You love your pool. You love relaxing on a floatie on a warm sunny day. You love entertaining and having family and friends over to splash around your blue oasis with you. But keeping track of what chemicals are essential to have at the ready for a clean pool can make your mind feel like it’s drowning. Therefore, here’s a quick how-to of what’s necessary to keep you floating along headache-free!
There are two main reasons why chemicals are absolutely essential for maintaining a clean pool at all times. First of all, safety is an important factor. Without the proper chemicals, your pool water can become contaminated with algae, bacteria, and dangerous microorganisms. Secondly, aesthetics is a key reason you want to use chemicals. No one wants to jump into a greenish, swampy looking pool. A beautiful, bright blue pool is what looks refreshing and makes you want to dive in! Each of the following essentials works to achieve one or both of those goals or helps maintain the performance of other chemicals.
- Chlorine. This is the sanitizer for most swimming pools, although bromine can also be used. It can be added to your pool as a liquid, tablet, or granular form. However, another option is using a chlorine generator to convert salt into chlorine in the pool. Many prefer switching to salt water pools simply because chlorine can be hazardous to store and a challenge to work with.
- Test Kit or Device. Much of the remaining work of pool maintenance is stopping the chlorine from degrading or causing unwanted hiccups. Using a testing kit or device can help you know when it’s time to add chemicals to the water.
- Stabilizers. These chemicals combine with chlorine to form a longer-lasting compound that helps boosts performance and stops the sun from destroying the benefits of the chlorine.
- Shock Treatment. This is a high dose of concentrated chlorine that is necessary to add to your pool every so often. Even when your test kit reads that there is plenty of chlorine in the pool, what’s in there might not be working to its highest potential. Chlorine loses its effectiveness gradually over time, so shock treatment kick starts the rest of the chemicals already in the pool.
If your pool’s pH level is too high or too low, it can have very damaging effects on your equipment and hinder the chlorine from getting the job done. Regularly testing your pool water and adding the correct chemicals to maintain a certain pH level (7.2-7.6 is the target range) is imperative for a safe and sparkling pool. There are also other specific chemicals that every clean pool needs to raise calcium, cyanuric or alkalinity levels, in addition to clarifiers, enzymes, algaecides, and more to keep on hand.
The best resource for all of your pool needs and wants is also Island Pools & Patios. We embody our philosophy of being the one-stop shop to achieve “Outdoor Living At Its Finest.” We can guide you through the process and let you know exactly what you need to keep your pool crystal clear—or we can do the work for you! Located in Cape May Courthouse, NJ, Island Pools & Patios has been a family-owned and operated business for years and wants to make you part of their family. Contact us today and get ready to jump in!