The first hot days have arrived, with this we see how some people can enjoy their pools, while others wonder: How can it be that in the month of March they are using the pool? If it turns out that you don’t get more than two months out of it, in your case you will probably be surprised. It’s logical.
Let’s see how to enjoy your pool again! And we’re also going to tell you how to enjoy your pool longer.
1. Condition of the pool
Before starting the treatment, you should always measure the parameters of the pool and carry out a detailed visual inspection, especially when the sun is shining on it. With the first you will be able to know the state of chlorine and PH of the pool; while with the second you could see if the water has an incidence of fungi.
The appearance of fungi can be frequent in pools where organic matter enters because they are not properly closed. That is why we always have to start from the observation of water and the collection of data on water quality.
2. Steps to take to reuse the pool
Once we want to have our swimming pool, we are going to take the next steps. It is important to respect the order in order to achieve the desired effectiveness.
1) Removal of the winter product if it exists: it is very common in Spain to place the winter treatment by means of buoy or wintering systems. It is the first step that we have to take to give way to the rest of the specific treatments of the period of use.
2) We are going to remove floating dirt if it exists, such as leaves because our pool has not been protected. With this, we will be able to move on to the next steps without causing blockages in the rest of the cleaning systems.
3) Put the filtration system of the treatment plant into operation and at the same time introduce the cleaning robot. If we do not have a robot, we will clean it with the wall vacuuming device, which also has the filtration capacity. This way we will be able to remove all the dirt from the walls of the pool. The robot may need to be put on several times, depending on the dirt in the pool.
4) Incorporate the right chemicals: they will go through shock chlorine treatment, pH adjustment, and flocculant incorporation (if necessary).
Shock chlorine treatment is necessary to eliminate all bacteria that can live in the water, especially if we have not kept the water fit throughout the winter. Otherwise, it may be necessary to restore the normal amount of chlorine for the season of use. Many people already have electronic and automatic chlorine dosing systems, making administration easier as well as real-time measurement. These real-time chlorine measurement and administration systems have become especially fashionable with COVID-19.
If you have a pool, controlling the pH of your pool will not be a secret to you, so you know that you must adjust and measure it continuously. However
If the water is cloudy or has small suspended particles, which can also be closely related to the lack of adequate cover and the incorporation of contaminants from rain or organic components, you should proceed to administer a flocculant treatment. What this treatment will do is agglutinate the small particles so that they are denser and can be filtered by the robot or by the treatment plant. Therefore, after administering the treatment, you should use both intensively.
5) Perform the measurement of the water parameters again before completing the cleaning process: At the end of all the cleaning work, when we think we have finished with our cleaning work, we have to re-measure the amount of chlorine present in the water, the pH of the water and perform an observation of the water. Keep in mind that the values may have varied due to the mere fact of having removed the dirt in one direction or due to the incorporation of the treatments themselves. This will verify that the water is ready to enjoy.
6) Temperature measurement: it is obvious, but whether we have an air conditioning system or not, we would have to check the temperature of the pool in order to objectively know its evolution and suitability for bathing. Heating the water is very quick and fairly easy if the pool has a cover that closes consistently and has insulation.
3. Extend the time of use of the pool
When are we going to do all these steps? It will depend. In the case of having a pool with an indoor like ours, you can start in a few days. As soon as the days of better temperature come out, you will be able to use the pool thanks to the thermal savings of closing the pool with our cover.
If, on the other hand, you don’t have a quality cover, you should start in June or the end of May. The difference in months, as you can see, is considerable. To this you also have to add the additional autumn months, so we are talking about at least doubling the time of use.
In the event that you do not have a walkable movable cover, which encloses the pool correctly, we strongly ask you not to start the treatment period early.
First, because this can encourage more accidents due to falling into the pool when it is uncovered or attracts children.
Second, because you will increase the consumption of water and, most importantly, chemicals for treatment. The need for chemical products, from swimming pools that do not have the proper enclosure, is very high. Therefore, if we extend the water treatment time, we will increase the cost and increase the environmental impact, since some chemical products have a very polluting production.
