Pool maintenance can be a headache. However, it doesn’t have to be! Pool professionals should focus on satisfying the needs of clients in the Midwest by providing them with a variety of solutions.
Opening and Closing Pools
In general, your clients will begin requesting for their pools to be opened for the season when the temperature starts sitting around 70-degrees Fahrenheit consistently. You will not want to begin opening pools before this temperature, as waiting helps to prevent algae growth and pollen buildup. To open a client’s pool, you will need to:
- Remove the pool cover.
- Hook up any filtration or plumbing systems.
- Switch the filtration system on.
- Clean out the pool, as well as vacuum it.
- Add any necessary chemicals to help balance the water.
To close a client’s swimming pool, you will want to have them do so before the temperatures begin to dip down too cold. Some clients don’t realize how chilly it gets at night. If the temperature falls below freezing before the pool is closed, clients could run into issues. To close a client’s pool, you will need to:
- Clean out the pool and vacuum up any debris.
- Add any necessary pool chemicals and allow them to filter through for 24 hours.
- Begin lowering the water level unless they have a fiberglass pool.
- Clean out and remove water from the pump and filtration systems.
- Remove any additional parts of the pool, such as a ladder.
- Close up the pool by putting on the tarp or cover.
Maintaining a Pool’s Water Level During the Season
Many clients will be curious as to what their water level in their pool should be or they may not know that they need to check it consistently. However, this is one of the most essential aspects of maintaining a pool. Without the correct water levels, safety is put at risk. Although pools can come in a wide range of different sizes, including different volumes, clients will not have to do any calculations to determine what their water level should be.
A proper water level should be halfway up a client’s skimmer plate. The skimmer is the opening, usually rectangular in size, that is built onto the side of the pool and connects to the circulation system. Keeping the skimmer only half full of water allows the filtration and pumping systems to operate more effectively.
1. Algaecide
Clients that own a pool will never be able to avoid eventually having algae blooms. It is one of the inevitable parts of owning a pool. Since pool chemistry is rather delicate, even a rainstorm could throw off the pool chemicals enough that algae begin to grow. Algae comes with a host of different issues, including causing damage to a client’s pool and attracting water bugs. Listed below are several different types of algae that can be found in pool water.
- Black algae. Black algae is usually brought from a natural body of water, such as an ocean or river. Someone may have swum in the ocean and then used that same swimsuit to swim in their pool at home.
- Green algae. Green algae is the most common type of algae found in pools. It is what causes pools to develop that unsightly green coloring. With sanitation and filtration, clients can get rid of green algae.
- Yellow algae. While clients in the Midwest may not experience yellow algae, it is actually quite rare in other areas as well. However, yellow algae is a type of green algae and is chlorine resistant.
Algaecide is a pool chemical that is designed to kill algae, as well as help to prevent algae from growing in a pool. The chemical works best alongside chlorine sanitizer. While algaecide is one of the essentials for pool owners, you will also want to ensure that you take their pool type and budget concerns into account as well.
Copper-based algaecides are common but may not be right for certain types swimming pool. Clients that tend to have a higher pool pH may have trouble with copper-based algaecides.
Polyquat or Quat algaecides are good alternatives to offer clients that can’t otherwise use copper-based algaecides. These algaecides do not stain a pool but could disrupt a clients filtration system if used incorrectly.
2. Water Balancers
Water balancers help to keep all the chemicals that clients have added into their pool in the proper range. Offering pool water tests can give clients a means of testing their pool before they add in any balancers. This test could also tell them if their current chemical treatments are working. Balancers can work by lowering and raising certain chemical aspects of the pool.
pH
pH is a measurement of how acidic or basic the pool water is. Below 7 and a pool is acidic. Above 7 and a pool is basic or alkaline.
Total Alkalinity
The total alkalinity in a pool refers to the measurement of the carbonates, bicarbonates, hydroxides, and other alkaline substances that are present in the pool water.
3. Clarifiers
A pool clarifier helps to clear out a pool’s cloudy water. A clarifier contains small particles that clump together and bond to other particles into larger pieces. This allows those pieces to be easily filtered. If a client doesn’t use a pool clarifier, then those pieces would be small enough to pass through and go back into the pool water. A pool clarifier is a great option for clients that want an easy fix for mild cloudiness, as there it is not required to vacuum out or remove the clarifier once the client uses it. Clients should give a pool clarifier around 2 to 3 days to begin noticing a difference.
4. Sanitizers
It is essential for a pool to remain clean, meaning that the cleaning process is an integral part of pool maintenance. While many clients might think that simply scooping out some leaves will get the job done, there can also be pathogens lurking in a pool. To keep a pool safe for swimming, clients will need to use a pool sanitizer. While pool chlorine is one type of sanitizer, there are others you can offer clients as well. There is also pool bromine, pool ozone, and pool ionizer.
Delivering Professional Pool Supply Products
At Aqua-Gon, our purpose is serving those in the pool industry by providing quality pool products and a knowledgeable team that is ready to answer any questions you may have. We put customer experience at the forefront of our decision-making process, meaning that our wide range of products allows for better efficiency so you can focus more on what really matters, building your business. Call one of our five locations across the Midwest today!