Having a pool is a luxury not many can afford. However, it is not just building and installing a pool that is expensive, pool maintenance can be quite expensive, too, if you don’t know what are you doing. Not maintaining your pool, or doing things the wrong way, can lead to some unwanted problems which will make your swimming pool look, smell and feel bad, as well as drain your wallet when the time to set things right comes. So, that begs the question, what is the proper way to maintain your pool and how do you know whether you’re doing it wrong? Well, let’s find out together.
Strong Chlorine Smell
Chlorine is a substance that is used to keep to pool safe and clean. However, you have to use just the right amount of it to keep the water safe and clean. How do you know you’ve used the wrong amount? Well, you’ll smell it. A properly chlorinated, safe water, will have little to no odour whatsoever. The pungent smell only arises when there’s a lot going on in the pool and it usually means that the chemical balance of the water is off.
What we mean by this is, you’ll smell the ‘chlorine’ when the chemical starts dealing with the rest of the chemicals in the pool like sweat, bacteria or urine. As chlorine reacts with those chemicals it releases that recognizable odour we all hate. However, a strong chlorine-like smell isn’t there because there’s an abundance of it, on the contrary, it’s there because there’s not enough of it to deal with all the contaminants.
Chemical Imbalance
Another crucial part of pool maintenance is checking up on the chemical balance regularly. Pool water is not like drinking water, because of all the chemicals that are added to keep the water safe. What you mostly need to pay attention too is pH levels, alkalinity, chlorine or bromine levels. You can easily find out what the numbers are supposed to look like and how to keep them that way. On the other hand, if you do a regular check and the numbers are way off, the best thing you could do is contact a professional and have them deal with the issue or you might encounter some additional problems.
Cloudy Water
One of the easiest ways to spot chemically unbalanced water is to take a good look at it. If the water in your pool looks cloudy, it’s probable that there is a chemical imbalance problem going on or there are too many unwanted particles in the water. The reasons behind this are various. It could be your fault for not using the right chemicals in the right way, it could be from the heavy storms and rain, it could be due to the lack of sunlight or it could just be due to the lousy filtration and water circulation. Whatever the reason, it needs to be dealt with if you want to enjoy your swimming pool without any concerns for your health. If you think the reason for cloudy water is just that there are lots of dirt and particles in the pool, cleaning it using a robot pool cleaner is a good course of action. That way, you don’t have to exert too much effort in cleaning your pool. If you don’t have this gadget yet, companies like the Robot Cleaner Store have a wide array of units you can choose from.
Green Water
Another pretty clear sign that there’s something wrong with the water in your pool is when it is green. Green water is a clear sign of algae infested waters. You can see this problem quite often with those that buy kiddie pools, fill them up and just leave them out for the time being. The water turns green quite fast if there aren’t any chemicals in it to prevent it from happening. The good news is, not every pool will suffer from this problem and if you’re wondering how or why – you can read more about it on this website.
Brown Or Yellow Water
Although not quite as common as murky and green water, it’s not that rare that you see yellow or brown-ish water in the pool. Once again, this problem is mostly caused by algae growth, only this time they’re different coloured. However, there could be another reason for brown or yellow water, but whatever the case is, a change in colour means there’s something bad going on. Unless you filled your pool with Gatorade, although we don’t know why anyone would do that, there’s no room for coloured liquid in the pool.
Bubbles Or Foam
Just like with colour, there’s no room for foam or bubbles in the pool. Although bubbles don’t necessarily mean there’s something terribly wrong with your water, it does mean that the water is heavily contaminated. Now, that can be due to various reasons such as body creams and lotions, sunblock, soap or in some cases bacterial build-up, chemical imbalance, jammed filters and so on. Either way, if you notice bubbles or foaming that simply won’t go away, deal with it right away as it is nothing good, regardless of how irrelevant it seems.
Whole Ecosystems In Your Pool
If you leave your pool unattended for a certain amount of time, you can be certain that there will be a full-blown ecosystem in there. We’re talking about all kinds of algae and bacteria, as well as larvae, water insects and all sorts of other living organisms. These situations are quite rare, but they can happen. Under no circumstances should you swim in those waters, as it is clearly not safe.
Cracked Walls
Now, this one may not be due to bad maintenance, per se, but it does mean you have a problem on your hands that needs to be dealt with. Cracks usually indicate impaired structure, leaks and are also wonderful breeding grounds for algae and bacteria. If you notice cracks in the walls of your pool, seek professional help right away and solve the problem. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to do this all by yourself unless you’re a pool repairman, which we’d assume you’re not if you’re reading this, so calling a professional repair crew is what you should do in this case.
As you can tell from this article, most of the problems with your pool maintenance can be easily identified by simply looking at the pool. Some are easy to spot, others no so much, but the fact of the matter is, if you have a pool – you have to be attentive. This is not something that you can just let be. You have to take care of it if you want it to be safe and last you a long time.
