Summer is just around the corner, and with it comes swimming, barbecues, sunbathing, and a whole lot of fun. But first, we’ll have to survive the rainy season. So batten down the hatches and follow these tips to help you get ready for summer while surviving the rainy season.
How Rain Affects Pool Water
A lot of people don’t realize it but rain is one of the top culprits for green algae-filled pools. For one, as much as we would like to think of rain as pure water from the heavens, it’s actually quite acidic with a pH of around 5.0 so it will reduce our pool’s pH levels which in turn will affect all of the other chemical levels. And another thing, rain dilutes your pool’s chemical levels, which will reduce the effectiveness of your pool chemicals.
That’s not all too bad though, remember that aside from using enzymes like the Bio-Active Cyanuric Acid Reducer, the only way to remove cyanuric acid from your pool easily is to dilute the water, and rain does a really good job at that!
How to maintain your pool through the rainy season
It’s not as daunting as it sounds. A little rain (in this case maybe up to half an inch of rain per day) never really hurt anyone. But if we’re talking about the type of rain that Australia experiences during the transition into spring then there are some things that need to be done in order to prepare for the warmer days ahead without risking a green algae-filled pool.
SEE ALSO: Does rain affect pool water?
Check and balance your pool water whenever the weather permits
Although rain lowers the effectiveness of your pool chemicals, the cloud cover provided by the rain will keep algae growth at bay. Once it clears up, be sure to use a testing kit to check your pool’s chemical levels and balance appropriately. Because once the sun starts to shine, it starts fuelling algae growth again and you’ll be surprised how fast a clean-looking pool can turn green in just a couple of days.
Even if rain is expected later on in the day or the next day, DO NOT SKIP balancing your pool water if you have the chance to do so. You may find that a perfectly balanced pool can be all sorts of messed up even only after a day or two of heavy rains.
By keeping your pool chemical levels balanced, you’re ensuring that once warm weather rolls in, you pool will stay crystal clear and ready for swimming.
Clear your pool of debris daily if the weather permits
Rain not only lowers your chemical levels, but it brings other things to your pool as well such as leaves, bugs, and other debris! Once there’s a lull in the rain, make sure to set aside a couple of minutes to clear the pool of any visible debris in your pool as these can fast become algae food.
Keep your chlorinators on during the rainy days
If you have a salt and mineral chlorinator then keep running it on schedule. Even if nobody is going to use the pool, keeping your chlorinators on will go a long way to keeping algae from invading your pool during rainy days. Remember, the rains will actively reduce the chemical levels (especially chlorine) in your pool so, at the very least, you should actively be replacing the chlorine in your pool as needed.
SEE ALSO: How to clean swimming pools after a storm or flood
If you have a pool cover, use it
Let your pool covers do their job during the rainy season. Keep water dilution to a minimum and keep debris out. This goes a long way to ensuring that you’ll have a swim-ready pool once the warm weather rolls in. Don't have a pool cover? Check out our best-value pool covers from Daisy by clicking the button below.
Treating your pool after the rains finally stop
Once the rains are finally over and clear weather is expected for the coming weeks, give your pool a good treatment with a storm and chemical bundle to ensure that any trace of the wet days are gone and your pool is truly ready for the warm swimming days ahead!
Although the bundle is labeled as a Storm and Flood bundle, it has everything you'll need to make sure that your pool is ready for swimming even after heavy rains! Stabilised pool chlorine to sanitise your pool water, clarifier to get rid of those tiny particles that your filter can't catch, phosphate remover to starve out any residual algae in the pool, stain remover to... well... remove any stains that might have developed during the rainy season, and oxi shock to remove all those unwanted pool smells!
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Happy swimming :)