Rain.. Rain.. Go Away!
Hi Guys!
I truly hope this email finds you well and enjoying our winter showers.
A very common question that I receive goes something like…“Does rain water do anything to my swimming pool?”
Actually, that’s a pretty good question.
Before I address that head on, I need to take a quick moment and discuss the dynamics of water…
I promise I’ll do my best not to put you to sleep with this pretty boring topic…
Your water is constantly changing. Anything and everything directly and indirectly affects water balance – from sunlight, wind and rain to the oil, dirt and cosmetics which may enter the water.
Continuous filtration and disinfection remove contaminants which keep the water enjoyable, but this is not water balance. We typically define a pool that is ‘balanced’ by having proper levels of pH, Total Alkalinity and Calcium Hardness.
One may also define ‘balanced water’ as water that is neither corrosive or scaling. This concept is derived from the fact that water will dissolve and ‘hold’ minerals until it becomes saturated and cannot hold any more water in solution.
‘Scaling Condition’
When water is considerably less than saturated it is said to be in a corrosive or aggressive condition. When water is over saturated, and can no longer hold the minerals in solution; this is known as a scaling condition. So then, balanced water is that which is neither over or under saturated.
Water which is under saturated will attempt to saturate itself by dissolving everything in contact with it in order to build up its content. Water which is over saturated will attempt to throw off some of its content by precipitating minerals out of solution in the form of scale.
How do we know when our water is over or under saturated?
I was starting to wonder if you’d ever ask!!
After any good rain (one that’s measurable), I would recommend
testing the following items…
1. pH.. test kit or strips should read between 7.2 and 7.8
2. Alkalinity.. should read between 80 and 120 ppm*
3. Calcium Hardness.. should read between 250 and 500ppm* (Here in Phoenix tht’s very difficult to find!)
*ppm– parts per million
Most standard test kits will painlessly test these very important variables. If you don’t have one and you’re looking to pick one up, I would highly recommend grabbing a Taylor Test Kit OR a bottle of simple Test Strips. The kit is a a bit on the pricey side, but it will last for years…
I hope this email helps you out a bit in better understanding the characteristics of water and what to do after a good rain…If you haven’t recently gotten on our website and checked out our new blog page where you’ll find all kinds of interesting information about your pool and spa.. I would highly recommend ‘clicking’ over to…
www.RunawayBayPoolandSpa.com and check us out.
It’s full of juicy tips, tricks and tales that will have you saving TONS OF TIME AND MONEY on your swimming pool.
(Don’t forget to do some browsing thru our online pool store too! )
