Absolutely!
We get it. School started back up and it’s getting cooler out and no one has used the pool in a few weeks. We know that it may be tempting to stop adding chemicals or cleaning your pool when no one is swimming in the pool anymore, but here’s why that can be a problem.
Autumn Heat Waves Happen
We live in New England. Our weather can be a little unpredictable. In the past few years, we’ve had some unusually warm weeks in September. Depending on the amount and type of chemicals needed, it can take a day or two of adding chemicals in the correct order to get all the levels back up to where they need to be and safe for swimming. If you haven’t been treating your pool, it’s possible you won’t be able to take advantage of the last few warm days before closing the pool up for the season.
Balancing your pool is not only for swimmer comfort
Balancing your pH, Total Alkalinity, and Calcium Hardness, among others, IS absolutely important concerning swimmer safety and comfort. It is also just as important for your pool equipment. Water is the universal solvent. If it doesn’t have the minerals that it needs, it will find what it needs from your equipment and will erode away the gaskets, seals, pump, heater, etc. On the other hand, if your calcium and pH are too high, it will cause significant scaling. Think of your pool water as the Tasmanian devil. If it is hungry (low pH, calcium) and you don’t feed it, it will eat everything it finds (corrosion). If he eats too much, (high pH, calcium) he’s going to spit it out (scaling). Scaling is an especially large problem in saltwater pools or pools with a heater. If scale builds up on the plates inside of your salt cell, it will not generate as much chlorine and will need to work harder, potentially prematurely burning out the cell. Calcium is less soluble in hot water. This will cause more scaling in heated pools, and inside of the heater, damage the heat exchanger.
You will also need to balance your pool before closing to ensure that your pool is protected and opens as clean as possible in the spring. If you close your pool unbalanced, dirty, or green, it will open even worse.
Swimming pools are a fun and invaluable way to spend summers with your family, but they are not cheap. We are here to help you protect your investment, for many more summers with your loved ones.
