Important Facts About Pool Cleaners and Pool Maintenance

Your home cool, whether it’s an above-ground model or a below-ground model, is likely the focal point of your summer. You spend countless hours swimming in it, reading a book while you sunbathe on the deck, and hosting pool parties for your children and their friends. It’s really a fixture of those summer months, a place where you have some of the best times of your life. In order to fully enjoy it, though, you need it to be clean. With that in mind, check out these key facts regarding basic upkeep and pool cleaners.

The Sun Can Reduce Your Chlorine Levels

When you open the pool up for the year, you start by cleaning it out with nets and brushes, and then you add chlorine. This helps to keep the water clean from germs and bacteria, ensuring that it is safe to swim in, free of even the things that you can’t get out with a brush or a net. However, you need to keep measuring the levels all summer long and adding chlorine as they fall. The sun is naturally going to burn off the chlorine, reducing the levels even if you haven’t used the pool at all. Do not make the mistake of adding chlorine once and thinking that you can forget about it.

You Can Clean Your Pool With Ozone

An alternative to chlorine and other chemical pool cleaners – though they may still need to be used at reduced levels, is to use ozone. This is made up of multiple oxygen molecules that are bonded together, and it can be created with electricity simply by sending it through oxygen; in fact, one way that it is created in nature is during a lightning strike, as the bolt passes through the air. However, this can be manually recreated, and the tasteless, scentless compound that it creates is a terrific cleaner. It eradicates bacteria and keeps the water pure. It also sterilizes anything in the water. Best of all, you don’t get the same stinging feeling in your eyes that chlorine can sometimes cause, and those who are allergic to chlorine will be able to use the pool.

The problem with ozone is that it is not good for you in its own right. Some have even said that it can be toxic. This is why chemical cleaners then have to be used in conjunction with the ozone, to keep it from making the pool into a dangerous environment.

Tips for Using Liquid Chlorine

If you’re going to use liquid chlorine, you’re probably picking it because it is so easy to use. You don’t have to take any time to mix it up like you do with the powder, and it’s ready to go as soon as you get home. This is great, but just make sure that you use it quickly. It does expire, so you never want to use it if it has been sitting in your pool shed for too long. Always get a good fresh batch when cleaning your pool.

A lot of people love granular chlorine because it lasts longer, so you don’t have to make as many purchases or keep an eye on the date. If you have the time to mix it up, this a fine way to go. If not, buying liquid right when you need it is probably easier, if not faster.

A Pool Cover Can Help

One of the simplest ways to keep your pool clean is to use a cover. Leaves won’t blow into it, small animals will be kept out, and you know that the pool is safe, as there is less chance that someone will accidentally fall in. A cover is a good investment, and you can get them on rollers so that they are very easy to remove when you want to use the pool.

However, you should know that a cover is not a substitute for a good cleaner. It is not airtight, and bacteria and other things can still get into the water. A cover helps, but don’t let it lull you into a false sense of security, thinking that you no longer have to use chemical cleaners. You still have to clean the pool on the microscopic level.

Easy Ways to Safely Use Cleaners

Cleaning chemicals need to be handled carefully, but there are a few easy things that you can do to make sure that there is never a problem. First of all, you want to store your cleaning agents apart from one another. You also do not want to store them in the same container, mixing them together. After you are done, you should thoroughly wash your hands. Before you use any new cleaner, make sure that you go over all of the warnings and instructions that come with it.