Pool Maintenance

Pool owners who have installed solar pool blankets often will tell you about the wisdom of their decision. Here are some of the benefits of solar pool blankets they will mention.

Your have a warmer pool… and a longer swimming season!

One of the initial comments you will hear is around how these blankets will allow sunlight to pass through the cover to heat your pool.  You can think of this as basic type of magnifying glass. Water temperatures can increase by up to 7 degrees celcius. This can provide longer swimming season and lower energy cost if you have other pool heating systems. However they also act as a thermal blanket and will retain the heat inside your pool.

The swimming pool is cleaner

Okay so we know there is a heating benefit about another benefit is keeping the pool cleaner. Pool solar blankets keep the majority of dirt and leaves out of your pool. This makes it easier to keep sparkling clean all year round.

The flow on benefit from this is that you will be have more spare time as you are not spending time cleaning your pool!

You will also save on pool maintenance costs. Cleaner pools need less maintenance and therefore fewer chemicals treatments to keep it clean. Not only is that good for your hip pocket but also the environment.

By keeping your pool cleaner pool solar blankets also mean you will save hours and hours of time that you would have spent previously cleaning your pool.

Lower heating costs

Now we all know about the rising cost of energy. Another benefit you will hear is how heating costs can be lowered. These can be significant in some areas as the solar pool blanket acts like a magnifying glass and then traps that heat in. Thus making it affordable. Now, while they may need replacing regularly, you will find that the saving out weigh the cost. Like always there are different price points and generally speaking the higher the price the better the quality.

Reduce the amount of evaporation

The pool solar blanket is an effective barrier between the air and water in the pool. As such it can reduce evaporation which can account for up to 70% of pool heat loss. Once again, savings on water and energy follow.

With the cold weather now set in, here are 7 winter pool maintenance tips that will keep your pool in good condition.

With the cold weather now set in and the fun of the pool over the summer now a dim memory, it is important that you properly care for your pool. Some consider turning off pumps and not thinking about their pool for at least 5 months! This is not a great idea and may prove more costly than you first think. Here are seven helpful winter pool maintenance tips.

        1.   Check the chlorine and pH levels every two weeks

The pool’s pH level needs to be between 7.2 and 7.6, which you can easily check by taking a water sample from elbow deep and adding the appropriate treatment to bring the pool to the correct level.

To keep your pool clean and clear, it’s important to maintain your pool’s free available chlorine at a constant level of 2-3 parts per million (PPM) throughout winter. If you’re using a salt chlorinator and a pool blanket, remember to reduce the output of the chlorinator to 1-2 PPM, as pool blankets trap chemicals and chlorine, and can cause high chlorine levels to occur – potentially damaging pool equipment if not monitored carefully.

        2.  Cover the pool completely

Roll out the pool cover when you’re not using the pool to help keep leaves and other organic material out of the water. This means less cleaning for you and less food for algae and bugs to feed on – win, win! Pool covers and blankets also help minimise chemical evaporation – saving you time and money.

        3.  Clean the skimmer box and filter regularly

Regular check on the skimmer box and filter. Empty the skimmer basket when full. Ensure that the pool’s filter is cleaned, as any grease or oil deposits will harden over winter. This can make the filter even harder to clean when the weather warms up.

        4.  Turn Pool lights on each week

Turn the pool lights on for at least 30 minutes a week to prevent build-up of moisture within the light and wiring

      5.   Reduce filter-running times

The pool’s filter should operate three to four hours each day during winter. If you’re using a timer, adjust it to suit. You can save money by switching the filter on during off-peak periods.

        6.  Check water levels

As part of your pool maintenance schedule make sure you occasionally check the water level is half way up the skimmer box opening.

        7. Remove algae as soon as you see it

When there is an algal bloom, most of the sanitiser in your pool is used trying to control and kill the algae, leaving no residual to keep pool water clean and healthy.

A small amount of work over winter will save a lot of work when the warmer months start to appear.

Top 5 tips on power saving

The cheapest option is to do it yourself by ‘hand vacuuming’. The ‘vacuum’ is attached to your skimmer box to create suction and then you manually push the vacuum around the surfaces of your pool with a pole. Typically, this will take between an hour and an hour and a half, and you’ll need to do it once a week.

Employ a pool cleaner

If you prefer to leave the gunk-scooping to someone else, there are plenty of pool-cleaning services around. They’ll also check everything’s operating correctly and do required maintenance. A regular visit may cost around $55 or more. One-off call-outs will be more expensive. sdsdsds

Buy a mechanical pool cleaner

A Kreepy Krauly is a brand of suction pool cleaner, but these days the name ‘creepy crawly’ is often used to describe products in this segment of the market. They’re the cheapest and one of the more popular automatic cleaners. A more expensive type is the pressure cleaner, and more expensive again are the robot cleaners.

Employ a pool cleaner

If you prefer to leave the gunk-scooping to someone else, there are plenty of pool-cleaning services around. They’ll also check everything’s operating correctly and do required maintenance. A regular visit may cost around $55 or more. One-off call-outs will be more expensive. sdsdsds

Employ a pool cleaner

If you prefer to leave the gunk-scooping to someone else, there are plenty of pool-cleaning services around. They’ll also check everything’s operating correctly and do required maintenance. A regular visit may cost around $55 or more. One-off call-outs will be more expensive. sdsdsds

Employ a pool cleaner

If you prefer to leave the gunk-scooping to someone else, there are plenty of pool-cleaning services around. They’ll also check everything’s operating correctly and do required maintenance. A regular visit may cost around $55 or more. One-off call-outs will be more expensive. sdsdsds