Owner of in-ground pools often worries about the water quality where they and their families swim. Indeed, maintaining the water quality needs knowledge, attention and care to ensure clear and healthy water to swim in safely. Before installing a luxurious inground pool in your backyard, you must understand the maintenance procedure for an enjoyable swimming experience. Water is a fragile element, and not taking care of it can rapidly turn your jewel pool from a blue paradise into a dirty and smelly pound! This post is a guide to maintaining the water quality in your in-ground swimming pool.
Maintaining the water quality in your in-ground pool is crucial for ensuring a safe and enjoyable swimming experience. Regular testing and balancing of chemicals, such as chlorine and pH levels, are essential steps in this process. Additionally, keeping your pool clean and free of debris can prevent the growth of algae and bacteria. For those in Orange County, professional pool services can be a valuable resource for maintaining optimal water quality. If you’re looking for reliable pool cleaning services in the area, you can view it now to explore options that can help keep your pool in pristine condition. This ensures that your pool remains a healthy and inviting space for family and friends.
Test Water Regularly
The best way to ensure your pool water quality is tasty and optimum is to test it twice or thrice a week. You must know and understand the key levels of different parameters that guarantee healthy water. The pH levels, chlorine bromine levels, alkalinity, calcium hardness and cyanuric acid all play major roles and must be balanced at the right levels. You must get test strips or a liquid test kit to check all those parameters regularly.
Balance the Water
To get perfect water quality, you must have a balance between all elements:
- The pH level must be between 7.2 and 7.6; you can use pH increasers or decreasers to bring it to the right level.
- Alkalinity should be between 80 and 120 ppm to help pH stability and avoid fluctuation.
- The calcium hardness level is aimed at 220-400 ppm; it can be managed by increasing the calcium or dilution with fresh water if it is too high.
- The cyanuric acid level is a stabilisation. Its best level is between 30 to 50 ppm when using chlorine to protect chlorine from sunlight degradation.
Sanitisation
Sanitising your pool will maintain a healthy swimming environment by eliminating harmful bacteria, viruses, and other contaminants. There are different ways to sanitise your pool, and you must use a combination of the various methods below to ensure effective and consistent water quality:
- Chlorine is the most common sanitiser and should be used at levels between 1 and 3 ppm; bromine, which is more stable in warm water and less irritating to the eyes and skin, must be used at 3-5 ppm levels.
- Shock the pool with chlorine or non-chlorine shock once a week or after heavy rain. This will break down contaminants and restore chlorine levels.
- Using an algaecide weekly can prevent algae growth, especially during warmer months.
Filtration
The filtration ensures clean and clear water in your in-ground pool. Its role is to remove debris, dirt, and other particles by a pump that should run 8-12 hours a day. You must maintain the pump filter and empty the skimmer and pump baskets weekly. These operations will ensure proper water circulation, which is a key to maintaining healthy water.
Cleaning
Leaves, bugs and other debris that can fall into your water can affect its quality. Your solution is to use a skimmer net daily to remove those. Then, you need to brush the pool walls and floor weekly to prevent algae growth and vacuum the pool weekly.
Maintain Your Water Level.
Your water level must be stable and maintained at the correct height to ensure the efficient operation of your pool’s filtration system. You must also maintain the level at the midpoint of the skimmer opening so the skimmer can properly remove debris from the water’s surface.
Manage Total Dissolved Solids (TDS)
TDS is made of various dissolved substances, and its level must be between 1,000 and 2,000 ppm. A higher level can lead to water quality issues, so you must test it every 3-6 months and manage it when it is too high.