How did you fare with Hurricane Irma?
Earlier this week Irma blew through the Tampa Bay area leaving many in our area without power and some with significant damage to their homes and pool screen enclosures.
If you are one of the fortunate ones who has power and no significant damage to your home, you're probably in clean-up mode, and that includes cleaning up your pool.
Tampa Swimming Pool Filtering
Under normal circumstances, filtering your Tampa swimming pool is very important. Proper pool maintenance with a well-functioning filter system will keep your pool looking beautiful for years. But after a major storm, filtering your pool water is even more important as there is even more dirt and debris in a pool than normal.
Failing to correctly maintain your pool creates a dirty mess and an expensive clean up. It's much easier and less expensive to maintain your pool through good filtering than to correct a problem with chemicals. So, good pool maintenance will save you both time and money!
Pool Filtering Saves Mondy!
Pool filtering saves water and chlorine. Leaves and other things that fall into your pool have an effect on the chemical balance as those things break down and decompose. You will use less chlorine if the filter traps most of the organic and inorganic matter in your pool. Reducing the chlorine also reduces the need to add in fresh water. The equation is simple: less chlorine + less water = less money.
How Long Should I Filter My Pool?
The pool’s filtration system should run long enough to clean the pool water. Variables such as the size of the pool and pool pump, whether the pool has a screen enclosure, the number of people swimming in the pool, and the amount of rain and leaves entering the pool all factor into the length of time the filtration system should be run each day. You can run calculations of the pool volume divided by the flow rate of the pump times times the number of times you want the water cycled per day. A good rule of thumb is to run the filtration system for 6-8 hours per day. If the pool is screened or doesn't get a lot of use, opt towards the low end of that range. If the pool is open, gets a lot of leaves in it or gets a lot of use, opt towards the high end of that range.
Proper Chemical Balance is Important
In addition to running the filtration system, it's also important for the pool water to have the correct chemical balance. Organic debris, rain water, evaporation and chemicals in hair and makeup will alter the chemical levels. Even with filtering, these items can stain your pool. Therefore, it's important to test your water regularly. Many pool supply stores will even test your pool for free and tell you exactly what products to add to gain the proper balance.
The combination of a properly running the filter system and proper chemical balance, will make your pool a healthy and refreshing source of recreation for years to come.
If you are considering building or remodeling a Tampa swimming pool, contact us at Grand Vista Pools today!
