November 2011
-
Changing Your Hot Tub Water in 4 Simple Steps
-
How to Choose the Right In-ground Pool for You
in Maintenance
Subscribe to POOLlife Now!
Sign up today to get the latest pool articles, recipes and promotions sent straight to your inbox each month.
or
Find a Dealer
Find out where to buy our pool or spa care products near you.
Ask a Pool Pro
Do you have a pool care question? Submit your questions and each month we'll pick one to answer on our blog.
For immediate response, please call our Customer Care Center (800) 222-2348
Related Articles
Pool owners who stick to routine water testing schedules can rest easy this summer: Regularly testing your pool water can result in significant cost savings and decreased health risks for pool users all season long. Plus, adds Paul Kurke, training manager for Arch Chemicals, “testing water is easy and takes almost no time.”
Water Testing Basics
Before you can reap the financial and health benefits of a regular water testing schedule, first understand what you should be checking. Test for the appropriate levels of:
- pH–the measure of how acidic or basic your pool water is, measured on a scale of zero (most acidic) to 14 (most basic). Find recommended pH guidelines here.
- Sanitizer–kills bacteria, controls algae and destroys organic contaminants. Find recommended parameters here.
- Oxidizer–destroys soluble organic contaminants and assists in the maintenance of sparkling water.
- Total Alkalinity–quantity of alkaline materials dissolved in pool water, which helps control pH change. Find recommended guidelines here.
To learn more about these levels, read Water Testing 101.
Test strips, which allow you to read your pool’s chemical levels, are essential to a regular testing schedule, Kurke says. These strips come in packs of 50, sell for around $10 and can last an entire season. Dip the strips 12 to 18 inches below the water’s surface and leave them in the water for only one to two seconds.
Wait for the color to develop on the strip, which usually takes 15 seconds. Read results in bright light–not direct sunlight. “It’s best if the same person tests the water because it ensures consistency in color match,” he adds. “And test the water away from return inlets.”
For new pools and hot tubs, Kurke suggests testing every day for about two weeks. After the water stabilizes, pool owners should test three to four times per week throughout the season. Hot tub owners will need to test more frequently because of the higher water temperatures, which can result in more dramatic chemical changes. Kruke recommends testing hot tub water each time you plan to use it. Read “The Ins and Outs of Treating Hot Tub Water” for more on the differences in treating hot tub water.
To further safeguard your pool, Kurke suggests taking a sizable water sample (between a pint and a quart) to your pool dealer at least three times a season for a full range of chemical testing, as listed in the testing chart in “Water Testing 101.”
Regular Water Testing Means Cost Savings
Detecting early changes in chemical levels can result in a significant cost savings for both pool and hot tub owners.
An imbalanced pool or hot tub can lead to corrosion, scale formation and staining if levels are untreated. Expensive pool equipment–including heat exchangers, filters and ladders–can all incur damage if there is an imbalance.
“Corrosive water actually dissolves some of the metal off of equipment, which can be re-deposited on the walls and floors of the pool or hot tub,” Kurke says. Fixing such problems can range anywhere from $100 to $2,000, depending on the size and scope of the damage. An item such as a heat exchanger may cost anywhere from $1,500 to $2,000 to repair, while service calls and stain removal could quickly add up to hundreds of dollars.
In addition, it’s more cost-effective to regularly maintain your pool or hot tub, as water that is neglected can lead to unnecessary expenses from the extra chemicals needed to restore it to a clean condition.
Regular Water Testing Means Health Benefits
By sticking to a regular testing and maintenance schedule, you’ll ensure your friends and family stay safe and healthy while using your pool or hot tub. And when it comes to health and safety, no chemical is more important to maintain than sanitizer. “Chlorine based products such as the POOLIFE® and chlorine-free products such as the BAQUACIL® brand are very effective at controlling and killing bacteria–and it doesn’t take much to get the job done,” Kurke says.
Maintaining sanitizer levels at 1–4 ppm for chlorine pools and 40–50 ppm for chlorine-free pools (BAQUACIL®)–plus adding oxidizer each week–eliminates many health risks. Proper pH levels–between 7.2 and 7.6–can eliminate other potential health risks, as improperly maintained pH can cause dry, itchy skin and eye irritation, Kurke says.
By simply sticking to a regular testing schedule, you can prevent problems–both from an economic and a health standpoint–before they occur.
