Your swimming pool is a place of leisure without question and the hub of many social and family occasions. Its also great for relaxing, exercising or frolicking about with the kids. But beware, if left untreated, something nasty lies hidden beneath the waters. No it aint Jaws, but it can be potentially life threatening.
The germs in your pool can quickly transform into debilitating illnesses such as E Coli and Cryptosporidium thanks to parasites that find warm untreated water the perfect place to wreak havoc.
Im sure you go to great lengths to keep your bathrooms and bathtub sanitized, but you need to up the game considerably when it comes to your much larger outdoor tub. You need some chemical and industrial help to keep your pool clean.
Contaminated pool water can cause many minor uncomfortable illnesses like ear, upper respiratory and skin infections, and unwelcomed sicknesses such as diarrhoea and the flu. Im sure you wouldnt want to catch any of these just from your leisure activities.
You already have some cleaning means at your disposal, namely the filter inside your swimming pool and also your pump. Their job is to circulate the water and keep it turning over so pollutants and contaminants can be eliminated.
You have to check the filter and the pump weekly to see if they are operating correctly and also to see if anything needs tuned up or replaced.
All pool sets up contain plumbing so you need to check your pipework and make sure there are no leaks or blockages or sediment build ups, which can be the cause of bacteria spurts. Next up its the chlorinator or sanitizer. If you have these automatic systems make sure they are dispensing these chemicals correctly.
They will be in charge of making sure your water is sanitized and reaches the correct PH level. Sanitizers are just a fancy named for the chemicals that are added to your pool to eliminate bacteria and prevent the occurrence of algae. Most sanitizers use chlorine or compounds of bromine (salt).
You can of course add these by hand. Whether you use an automatic device or not, one thing is common, you have to test PH levels on a weekly basis.
If your pool is prone to algae instead of shocking it (adding large amounts of chlorine) when you get an outbreak you can use an algae inhibitor instead. It is basically a liquid that you add to your pool. If you pour it in beside the skimmer it will help it to make its way around the entire pool.
