How to maintain a crystal clear pool this summer

There are 5 aspects that everyone needs to know when it comes to maintaining great-looking pool water. Over the long term, when these 5 aspects are met, your water will be crystal clear, and your pool surfaces and pool equipment will last much longer.

Circulation & Filtration

Water must be moved around in a pool in order for the body of water to be healthy. Circulation will move all the good and undesirable additives around in the pool and through the filter. Consistent circulation, generated by a pump, will make sure water stays in motion. The more water stays in motion the fewer issues that could potentially creep up down the road. Appropriately sized pool pumps must operate at least 8 hours a day. 12 hours is better, 24 hours is best! New variable speed pumps are eco-friendly, and come with a built-in timer, perfect for maintaining proper pool circulation.

As the pool water circulates, the water will eventually be moved into and through a filter. The filtration process takes out small and microscopic particles from the pool water, then as the filter pulls more and more particles, the filter media collecting these materials will have to be cleaned. Without filtration, the particles, no matter what size they are, will multiply or grow larger and larger until the water starts to haze - then goes very cloudy.

When it is time to clean a filter, use ProTeam Filter Magic according to the label directions for your type of filter. A clean filter allows it to capture more particulate which leads to cloudy water. It also maximizes the longevity of the filter.

Cleaning

Cleaning seems to be a no brainier. Something falls into the pool? Pull it out. All those small particles? That’s what your pool’s filter system is for.

Here is a gross question. How many days can you go without showering before you feel - dirty? How about brushing your teeth? 1 day? 2 days? 3 days?? If you are active, probably not even a day. If you sit around binge-watching your favorite television stream, probably more. Regardless, at some point, you feel dirty - but you may not necessarily look like it.

Pool surfaces get dirty even though they might not appear so. The pool is always there, especially when it’s outdoors, collecting biofilms. These invisible biofilms eventually accumulate, and the accumulated biofilms harbor growth. The growth on the surfaces leads to a variety of issues - from under sanitized water, cloudy water, or the proliferation of visible algae. The solution is brushing!

Many pools, because they are next to sandy areas or trees, need to be vacuumed to remove physical debris. These pools tend to have fewer issues, despite the matter being deposited to the pool, because the walls are being brushed while vacuuming. If you are fortunate to not have to deal with bringing out a vacuum cleaner for your pool, the walls should be brushed down at least once a week to lift up biofilms.

Water Balance

Maintaining certain factors is critical for the short-term comfort of the pool water and vital in the long-term operation of a pool.

The water balance factors shown below are the most important numerical statistics outside of the levels of chlorine (or another sanitizer). These factors can make water soft or hard, soothing or irritable. These factors will also determine if the pool is prime for failure over time or make it tops for longevity.

The success to maintaining is testing the pool water with regularity. Resort Spa Services in Rutland, Vermont can provide an in-depth analysis of pool water along with accurate dosing information. People who like to do it themselves have several water testing options available as well.

The ideal water testing ranges are:

Chlorine or Bromine
1-3 ppm 3-5 ppm

pH
7.2 - 7.6

Total Alkalinity
80-120 ppm

Calcium Hardness

200 - 400 ppm

Metals
0 ppm

Water Treatment

sanitization

Recreational water must be treated with a disinfectant (sometimes referred to as sanitizer). If no disinfectant is applied to water, bacteria, algae, and organic wastes can build up in pool water. The result is water will quickly become cloudy and uncomfortable with an unpleasant odor.

Chlorine and Bromine compounds have been effectively used for decades to ensure the safety and comfort of pool water. Resort Spa offers many options for regular chlorination or bromination, stop by and we can help you decide which disinfectant is best for you!

Options for Sanitizing Pool Water
ProTeam High Tech Tabs

ProTeam Pure Tabs

ProTeam Zip Chlor

ProTeam Brominating Tabs

Maintaining a Sanitizer
Chlorine
1-3 ppm

Bromine
3-5 ppm

If using chlorine as your disinfectant, then adding a Chlorine Stabilizer like UV Shield to help chlorine from escaping your pool. Add this product once or be prepared to add lots of chlorine!

algaecide

The main culprit any person who operates or owns a pool will tell you that they must avoid is algae. Once algae are visibly present, its removal from the pool can be timely and costly.

ProTeam Supreme has been a safe and successful algae treatment and water harmonizer for more than 30 years. Long-lasting results and a single application make it a preferred choice for pool pros. Simply apply an initial dose at any time during the season and you are done! Re-treatments are not needed until way down the road!

For extra protection to your pool or in lieu of using ProTeam Supreme, our liquid ProTeam Algaecides. will help to keep any pool algae free. These products require regular additions and are compatible with all other water care products.

ProTeam Prevent

ProTeam Polyquat 60

Shock Oxidizers

If you read this far - holey smokes! Pools have a lot going on! On top of all these previously mentioned biofilm, algae, and microscopic particles, water collects the junk that comes off our bodies like body oils, cosmetics, suntan lotion, and other swimmer wastes. The build-up of all these contaminants will make the water cloudy and give off unpleasant odors.

Disinfectants help to remove some of this bad stuff from the pool. Eventually, there will be too many of these contaminants in the water and they must be scoured or "shocked" out of the pool.

ProTeam offers a variety of products to remove these contaminants and leave your water sparkling clear and comfortable. Here at Resort Spa Services we can help you decide which one is best.

ProTeam Power-73

ProTeam Shock & Swim

ProTeam Quick Shock