After months of shoveling and clearing snow, it is finally time in Northeast Ohio and Erie, PA, to start thinking about sitting by your pool and enjoying the warmer longer days. Opening your pool can be quite a task and having a balanced swimming pool takes work. At Litehouse Pools & Spas, we can help you with all of your pool opening needs, so you can sit back and relax and enjoy your pool every day this summer season. It’s really easy, all you have to do is schedule your pool opening today and let us do the work for you.
What is a Balanced Swimming Pool?
Having a balanced swimming pool starts by getting the water’s components right. After being unused and without chemicals for months, a swimming pool’s balance usually isn’t what it should be at the time of opening.
A balanced swimming pool has all five of the basic pool water components within the proper levels:
- Alkalinity: The total alkalinity refers to how much alkaline is in the water. This refers to the buffering capacity of a body of water; a measure of the ability of the water body to neutralize acids and bases and maintain a fairly stable pH level. Alkalinity goes hand and hand with the pH balance of your pool. A pool is recommended to have an alkalinity level between 80 and 120 ppm.
- pH: pH is a measure of how acidic and/or basic water is. The range goes from 0 to 14, with 7 being neutral. pHs of less than 7 indicate acidity, whereas a pH of greater than 7 indicates a base. The pH of water is a very important measurement concerning water quality. It is recommended that a properly balanced pool has a pH level between 7.2 and 7.8.
- Calcium Hardness: Calcium hardness is the measure of how hard or soft your pool water is, and measures the amount of dissolved calcium and magnesium in your swimming pool. Current industry standards call for maintaining calcium hardness in the ideal range of 200 to 400 ppm in pools.
- Stabilizer: Pool stabilizer is sometimes called pool conditioner, chlorine pool stabilizer, or chlorine stabilizer. Stabilizer is used to stabilize the chlorine in your pool to help it last longer. Chlorine can evaporate from UV rays and a stabilizer helps your pool maintain the proper amount of chlorine. The normal stabilizer range is between 40 and 100 ppm.
- Total Dissolved Solids: The total dissolved solids (TDS) is the measure of all the substances dissolved in your pool water. When pool water evaporates, minerals get left behind and become concentrated. Swimming pools should have a maximum TDS value of around 1,500 to 2,000 ppm.
You can test your pool water with water testing kits to ensure the water is within the proper levels and that your pool is balanced.
Schedule Your Pool Opening
When it comes to pool opening time, the only job you should have to do is contacting Litehouse Pools & Spas to handle your pool opening for you. At Litehouse Pools & Spas we offer different pool opening packages to fit your needs. Our packages may include:
- Removing all plugs, gizmos, and antifreeze jugs
- Installing skimmer baskets & return eyeballs
- Reconnecting and start-up of filter system
- Filling chemical feeder (customer supplied or extra charge)
- Reconnecting light and starting pool heater
- Checking for leaks on filter
- Adding all opening chemicals (included)
- Clean up around pool area
- Removing, cleaning, inspecting and folding cover
- Hosing off decking around pool area
- Installing handrails & ladders
- Brushing down pool walls
- Cleaning coping, skimmer, cover and inside/outside of skimmers
- Cleaning step area
- Putting solar cover on reel and placing by pool
- And more…
You should select the pool opening package that is right for you and your swimming pool so you can just sit back, relax, and enjoy the water without having to worry about dealing with the opening balancing act.
What are you waiting for? Schedule your pool opening today.