May is Water Safety Month

May is Water Safety Month

May is Water Safety Month: Contact T and K Pools for Water Maintenance in Sioux Falls, SD

As the temperature rises, it's crucial to maintain the right balance of pool chemicals to ensure your pool stays clean and sanitized. Here are some essential tips for managing pool chemicals in warmer weather: 

Run the pump more 


Run the pump daily from sunrise to sunset to keep the water circulating and filtered. To make it more efficient, you can run the pump during heat waves during cooler hours, like early morning or late evening. It would help if you also cleaned or backwashed the filter more often.

Shock the pool


Shock the pool weekly to every two weeks to eliminate algae and break down chloramines. In especially hot months, when the water temperature is above 85°F, you might need to shock the pool more often or add extra sanitizers. You can also add a maintenance dose of algaecide every other week.

Use a chlorine stabilizer.

A stabilizer, also called cyanuric acid, can help prevent the sun from breaking down chlorine and make it more effective. You can buy a stabilizer by itself or buy stabilized chlorine, which has already been added to the stabilizer. However, too much stabilizer can make the chlorine less effective.

Test the water 


Test the water's chlorine, pH, cyanuric acid, salt level, total alkalinity, and calcium hardness at least weekly. Chlorine levels should be between 2.0 and 4.0 parts per million (ppm), pH between 7.2 and 7.6, and total alkalinity between 80 and 100 for calcium hypochlorite, salt, and liquid chlorine pools.

Practice good hygiene

Encourage swimmers to shower before entering the pool to prevent contaminants like body oils and sunscreen from promoting bacterial growth.