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Now that the dog-days of summer are upon us, are you having more difficulty maintaining your chemical levels in the swimming pool? What actually affects the chemicals in pool water? How can I keep my pool from turning cloudy and/or green? We can help answer all of those questions!

Sunlight burns off chlorine quickly. You don’t have to be in Dallas or Phoenix - right here in Omaha the sun (and the heat) can get pretty intense! Using a stabilized chlorine tab in your pool, or adding stabilizer if you are using unstabilized chlorine will help reduce the effects of the summer sun beating down on your pool. It is very important to keep your stabilizer level between 30-50 ppm. If your stabilizer level gets too high (100-200 ppm), you can have cloudy water and chlorine lock – which can’t be corrected with out draining a portion or all of the pool. Monitoring your Cyanuric Acid (Stabilizer) level on a regular basis is very important

Shock is a granular form of unstabilized chlorine, so be sure to use it after the sun sets at night to get the strongest benefit possible from your shock. This should be done weekly as routine maintenance.

Water Temperature Can Affect Longevity of The Chlorine Level:
At different times of the year, the pool water temperature can get too warm to feel comfortable so people are tempted to add fresh, cold water to reduce the temperature of the pool. This may work well for that purpose, but the unintended consequence is the dilution of the pool chemicals.  This can change not only the chlorine but also the pH which in turn, will affect the effectiveness of the chlorine in the pool. Be sure to add a dose of Sequa Sol when adding fresh water to prevent mineral oxidation and also test after twenty-four hours and make any adjustment to the chlorine and pH that the results may call for. Allowing twenty-four hours gives the fresh water time to mix well with existing water so you don’t get a false result from the testing and also allows time for the Sequa Sol to treat the fresh water before adding more chlorine. Aerating the pool water with a fountain will help reduce the temperature without adding fresh water. Liquid Solar will also help to reduce evaporation lessening the need to refill the pool as frequently as well.

Algae & Bacteria Can Grow Quickly With High Temperatures:With high temperatures, chlorine can dissipate out of the water much quicker, which can lead to an onset of algae. Testing the water levels daily will help to keep the Chlorine & pH levels consistent, which will make it less favorable for algae to form. If algae does occur, it will usually take an algaecide and a high quantity of shock (and some time) to revive it.

Keep An Eye on Phosphate Levels in the Pool:

Phosphates are food for algae and bacteria to feed on. Phosphates came come in from a million different things including: leaf debris, rainwater, source water, wind debris amongst many others. With higher phosphate levels it allows algae to grow and definitely makes it more probable that it will occur in the near future. Adding a phosphate remover when levels are high will help take one of the factors out of play that can cause a green and/or cloudy pool. At times, a weekly dosage of phosphate remover sometimes is required to keep any new phosphates in the pool from becoming too high.

Rain Can Affect Chlorine/Phosphate/PH Levels in the Pool:

Rainwater can affect the chemistry levels in the pool, such as lower your chlorine, raise or lower your pH and add additional unwanted phosphates. Checking the pool after a recent rainstorm will insure that if anything has changed that you can get it corrected quickly before problems arise. You do not necessarily need to shock after each rainstorm, just keep on your weekly regimen with it unless the water is cloudy and/or green.

Excess Swimming or Additional Swimmers:

The intense summer heat enjoyed in Omaha and throughout the Midwest calls more and more people to find relief by taking a dip in the pool. As the summer progresses, you may find your children having more friends over to swim or you may have relatives visiting during summer vacation travels. More swimmers leads to more bacteria in the water, which in turn takes more chemicals to maintain. Additional people also means more body oils, lotions, deodorants, hairspray, make-up, sunscreen and suntan lotions that enter the water and require more chlorine and clarifiers to keep the water sparkling.

With a little attention to detail, your pool will continue to look sparkling blue and crystal clear throughout the heat of the summer giving you and your family and friends a wonderful way to relax and cool down!

Best Tip: Bacteria and algae CAN NOT form with proper sanitation (chlorine) levels! Pools are easy to maintained when using proper chemicals in proper strengths/dosages on a regular routine basis. Keeping all levels (Chlorine, Ph, Phosphates, Alkalinity, Cyanuric Acid) in the proper ranges will make sure that your pool is running at the optimum speed, which will make it less likely for it to turn cloudy/green on you.

Call Aqua Palace Today (712) 329-4180!
Want more information? Contact us Aqua Palace is family owned and operated, offering above ground and in ground pools, hot tubs, spas and saunas specializing in pool design, installation and repair to local (Omaha and Council Bluffs) and long distance residents (within the US). We are the only Marquis dealer in the Omaha Metro Area with the largest showroom east of the continental divide. Not located in Omaha? No worries, check out our online store for pool and spa chemicals, supplies and accessories.