How Often Should You Use Swimming Pool Chemicals?
Everyone enjoys the fun and outdoor activities that are associated with a swimming pool. However only the pool owner knows how important it is to maintain his or her swimming pool in top notch sanitary and cleanliness standards. If you are not sure how often to clean your pool you simply can look at the condition of the water and know that it is time for a cleaning. The truth is that anytime the pool water looks dirty or something is not functioning right you should identify these problems and correct them immediately.
Pool skimmers should be cleaned every day if at all possible. If the pool is near a lot of trees you can expect to have to use your skimmer more than twice a week due to leaves and other debris falling into it. Leaves from trees can be a constant problem when owning a swimming pool and they will get into the pipes of your pump system along with hair and other substances and will stop your system from functioning properly. Vacuuming should be done at least once a week. Some people recommend doing it twice a week however vacuuming is a lot of work and if it is not necessary there is no need for it.
This leads us to another area of how often to use pool chemicals. The maintenance and monitoring of your pool water chemistry is probably the most important part of owning a pool. The first thing that you must adhere to is the fact that you should be testing your water regularly. During the summertime this should be done every day or at least every other day. During the cold winter months it is only necessary to test it once a week. The recommended chlorine level is 0.5 ppm to 3.0 ppm. Anytime your level goes either above or below this you should add the necessary chemicals to bring it within range.
Recommended pH levels are between 7.2 ppm and 7.6 ppm. Low pH levels will cause the water to burn the eyes of those using the pool while high pH levels will cause the water to become cloudy. You can adjust the levels by adding muratic acid to lower the pH level or raise the pH level by adding sodium bicarbonate. Alkaline levels are usually between 80 ppm and 120 ppm and low levels of alkaline will cause your pH to fluctuate immensely while higher alkalinity levels will make it harder to adjust your pH levels and make your chlorine almost ineffective. The key to knowing how often to use your pool chemicals is by testing the water regularly and making adjustments as necessary based on these readings.
