Don’t fall behind on your regular Endless Pool maintenance visits! Read below to find out why getting your bi-yearly Endless Pool Checkup service might be just as important as making a trip to the dentist.
1. You’ll be at higher risk for health issues.
Neglecting your regular Endless Pool maintenance visits could cause your pool water to become out of balance. When one of the chemical levels begins to creep out of range – even slightly – it can affect all other chemicals’ effectiveness and how they react to one another. For example:
With a pH level of 6.0, your chlorine will be highly effective with 97% of your chlorine available to kill bacteria and algae. However, at 6.0 your pool water would be extremely acidic and unsafe to swim in.
*At this point you would need to raise your pH with pH+ (soda ash)
As the pH reaches 7.4-7.6 the chlorine’s effectiveness is around 50% and is ideal, where it can safely and effectively kill germs and bacteria while still being safe for swimming.
*At this point your Ph is stable, at this stage to prevent pH bounce you must maintain your Alkalinity level within the ideal range of 80-100
As we move to the other extreme, if your pH is at 8.5 only 9% of your chlorine will be available to kill bacteria and algae. This is also where chlorine combines with contaminants, creating chloramines that give your water a foul odor and make it cloudy.
*At this point you would need to reduce your Ph by adding pH- or muriatic acid.
Chlorine Effectiveness at Varying pH Levels
Skin issues associated with improper Endless Pool maintenance
High or low pH levels can cause your skin to get irritated. This can lead to a burning sensation causing a rash. This is often referred to as a chlorine rash.
Respiratory problems and disease
High chlorine levels or the formation of chloramine levels can cause breathing problems within minutes of exposure. Oxidation occurs at the water’s surface right around where your nose and mouth linger. With prolonged exposure to these chemicals at high levels it can cause extreme discomfort. Breathing in high levels of chlorine causes fluid build-up in the lungs, a condition known as pulmonary edema. The development of pulmonary edema may be delayed for several hours after exposure to chlorine and is extremely dangerous. E. coli, Norovirus, and Crypto can also be found in improperly sanitized pools.
Eye irritation
Both pH and chlorine levels also can affect your eyes. The pH of the human eye is 7.5, so when your pool’s water chemistry becomes unbalanced it can cause your eyes to excessively tear, become itchy, and in rare cases can cause a decrease in vision or cataracts.
2. You’ll experience corrosion of your pool, equipment, and other items in the pool room.
Without proper Endless Pool maintenance, you’ll be subjecting your pool, liner, equipment (pool pumps, hydraulic motor, and heater), and air handling equipment in your pool room to unnecessary stress.
Deterioration of your liner & equipment
When the pH of your pool water is high it creates scale-forming conditions in the water. Scaling is the formation of chemical deposits that restricts water flow through pipes and equipment.
Having a low pH or high chlorine level will corrode metal surfaces and pool accessories such as seating, railings, light fixtures, and any metals in your pumps causing leaks and equipment malfunction. Low pH or high chlorine levels also has damaging effects on your liner causing it to bleach out the pattern and reducing its elasticity.
Filter plastics and elements rapidly become brittle and the inside of your heater suffers the quickest, stripping your heat exchanger. This will also result in releasing metals into your pool, causing staining on your skin, clothes, and your pool surfaces.
Unbalanced water chemistry will drastically shorten your pool’s life and lead to costly repairs.
Corrosion of other mechanical and HVAC equipment
Chlorine is used in pools and other chlorinated aquatic venues to kill germs, but when it binds to the body waste that swimmers bring into pools (for example, sweat and urine) it can form chemicals called chloramines.
Chloramines in the water irritate the skin, eyes, and respiratory tract (including the nose) when they off-gas from the water and into the air, particularly indoors.
Additionally, chloramines can also contribute to the corrosion of metals in and around the pool as well as air handling and ventilation systems.
3. You’ll have recurring water clarity issues.
Maintaining proper water chemistry in your Endless Pool not only makes your pool healthier to swim in, it also keeps the water looking great – sparkling and crystal clear.
Circulation issues, cloudiness, and algae growth
Maintaining proper circulation isn’t just as simple as keeping your pool filled up. Do you ever wonder where all your water’s contaminants end up? In your filter!
Cleaning your filter cartridge needs to be a routine at least once every two weeks for avid swimmers (you cannot over-clean your filter). Though cleaning your filter cartridge regularly is greatly beneficial for you and the overall health of your pool, we do recommend replacing it with your mineral sanitizer twice per year.
A dirty filter puts unnecessary strain and back pressure on your equipment and can result in premature equipment failure or malfunction.
Brushing your pool regularly will also help promote a healthy swimming environment, by brushing the pool you help mix up water helping your filter collect debris, and it also prevents any organic matter from accumulating on the walls, benches, or floor that can form algae.
4. You’ll spend money unnecessarily.
- To correct chemical balancing issues or cloudiness issues we need to adjust unbalanced chemical levels and circulate the pool until the desired balance is reached or, in extreme cases, possibly drain the pool!
- To remove chloramines, we need to:
- Calculate the level of combined chlorine.
- Close the pool to swimmers.
- Super chlorinate to off-gas chloramines from the water.
- Keep the swimming area well-ventilated, because super chlorination (also known as “breakpoint chlorination”) causes off-gassing of the chloramines and creates nitrogen gas.
- Raise the free chlorine level to 10 times the combined chlorine level then bring the free chlorine level back down to the required operating range.
- If any equipment has been compromised, we would need to repair or replace it, and, depending on our stock levels, we may need to special order the part. This takes time and keeps you out of your pool.
- Some of these health issues may be as serious as requiring a visit to your doctor!
- Some of these parts can cost upwards of $500!
So how can we help maintain your Endless Pool?
With our proactive bi-annual Endless Pool maintenance service we call the Endless Pool Checkup.
Having the expert pool service technicians at Romanelli & Son Pool Service check your water chemistry, inspect your pool, and take the necessary corrective actions will make your pool last longer. We can also offer you tips and tricks to improve your overall swimming and bathing experience.
How do you get your pool to last a lifetime? Proper Endless Pool maintenance!
Unsure how to clean your filter? We can show you.
Unsure how much of each chemical to add? We can tell you.
While we are on-site our knowledgeable staff will educate and demonstrate anything you wish to know, because prevention is much cheaper than correction!
Schedule your Endless Pool Checkup service today! Just click the button below and fill out a short form letting us know your availability.
