Inground pool care the cheap and easy way

The secret to easy pool care is simple. You need to be consistent, and you need to be patient.

Most pool problems are the pool owner's fault. If a pool owner sees a problem, the first thing they do is throw in a chemical to fix it. That then changes the chemistry of the pool, creating another problem. So they throw in another chemical to fix that. And another. And another. The pool gets confused, you get confused, and now you have so many problems with your pool to treat that you don't know what to do.

Start by understanding the basics of pool chemistry. Then, armed with that knowledge, you can be consistent with your pool care. If you pair that consistency with the patience to let it work, you'll find yourself fighting your pool less and enjoying it more.

Easy pool care requires you to manage only two primary chemistry variables - Chlorine and Ph.

Of course, there are lots of other variables (including total alkalinity, hardness, and stabilizer) but on a day-to-day basis you shouldn't have to worry about them. If you have your pool opened professionally, your pool technicians should take care of those at opening and normally you'll be good for the entire season. If you open your pool on your own, adjust your stabilizer, hardness, and alkalinity first and give your pool a couple of weeks to settle.

So what are Chlorine and Ph? Let's start with Ph, as that's the more complicated of the two.

Ph is a measure of how acidic or alkaline your water is. Ph levels between 7.2 and 7.8 are acceptable, with 7.4 to 7.6 being ideal. Most pools will not stay at in the ideal range on their own. Depending on the composition of your pool liner and the natural Ph of rain in your area, you will find that your pool tends to drift consistently either up or down from ideal.

One key of easy pool care is knowing what your pool's drift direction is. Concrete or tile pools may drift up (more alkaline) because of the calcium content that leaches into the pool water. Pools in acid rain areas (like upstate NY) may drift down (more acidic) because of the acid content of the rainfall.

Once you know which way your pool drifts - don't fight it! If your pool drifts down, buy a big bucket of Ph Up. If it drifts up, buy a big bucket of Ph Down. Don't ever adjust your pool in the direction that it drifts - just be patient and wait for it. I live in an acid rain area and tend to add Ph Up about every 3 or 4 weeks. I never need Ph Down, because the pool Ph drifts down on its own.

Ph only needs to be measured once a week. I like to keep it in the low range (around 7.4) because Chlorine is actually more effective when Ph is lower.

Important tip on adding chemicals to adjust Ph. Spread them over as wide an area as you can. If you concentrate the chemicals in one area (especially Ph Up) they will tend to adjust your total alkalinity in addition to changing the Ph. You should only adjust total alkalinity if your Ph drifts rapidly (requiring adjustment every week), or doesn't drift consistently.

Chlorine is the magic ingredient in a pool. It's like mouthwash - it kills the germs that cause problems. If you manage your chlorine well, you won't ever have to worry about problems like algae, because the chlorine will kill it before it even starts.

You don't need to check your chlorine daily. If you're not using your pool, then check it once a week. If you are using your pool, check it before or after each use.

Chlorine doesn't like sunlight. Sunlight breaks down chlorine. If you keep your pool covered with a solar cover when not in use, you will use less chlorine.

Chlorine works by oxidizing stuff in your pool. To do this, the chlorine molecules can't be bound to anything else. But over time, the chlorine molecules tend to bind to other molecules and your chlorine isn't as effective. Shocking your pool frees up the chlorine you have so that it can work again.

When you measure your chlorine, if the water in the test kit immediately turns yellow you don't need to shock. If, on the other hand, it starts out pale yellow and slowly turns darker so that the initial reading is different than the reading five minutes later, then you need to shock.

Use a single one pound bag of shock for every 10,000 gallons of water in your pool. For a standard 18' x 36' rectangular pool with an 8' deep end, you'll need 4 bags of shock.

Get a big bucket (empty 3" chlorine tab buckets are great!) and fill it with water from your pool. Dump a shock bag into the water, then stir it to dissolve the granules. Slowly pour the mixture into your pool while walking along the edge.

Make sure you don't wear your good clothes - you are likely to get bleach spots!

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