BioGuard Premium Once-A-Week Pool Care System: Let’s Make It Even Simpler!

Posted on by
Reply

If you have read our article on How to Care for Your Pool with the BioGuard 3 Step Care System, you know how easy pool care can be with BioGuard’s 3 step program. But, what if we said that we can make it even easier and get better results. The three steps remain the same, however, the chemicals are slightly different.

  1. SANITIZE and control bacteria with Silk Smart Sticks®.
  2. SHOCK and destroy contaminants with Smart Shock®.
  3. USE ALGICIDE and stop algae before it starts with Back Up®.

Ideally, a 5,000 gallon or larger above or in-ground pool is needed for this Once-A-Week-3-Step Care System. As before, the pool must have good water flow through the skimmer and a pump that circulates between 10-12 hours a day.

The main difference between the BioGuard 3 Step Care System and the Once-A-Week Care System is the Silk Smart Sticks®.

What makes Silk Smart Sticks® stand out is their specially designed slow dissolving formula which significantly slows the dissolving process when the pump is not running making them last up to twice as long as most other sticks. Silk Smart Sticks® are, however, not good for use in chlorinators or filters.

Pair the Once-A-Week 3-Step or 3-Step Care System with Optimizer  Plus® and further enhance your quality of water by suppressing unwanted algae. Optimizer  Plus®  works great in chlorinated, brominated or biguanide pools in order to suppress algae growth right from the start AND makes water softer as well as increases water clarity.

 

Basic Swimming Pool Chemistry – Chemicals In Detail

Posted on by
Reply

Various chemicals are used in your swimming pool that you have used before and heard of before, but never truly known what the chemical is all about. Here’s your chance to get close and personal with some of these chemicals u deal with everyday!

1)  pH Control: pH stands for Potential Hydrogen (who’d have thunk it?). pH is the measure of the acidity or alkalinity of your swimming pool water. The ideal pH level of your swimming pool is between 7.3 – 7.8. If the pH level of your swimming pool water is higher than 7.8 the water will be cloudy and will result in scale buildup, filtration problems, deposits in the water and a decreased efficiency of the chlorine. On the other hand, if the pH level falls below 7.2, this will lead to the corrosion of metallic pipes and rapid loss of chlorine residual which may lead to irritation to the swimmers. Use increasers or decreasers as need be to keep your pH level in control. Click here to find the best increasers or decreasers for your pool.

2) Calcium hardness:  Calcium hardness refers to the amount of calcium that has dissolved in your swimming pool water.  The ideal amount of calcium dissolved in your swimming pool is between 100 – 500 PPM. A PPM above 500 will cause the water to become cloudy and a low PPM will result in corrosion to your swimming pool equipment and pipes. Add a rust and scale remover to prevent cloudy water and add water hardness increaser to correct a low water calcium level. We recommend a bottle of Applied Bio Staintrine.

3) Chlorine: The most often heard about chemicals when talking about swimming pools is chlorine. While this is the most widely used chemical in swimming pools, it is not the only one! Nor is chlorine chemistry as easy as saying the word ‘chlorine’! Most obviously chlorine is a disinfectant. But it has to be used in the proper way with the proper desired quantity so that it works efficiently while at the same time not causing irritation to the swimmer.

The most common form of chlorine that is used in swimming pools is calcium hypochlorite which contains 70% chlorine. the desired free released chlorine level of your swimming pool water is between 1 and 2 ppm.  If all the above factors, total alkalinity, pH level and calcium hardness are in their respective desired zones, you will have to worry less about disease and extra cost in the long run. So one may now ask what this word ppm we keep coming across is. Ppm simply stands for parts per million.

The way that chlorine is consumed in the swimming pool also depends on various variables:

  • Chlorine dissolves fasters in warm water than in cold water
  • Sunlight causes an increase in the rate of chlorine consumption
  • Presence of bacteria and debris also increases the amount of chlorine consumed. Even if a pool looks sparkling clean, the swimming pool water does contain bacteria that enter the pool on bathers’ skin.

It now seems obvious why more chlorine is added on hotter days than on cooler days doesn’t it!

How to use chlorine in your swimming pool water:

Chlorine is added to the swimming pool water by the means of a chemical feeder or dispensing tablet.  NEVER MIX CHLORINE WITH ANY OTHER CHEMICALS!!

There are various different forms that you will hear the word chlorine in. following is a simple summary:

Total chlorine: The sum of the amount of free chlorine and combined chlorine.

Free chlorine: The active chlorine that actually kills the germs and bacteria in your swimming pool and keeps it clean.

Chlorine: The most commonly used chemical to kill bacteria in your swimming pool.

Chlorine demand: All the alien materials in your swimming pool that use up the chlorine – algae, debris, bacteria.

Chlorine residual: This is the amount of chlorine that is left in your swimming pool after the chlorine demand has been fulfilled.

Chloramines: chlorine after impurities have been oxidized. This form of chlorine does not help in disinfecting your swimming pool water.

4) Algae: Algae are the small plants that grow on the walls and floor of your swimming pool. Algae causes the walls and floor to become grimy which in turn makes the water cloudy and increases the pH of your swimming pool water. that is why it is extremely important to check your swimming pool water very often, at least once a day so that the pH level can be corrected right away by using the appropriate increasers, decreasers or kits. Algae grows best on very hot days. This is due to the fact that more chlorine is consumed on hotter days and sunlight is always good for any living things! So it is even more important to check your swimming pool water on hotter days with the appropriate kits.  If you already have a problem with algae, then there are 2 options available to you.

  1. Use shock treatment: shock treatment is adding 5 – 10 times the amount of normal chlorine which in turn shocks the water and helps kill bacteria and algae
  2. Use algaecides.

Getting friendly with your swimming pool chemicals is essential along with sticking to a daily and weekly maintenance schedule to keep your swimming pool water pristine clean.

Feel free to check out our ‘Recommended Daily and Weekly Maintenance Schedule‘.  And come on over to PoolProducts4Less.com for great products, best prices, and awesome deals!

 

5 Easy Pointers To Keep Your Swimming Pool Clean (It’s not always about chemicals!)

Posted on by
Reply

Proper swimming pool care is essential to provide a illness-free enjoyable swim in the pool along with giving a long life to your swimming pool and its equipment. Luckily, keeping your swimming pool clean takes less than one hour every week!

1.      Water chemistry: keeping the water chemical level at the desired range is essential to keep your swimming pool clean and healthy.

  • Maintain a good water chemistry level
  • Add algaecide once a week. We recommend using BioGaurd Banish Algaecide.
  • Shock your swimming pool once a week

For information on the correct chemical level please refer to our article: ‘Water Chemistry For Comfortable Human Biology – pH Calcium Alkalinity Chlorine’.

2.      Filtration system:  the filtration system removes debris from your swimming pool. It is important to filter your water for between 8 to 10 hours every day. There are 3 different types of swimming pool filters, each with advantages and disadvantages. To refer to which filtration system is best for your specific swimming pool refer to our article ‘How To Choose The Right Filter System For Your Above Ground Swimming Pool’ The same type of filtration system can be used for both above ground and in ground swimming pools.

3.      Properly cleaning: there are always some areas in your swimming pool that require special cleaning since chlorine and sanitizers don’t reach that spot. These are the spots where algae and mold starts to grow making your whole swimming pool grimy. It is important that at least once a week the swimming pools walls and floor need to be manually scrubbed and one must not be dependent on just chemicals. It is essential that you brush the walls and floor of your swimming pool at least once a week!! This is where automatic pool cleaners come in handy

4.      Circulation: It is important that the water in your swimming pool properly circulates to all areas since this is how chemicals are dispersed and all the water goes through the filtration system.  There are various areas in your swimming pool, both above ground swimming pools and in ground pools, where no matter how well you put chemicals in your pool or how well the filtration system circulates the water, that algae and moss collects. These are referred to as ‘dead spots’.  It is important that water circulates properly to all the areas of the swimming pool including these ‘dead spots’.

Common ‘dead spots’:

  • bottom of the swimming pool
  • behind ladders and slides
  • the corners of rectangular or square pools
  • areas adjacent to the filtration system

5.      Test the water: use test kits to test that the water is at the desired chemical level in your swimming pool. Sometimes, even when the water looks crystal clear, it brings about disease and illness, simply because the naked eye cannot tell if the water has a correct chemical level. Use testing kits once a week to make sure that the water chemical level is at the desired level.

The Chemical Glossary: Chemicals and Bacteria Most Often Seen in Swimming Pools

Posted on by
Reply

Total chlorine: The sum of the amount of free chlorine and combined chlorine.

Free chlorine: The active chlorine that actually kills the germs and bacteria in your swimming pool and keeps it clean.

Chlorine: The most commonly used chemical to kill bacteria in your swimming pool.

Chlorine demand: All the alien materials in your swimming pool that use up the chlorine – algae, debris, bacteria.

Chlorine residual: This is the amount of chlorine that is left in your swimming pool after the chlorine demand has been fulfilled.

Chloramines: chlorine after impurities have been oxidized. This form of chlorine does not help in disinfecting your swimming pool water.

pH: This is a measure of the alkalinity and acidity in your swimming pool water. A measure above 7 indicates alkaline and a reading below 7 shows acidic.

Total alkalinity: The ability of the swimming pool water to resist changes in the pH level. Expressed as ppm.

ppm:  Parts per million.

Calcium hardness: The amount of calcium deposits dissolved in the swimming pool water – if calcium hardness does not fall into the desired range (200 – 400 ppm) then there will be scale deposits and stains in your pool.

Dry acid/ muriatic acid: This is used to lower the pH level or total alkalinity of the swimming pool. These are also referred to as STABILIZERS.

Shock treatment:  The practice of adding 5 – 10 times the normal amount of daily chlorine to kill bacteria. Shock treatment should be given to your pool every 1 – 2 weeks.

Chelating agents: Chemicals that are used to prevent discoloration in the swimming pool water due to dissolved metals.

Algae: Tiny plants that grow in your swimming pool water.

Algaecides: Chemicals that kill and prevent new algae growth in your swimming pool.

Bacteria: Illness causing germs.

 

 

 

 

 

How to Re-Open Your Above Ground Swimming Pool

Posted on by
Reply

Bye bye winter! The constant smell of the flowers, the twitter pated animals, the sun shining bright and hot, all indicate that the much awaited spring is finally here! The perfect time to open up your above ground swimming pool and have a par-tay!

  • NOTE: It is very important to remember not to drain out all the water from your above ground swimming pool when you are closing it out for winter.
  1. When reopening your swimming pool the first step to take is to drain out all the water from your above ground pool cover using a pump.
  2. Make sure not to poke any holes in your above ground pool!
  3. Once the cover is completely drained and dry, remove all dirt and grime from your above ground swimming pool cover and then fold it for storage.
  4. Fill your pool with fresh clean water until it reaches your desired level.

It is now time to reattach your above ground swimming pool pump and filtration system.

  1. Make sure that all the electric lines are connected and that the debris from the bottom of your pool is cleaned up.
  2. Use your manufacturer’s guide to start up your above ground pool filtration system and water pump.
  3. Make sure that your pool filter is clean before you start using it to prevent the spread of disease and illness!

Once the filters and pumps are in working order, it is time to start adding chemicals.

  1. Add your water purifying chemicals
  2. Use some test strips to check your swimming pool water chemical levels.
  3. The next step is to vacuum your above ground swimming pool and brush clean the walls to remove any algae or mud that may have clung onto your above ground swimming pool wall while it was closed off for the winter.
  4. Next, shock treat your above ground swimming pool with a pound of chlorinated shock treatment per ten thousand gallons. Make sure you refer to the manufacturer label of the shock treatment that you are using.
  5. One of the final steps is to add the chlorine to your above ground pool and make sure that the water chemical level is how u desire it to be.
  • Lastly, jump in and remember to have fun!
Remember to head on over to PoolProducts4Less.com to get everything you need to re-open your pool.

The Ideal Swimming Pool Maintenance Schedule

Posted on by
Reply

It is essential that you follow a maintenance schedule for your swimming pool so as to save cost and headache in the long run. It is recommended that you do daily inspections of your swimming pool to make sure that the water is perfect to  give you the utmost satisfaction out you’re your relaxing swim. But there are some procedures that need to be done at least once a week and not every day.

Daily maintenance:

  1. Test pool water: your swimming pool water needs to have specific chemical levels. Check the pH level, total alkalinity, calcium hardness and chlorine level of your swimming pool as often as possible. Click here to see the recommended level of the various chemicals.
  2. Add chemical increasers and decreasers as needed

Safety tips to consider when using chemicals

  1. Follow directions on labels.
  2. Don’t add water to the chemicals. Always add chemicals to the water
  3. Don’t mix the various different chemicals. They will have a reaction and might blow up in your face as did chemistry labs that went violently wrong in school!
  4. Avoid opening chemicals indoors. Open the chemicals outdoors so you don’t breathe in the toxic fumes
  5. Always remember to wash your hands after handling chemicals.

Weekly maintenance:

  1. Clean skimmer basket: Clean out the debris that has collected in your skimmer basket. The debris will prevent the skimmer basket from doing its job.
  2. Shock your pool: Shock your pool once a week to sanitize your swimming pool and bring up the chlorine level. Try Bioguard Easy Shock and Swim.
  3. Add algaecide: This will prevent and control the algae in your swimming pool. We recommend using BioGaurd Banish Algaecide.
  4. Add clarifier: This will clear up your cloudy water and prevent murkiness. Use Bioguard Polysheen Blue

With this daily and weekly maintenance schedule, your pool will remain pristine clean not only saving cost and preventing illness, but by investing a few minutes in your swimming pool everyday you will save hours spent in the long run fixing a disastrous swimming pool.

Be sure to check out PoolProducts4Less for all your swimming pool maintenance needs.

Water Chemistry for Comfortable Human Biology – pH Calcium Alkalinity Chlorine

Posted on by
Reply

An essential part of maintaining your swimming pool is to understand the water chemistry of your pool. Chemical indicators such as pH level, alkalinity, and calcium hardness will help save you a lot of money in the future as the chemicals affect the equipment of your swimming pool.

pH Level: The most important measure that affects the swimming pool water chemistry is the water pH level. The pH is the measure of relative acid of the pool water. The ideal pH level of your swimming pool is between 7.2 – 7.8. If the pH level of your swimming pool water is higher than 7.8 the water will be cloudy and will result in scale buildup, filtration problems, deposits in the water and a decreased efficiency of the chlorine. On the other hand, if the pH level falls below 7.2, this will lead to the corrosion of metallic pipes and rapid loss of chlorine residual which may lead to irritation to the swimmers. It is thus important to check your pH level everyday and use pH increasers or decreases as needed to give you a perfect relaxing swimming experience in your swimming pool. Click here to find the best pH increaser / decreaser for you.

Calcium Hardness:  Calcium hardness refers to the amount of calcium that has dissolved in your swimming pool water.  The ideal amount of calcium dissolved in your swimming pool is between 100 – 500 PPM. A PPM above 500 will cause the water to become cloudy and a low PPM will result in corrosion to your swimming pool equipment and pipes. Add a rust and scale remover to prevent cloudy water and add water hardness increaser to correct a low water calcium level. We recommend a bottle of Applied Bio Staintrine.

Total Alkalinity:  The total alkalinity of your swimming pool is the ability of your pool water to resist a change in the water pH level.  The preferred range for total alkalinity of between 75 – 120 parts per million (ppm). If the total alkalinity rises above 120, the pH level will slowly rise and resist change and if the total alkalinity falls before 75, the pH level of your swimming pool will swing from one extreme to the other and not let your pH level be in the desired zone. The total alkalinity of your swimming pool can be kept in the appropriate range by adding and decreasing an alkalinity increaser, such as the BioGuard Balance Pak 100.

Chlorine level: the desired free released chlorine level of your swimming pool water is between 1 and 2 ppm.  If all the above factors, total alkalinity, pH level and calcium hardness are in their respective desired zones, you will have to worry less about disease and extra cost in the long run.

Sunlight can rapidly destroy the chlorine residual in your swimming pool and hence at the start of each season, you may need to add a stabilizer. The stabilizer will shield your chlorine from the sunlight making your chlorine last for a longer time. A bottle of Omni Pool Chlorine Stabilizer is a good choice.

It is important to understand the specific levels of the different chemicals that go into your swimming pool, saving you money and giving you a more enjoyable swimming experience in the long run.

It is very important to check your swimming pool water levels regularly. Particularly, chlorine level, to provide a clean healthy disease free swimming experience in your swimming pool. Stock up on some Insta-Test Pool 4 Plus strips to test all of these chemical levels easily and frequently.

And something you might have forgotten: Have loads of fun!

 

How To Fix Colored Water, Stains, and Scale

Posted on by
Reply

Why does your pool have a black tint?  Why are there dark green spots on the plaster of the pool?  There are many reasons to why your water seems colored and stained.  It can be due to certain metals or even too much algae can cause stains and scaling, which is the formation of white crystalized deposits on the plaster and walls of the swimming pool.  There are two categories of causes for this:

  1. Inorganic Materials
  2. Organic materials.

Inorganic materials such as copper, iron, manganese, calcium or aluminum can result in colored water, stains, and scaling if not kept to their appropriate levels.  When a metallic salt released from a solution such as calcium or magnesium remains floating in the pool, it can cause cloudy water.  However, if the metal is heavy such as iron or copper, it can create a variety of unwanted colors in the pool such as darkened brown, black, and green.  The best way to fix colored water is to make sure the pH and alkalinity levels are balanced regularly.  Moreover, the BioGuard Pool Pods dual layer Sanitizer and Shock tablets will instantly get rid of the colored water.  Aside from colored water, if these metals attach themselves to the plaster and walls of the pool, then it will form a chemical reaction with the minerals in the plaster and will create stains or scaling.  This can be easily solved by adding a product like the BioGuard Mineral Springs Stain and Scale which will prevent your pool from further stains/scaling.  For tougher stains caused by heavier metals, use Applied Bio Removit – Stain & Scale Control which will get rid of the stains and scaling instantly without affecting the pH and the chlorine of the pool.

The other category of causes is a highly common one dealing with organic materials such as algae, bacteria, leaves, and worms.  This category is much easier to eliminate because it is only on the surface of the pool, unlike the inorganic materials which penetrate the pool walls.  Algae and bacteria can cause the pool water to become green, black, yellow, and pink depending upon how much algae is growing in the pool.  The best way to prevent this is to prevent algae by adding an algaecide such as Applied Bio Algaetrine – Algaecide.  Organic materials not only color the water, but also cause stains on the pool plaster which can easily be removed by applying a granular chlorine solution such as BioGuard CLC3 Calcium Hypochlorite.

Whether the cause of colored water, stains, and scaling is organic or inorganic, the best way to prevent anything of this sort is to weekly check you pool and clean it as well as run the filter 8-12 hours daily.  If done weekly, then no need to worry about colored water, stains, and scaling!

Leave a question or comment if you have one. And remember – come on over to poolproducts4less.com for expert advice, and rock-bottom prices!

How To Calculate Your Above Ground Swimming Pool

Posted on by
Reply

Knowing the capacity of your above ground swimming pool is very important when purchasing equipment or chemicals.  You need to know how much water your above ground swimming pool holds, so you can use the right amount of chemicals to balance the water, in order to keep your above ground swimming pool hygienic and clean.

Calculating the capacity or volume of water that your above ground swimming pool can hold depends quite obviously on the size, shape, and depth of the pool.

The first thing to calculate is the average depth of your above ground swimming pool.

Average depth: depth of deep end plus depth of shallow end divided by 2.

  •   (Depth of deep end + depth of shallow end) ÷ 2

To calculate the total gallon of water for your above ground swimming pool:

Rectangular pools:

  • Length x width x average depth (height) x 7.5 = total gallons

(Since there are 7.5 gallons in each cubic foot, multiply the cubic feet of the above ground swimming pool by 7.5 to get the volume of the pool, expressed in gallons)

Circular pools:

  • 3.142 x radius squared x average depth x 7.5 = volume in gallons

The radius is half of the diameter. To get the radius measure the distance across the widest part of your above ground swimming pool and divide it into half to get the radius. Squared means to multiply by itself. So multiply the radius by itself.

It is very important to calculate the volume of your above ground swimming pool so that you can buy chemicals and equipment for your swimming pool accordingly.