Spring is finally here, and it’s time to start thinking about opening your pool.  There are some steps you can take to make this a smooth process, to start off a successful swimming season.  With the warmer weather coming, it will be important to open your pool before the temperature heats up too much as there is a greater chance of algae growth in warmer water.  Algae begins to grow around 40°F (5° C), so it is important to open the pool and treat with chlorine as soon as possible.

You’ll have to shock your pool when opening for the first time of the season by following the directions relative to the size of your pool and how many gallons of water it holds. You will need to shock your pool, add chlorine and test the pH and alkalinity before you had any other chemicals.  There are three different types of chlorine forms to use; granules, tablets and liquid. 

Chlorine granules are added to the pool like shock by sprinkling around the pool.  Granules are safe to use with the vinyl liners, dissolve quickly and usually have a pH level near seven which is in between liquid and tablets.  Chlorine tablets are ideal to use in chlorinators which should not be placed in a skimmer basket as that may contribute to equipment erosion. Tablets come with a lower pH of around three, so you may have to use pH increaser when you use chlorine tablets.  Liquid chlorine is similar to bleach although it is 4 to 6 times more potent and has a higher level of pH than tablets or granules, closer to 13.   You can pour liquid chlorine directly into the deep end of your pool wearing eye protection and clothes you wouldn’t mind getting a bleach stain on. 

While some home test kits will give you very accurate readings on these levels, a professional water analysis will provide so much more, and could reveal a water condition that may be unhealthy. 

The Swimming Pool Store offers sophisticated water analysis with our LaMotte WaterLink® Spin Lab, providing fast and accurate results.  It is very important to get your water balanced quickly after opening as improperly balanced pool water can lead to cloudiness in the water or may cause damage to your equipment.  Pool water that is not properly balanced and maintained could also create a situation where the chlorine is less effective and may lead to a greenish color of your pool water.

Your FREE water analysis from The Swimming Pool Store includes accurate readings on the following:

 Free and Total Chlorine (Bromine is checked for spas)

  • pH and Total Alkalinity
  • Cyanuric Acid
  • Calcium Hardness
  • Iron and Copper
  • Phosphate, Manganese and other critical readings
  • Salt (for salt water chlorine generator pools)

Leave the worry to The Swimming Pool Store by scheduling your pool opening today. Contact us today to learn about our professional and friendly pool opening services and how you can save on your start up chemicals.