Australia’s heatwave conditions and power outages are causing havoc for pool owners, and according to pool and spa specialist group Swimart, more than ever before, now is the time to check the health of your pool.
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“Prolonged periods of hot weather cause evaporation, which leads to water imbalance and chemical loss, and that can cause algal blooms and lead to ‘unhealthy’ water,” says Swimart’s pool and spa expert Rick Graham.
“The situation is further exacerbated by power outages, which recently affected thousands of South Australian and Victorian households, where a pool’s recirculation and purification systems shut down. This quickly leads to unsafe swimming conditions such as cloudy water, inadequate sanitiser levels and high levels of bacteria and other disease-causing organisms.”
If you have recently experienced a power outage, Swimart recommends following these simple steps before using your pool:
- Once power is restored, check to see if recirculation and purification systems are functioning
- Operate the pump and chlorinator for at least one hour
- Ensure proper pH and sanitiser residual. Check the sanitiser level as soon as possible.
- Reset the timers for pumps, lights and other auxiliary equipment
Swimart's professional pool technicians have also created a simple 10-point plan to help you maintain your pool with minimal effort. That means more time to relax and cool down in your pool, and less time and money keeping it in peak condition.
- Check your pool’s chlorine and pH level every two days, especially after a period of heavy usage and after a particularly hot spell or period of solid rain.
- Operate the filtration system six to eight hours a day.
- Regularly check sanitiser levels, ideally on a daily basis
- Check Total Alkalinity (TA) weekly with a Swimart test kit or by taking a sample to your local Swimart store.
- Clean out your skimmer basket and hair and lint pot in your filtration pump weekly.
- Maintain the water level at least half way up to the skimmer box opening.
- Regularly brush or vacuum pool walls and floor.
- To re-balance pool water, take a sample from elbow depth away from the pool returns and take it to your local Swimart pool store to be professionally tested.
- Use a quality algaecide such as Aqua-Health Concide to keep algae at bay.
- Thoroughly backwash your sand or DE filter, or remove and clean the cartridge from your cartridge filter with a hose, depending on pool use.