Surrey Homes | SH21 | July 2016 | Interiors supplement inside

Maintaining your swimming pool
Ben Smith, XL Pools
The most important thing you can do for your pool during the
peak of the summer is pay more attention to it. In particular,
the way it looks. If its dirty, the water has gone cloudy or it’s
starting to change colour then it generally means something is
wrong. The quicker you remedy this the better. It is advisable
to test your PH and chlorine daily, but if this is too onerous,
weekly will do. You should also check and clean your skimmer
basket and the filtration pump at this time. There are many
factors that can greatly change the balance of your pool water:
swimmers, heat and storms.
A day of entertaining family and friends is great fun but
remember that, after a day like that, your chlorine levels are
going to drop. If you have had a lot of swimmers in the pool,
or if it’s been an unusually hot day, it’s important to check your
PH and chlorine levels. If you don’t have enough chlorine in
the pool your pool water will turn cloudy and start to change
colour. A great addition to your pool filter system is a salt-water
chlorination system. It will help maintain your chlorine and
chemical balance. A salt-water chlorination system will disinfect
the pool water which dramatically improves the look, smell and
feel of your pool water. It’s perfect for children’s delicate skin
and for those suffering from allergies. It also helps to prevent
alkalinity fluctuations saving you hundreds of pounds which
you would otherwise spend on sanitizing chemicals.
After a storm, its important to spend a bit of time tidying the
pool and the pool area. A storm can make the pool turn green
overnight. The first thing to think about is the water level.
After heavy rain the water is going to be higher. If this is the
case, you should make sure that you lower it to allow leaves and
debris to skim into the basket. It would be better still to catch
the leaves before they skim into the basket. So, spend a bit of
time with your net, picking up as many as you can. Heavy rain
will also cause chlorine levels to drop significantly. It is a good
idea to take your water sample up to your local pool shop for
testing. In addition, garden run-off can lead to phosphates in
your pool which can also turn your pool green. Finally, check
the clock and timer on your chlorine generator to ensure that
lightning has not damaged it.
If you are going away on holiday, here are a few pointers that
will help keep your pool healthy for when you get back...
Fill the pool as high as you can; high water levels will reduce
the amount of leaves in the skimmer basket. You may come
back to a dirtier pool but there is less chance of damaging
your pumps. If you have a solar cover over your pool, make
sure you turn your chlorine generator down as pool blankets
may lead to high levels of chlorine because chlorine is not lost
through evaporation. Lastly, it’s a good idea to get a neighbour
or friends to check the pool for you while you are away. Or, we
are very happy to do this for you.
XL Pools, 01233 840336, www.xlpools.com
www.wealdentimes.co.uk
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