Tag Archives: pool water

Keep your Swimming Pool water clean!

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Whether you live in a tropical climate and enjoy your pool year round, or if you regularly winterize your pool after enjoying it throughout the summer months, one thing is certain: pools must be kept clean.

It doesn’t take long for new pool owners to realize that their cool and refreshing oasis can instantly become a swamp that houses your sixth grader’s next science experiment if not properly maintained. Algae, bacteria, and an overgrowth of germs can make even the nicest pools a hotbed for sickness and disease. Knowing how to effectively clean pool water is key to enjoying your swimming pool.

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Comparison of Swimming Pools

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A swimming pool is one of those things that everyone likes during the hot summer months, because it can be very refreshing when the temperatures begin to rise. A swimming pool is also a very good way to exercise, because it is a full body workout with very little impact on the bones or joints.

However there are many factors that need to be considered before a swimming pool is built. There must be adequate space in the backyard, a good fence surrounding the area for the pool, and then a decision has to be made to have an above ground one put in, or have an under ground one built in. An above ground pool and an under ground pool both have their share of pros and cons, so they must be weighed appropriately in order to make a good decision. Continue reading →

The water quality of swimming pools

Your above ground pool’s safety does not begin at the water’s edge. Properly maintaining a pool’s chemistry is critical to providing a safe and pleasurable experience.

We’ve all been to a pool where the water strongly smells of chlorine and our eyes were burning and red after going into the water. Many think that this occurs when there is too much chlorine in the water. Ironically, when it comes to above ground pool chemistry, just the opposite is true – there is not enough chlorine in the pool water when it smells strongly of chlorine.

pool chlorineA smelly above ground pool indicates the presence of excess chloramine. Chloramine is produced when there is not sufficient chlorine present in the water to oxidize sweat, body oil, urine and perfumes introduced to the water by swimmers.

“Free” chlorine is what kills bacteria and germs in pool water along with oxidizing natural ammonia waste products from humans – the sweat, body oil and urine. If there is not enough chlorine in the pool, the chlorine actually bonds to the ammonia creating chloramine.

Once enough of the free chlorine bonds with the ammonia waste products to create chloramine, the pool water begins to smell of chlorine and can cause skin irritation.

To prevent chloramine from forming in the first place, above ground pool owners need to maintain a pool chemistry with the proper balance of free available chlorine (FAC) and combined available chlorine (CAC) (the chlorine being used in the chloramine compounds). The amount of combined chlorine, the stuff we have to watch out for, can be calculated once you test for free chlorine and total chlorine. Continue reading →