1. Waiting until after a rainstorm to add chlorine/balancing chemicals. While we do not recommend doing anything with your pool in the middle of a rainstorm, we definitely don’t want you to wait until after it rains to add chemicals. If it’s going to rain later in the day after your analysis or later in the week, do not wait. Go ahead and add them before the rain. The digital water analysis accounts for any weather so the recommended chemicals we have you add to your pool will actually take you to the high end of the ideal range. That means, even if it rains, you’ll still be in a good range afterward. Make sense? If you don’t add the chemicals and you already have low chlorine before a rainstorm and you don’t remedy that immediately, the rain can make it even worse and potentially contribute to algae growth.
2. Not cleaning your pool filters/changing your sand regularly. It is recommended to chemically clean your cartridges every 3 months or so and rinse them out periodically. It is also recommended to change your sand every 2-3 years. Having clean filters helps prevent clarity and flow issues.
3. Not killing algae before trying to remove it. We often have people who try to vacuum green, black, or mustard algae out of their pool before actually killing it. It may remove some of the algae, but the remaining algae will rebloom. It is recommended to use a three-part algae treatment. 1) Brush and then perform a heavy shock on your pool. 2) Add an appropriate algaecide to the water while letting the pool equipment run continuously. And 3) vacuum your pool within 36-48 hours.
4. Never manually vacuuming. Robotic pool cleaners are great, but they do not eliminate the need to manually vacuum. This is especially true during an algae bloom. Anytime you treat for algae, you will need to manually vacuum the algae after its dead out of your pool. This means either vacuuming to the “waste” option (on sand filters and some cartridges filters) or vacuuming and then chemically cleaning your cartridge filters. There are two reasons why you shouldn’t use your robot. 1) It traps the algae in its filter or bag and keeps it in the pool instead of pulling it up and out. And 2) algae cells that aren’t dead can get trapped inside the cleaner and cause it to rebloom the next time you put the robot back into the water.
5. Not getting your water tested regularly. We always say, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” and we mean it. Getting your water tested at least every 4 weeks the entire year can prevent any issues you may face. And just because you aren’t using your pool doesn’t mean you shouldn’t still keep it balanced. Balancing your water not only increases swimmer comfort, it also helps preserve the life of your pool equipment. If your water falls out of balance it will become acidic. At that point, it will begin to eat away at various components. Any metal pool component will be at risk—screws, pool pump, pool filter, etc. Winter balancing consists of less product than spring and summer balancing does. And, of course, it helps prolong the life of your pool and pool equipment. So remember, at least once a month–every month!
