Pool Water Testing: Here’s What You Need to Know
No one wants a green, slimy pool, and the easiest way to avoid one is to make sure your pool is kept clean, and the water is balanced. To ensure your pool water contains the correct chemical levels, it’s vital you test its water regularly. So then, how often should you conduct pool water testing?
As seasons change and we experience adverse weather conditions, pool alkalinity will vary, throwing chemicals out of balance. To help you out, we’ve developed a helpful guide to keep your pool healthy and swim-ready all year round.
THE COOLER MONTHS
Cooler weather can significantly decrease the chlorine demand your pool requires. That’s why it’s important to balance your pool’s chemical levels correctly. Otherwise, there is potential for them to damage things like pool blankets and cause corrosion of pool equipment.
Additionally, unless your pool has a heating system installed, pool use may tend to reduce in the cooler months. During this period, we recommend testing your pool’s chlorine and pH levels every two weeks.
DURING THE SUMMER PERIOD
As the summer season heats up and the pool gets more use, it’s important to test your pool water before each use. We recommend visiting your local Poolwerx for a pool water test.
Our team will perform a detailed pool water analysis and provide you with a printed diagnosis and thorough explanation of what they can see going on within the water. From this analysis, the team will be able to recommend the best way to get the pool back in balance and ready for swimming. For further monitoring, the team may also recommend home testing with our pH water testing strips if they feel that daily or weekly insights are needed in order to understand what’s going on within the pool.
Regular water testing provides insight into whether all equipment is working correctly and may expose chemical imbalances to help identify if equipment requires maintenance, repairs or replacement.
If you need some assistance, our Poolwerx team can provide you with expert advice and the tools you need to achieve the ideal pool water chemistry at home. Get in touch with us to find out how.
THE COOLER MONTHS
Adverse Weather
If you’ve experienced a lot of rain or storms in your area, this can greatly affect the safety of your pool water and surrounding equipment. If any pool equipment has been submerged by flood water, please keep clear, do not touch it, and call an experienced pool professional.
When it comes to managing and maintaining your water after a storm, it’s important to take a sample of your pool water as soon as it is safe to do so. By treating your water in a timely manner after rain, you’re preventing the further growth of bacteria, an algae outbreak and a costly clean-up bill.
Alternatively, if you are experiencing abnormally hot weather, your pool water and chemicals can evaporate. If this is the case, you’ll need to increase the frequency with which you test your pool water and may benefit from installing a pool cover.
Frequently Asked Questions About Swimming Pool Water Chemistry
If you have questions about testing your pool water, we’ve compiled a helpful list below. If your query is not on our list, reach out to our team via our contact page, and we’ll assist you with your needs. You can also visit your local Poolwerx and speak to one of our technicians.
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Balancing your pool water’s alkalinity is essential in ensuring you keep nasty viruses and bacteria away, and that’s what makes regular testing so important. Testing enables you to determine whether your water contains the correct balance of chemicals and determine what your pool needs to keep it balanced and healthy.
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Our pool service team have a plethora of knowledge when it comes to pool water analysis. This, paired with our state-of-the-art software system for pool testing, means that a Poolwerx water test is much like going to a doctor to get a diagnosis. With our ‘Poolwerx Prescriptions’, we calculate what the pool needs in order to balance its water and provide detailed chemical recommendations based on water activity.
Simply bring a sample to your local Poolwerx, and we can analyse it in as little as 60 seconds. It’s important when collecting your sample that the water sample is taken under the water’s surface – we recommend a full arm’s length. The fresher the sample, the better, so it’s important that you bring it in within two hours of collection as this avoids chemical evaporation during transport.
Our team will analyse your water for everything that keeps your pool water hygienic, balanced, safe, and healthy, including:
Chlorine
Bromine
pH
Hardness (calcium)
Hardness (magnesium)
Alkalinity
Cyanuric acid (stabiliser)
Phosphate
Copper
Iron
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To get an accurate representation of your pool’s chemical levels, we recommend collecting AT LEAST 250ml from below the deepest end of your pool. If you haven’t got a bottle, you can buy one from your local Poolwerx store.
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Yes, and we recommend doing so regularly. At Poolwerx, we stock pool pH testing strips to help make checking your pool water at home simple.
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Testing salt pool water is the same as testing chlorine pool water. Simply collect a sample of water and use our test strips to compare the balance and pH of your pool. Alternatively, bring the sample to us, and we’ll conduct a detailed water analysis and explain the diagnosis for you
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If your pool water looks green, brown, or in any way murky, conduct a test right away with your local Poolwerx. Our detailed water analysis will help you determine what your pool is lacking and the chemicals required to get it back in balance to restore the water to a healthy, sanitary and safe swimming state. For more information, read our Pool Chemistry for Beginners Guide.
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Yes, essentially. Like pools, spas can become large breeding areas for germs and other bacteria. Since they are heated (and often smaller), the chances of bacterial growth and an unhygienic swimming environment are higher than that of a pool. Therefore, you should conduct tests on your spa water more frequently. We recommend doing so before each use
Request A Service
Whether you’re conducting spa or pool water testing, Poolwerx has all the knowledge and tools you need to get it done properly. Reach out to your local Poolwerx team today.
