip weekly. Remember, just because the salt system display board shows everything working properly, it is still a good idea to verify this with a chlorine test strip. If the chlorine levels read proper, then you know everything is working appropriately.
3. Just as listed for chlorine and baquacil users, maintain proper ph, add a weekly dose of algaecide, and allow the filter system/pump to run all the time.

Good luck to everyone in maintaining a beautiful pool for the rest of 2007!