Swimming season is here! Is your pool ready for swimming? If not, Hy-Clor has 5 easy steps to help get your pool back to its sparkling best.
Step 1: The first step is to test the water using Hy-Clor’s water testing app or you can use the water test kiosk at your local Bunnings store. Both the water test and in-store kiosk will quickly tell you what chemicals are required to balance your pool. You need to ensure your pH, total alkalinity and calcium hardness levels are all in the correct range before you add any other chemicals to the pool.
Step 2: Once you have your pool balanced, the next step is to sanitise your pool to kill germs, bacteria, and other contaminants. The most common sanitiser is chlorine, which is available in liquid, tablet, granular or generated through a saltwater chlorinator. The ideal range for your free chlorine is between 1-3ppm. You may need to shock your pool during high bather loads which is commonly referred to as super chlorinating. When more demand is placed on the pool because of increased bather loads, heavy wind, storms etc. your chlorine needs to work harder to kill any germs and bacteria. As a result, giving the pool a boost of chlorine (shock) to keep up with this demand is recommended.
Step 3: After you have balanced and sanitised the pool, it is recommended you re-test the water to ensure all levels are correct. If you are using a saltwater chlorinator, we also recommended you test your salt levels.
Step 4: Aside from the chemicals required to keep your pool healthy, you also need to check your equipment is operating efficiently. Make sure your pump has no leaks or loud/unusual noises. Empty and clean out the baskets in both your skimmer and pool pumps of leaves and debris. Your filter may also be in need of a backwash, or the cartridge element may need cleaning. You should do this before adding the chemicals required to balance your pool. This will ensure there are no obstructions blocking the flow of water through the filter so it can continue to capture dirt and debris.
Step 5: Lastly, as part of your routine maintenance, you should brush the pool surface to loosen any debris and help remove algae buildup. You will also need to vacuum your pool either manually or using an automatic pool cleaner to remove the excess debris from the surface.
