When you spend a lot of your hard earned money on a swimming pool and you work hard, it’s extremely important to keep it clear and most importantly clean so you can swim! First and foremost, balanced water chemistry is vital and purchasing a test kit is highly recommended even if you have a weekly pool service. Many people will ask why this is necessary but we personally like to check up on those we hire! If you’re in the market for a great water chemistry test kit, we recommend the Taylor Test Kits to check for adequate amounts of chlorine, pH, cyanuric acid (CYA), Calcium Hardness and Total Alkalinity (TA). Checking chlorine, pH and total alkalinity should be done weekly along with brushing the tile line, the interior finish of the pool along with the steps and benches. Netting out debris in the pool and emptying skimmer baskets as soon as possible is also extremely important because it allows for proper filtration. Depending on the time of the year, the following are appropriate values to remember when it comes to water chemistry:
Chlorine: 1-2ppm (winter) and 3-4ppm (summer)
pH – 7.4 – 7.8
Total Alkalinity – 80-120ppm
Cyanuric Acid – 30-50ppm (might need to be higher if you have a salt pool)
Calcium Hardness – 200-400ppm
When levels of chlorine fall below recommendations or filtration are compromised algae will begin to grow. If the pH climbs above 7.8 the water can become cloudy and scale on the tile, interior finish and filtration equipment can occur. But what about Calcium Hardness (CH) and Total Dissolved Solids (TDS)? In Southern California, our fill water is extremely hard and loaded with calcium and other hardness minerals. When those levels climb above 600 parts per million (ppm) calcium scaling can occur on the water tile line, the interior finish of the swimming pool, your filtration equipment, negative edges and water features. None of this is pretty to look at either and it can be extremely expensive to remove! Normal recommendations for CH is between 200 – 400 ppm but in our area, the water coming out of the tap can be above 400ppm. That’s why we use Reverse Osmosis filtration to filter residential and commercial swimming pool water every two years. If you own a swimming pool, committing to having your swimming pool filtered every two years is something you should do. Our mobile filtration trailer will lower Calcium Hardness, TDS, CYA, salts, phosphates and waterborne diseases without draining the swimming pool. Since we use RO filtration, we put drinking quality water back in your swimming pool, it will keep your pool looking great longer, we will conserve 85% of the existing water in your swimming pool and you can swim in the pool while the process is being performed.
If you’re curious to know more or having your pool water filtered, please contact us today!
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