When's the last time your pool water was changed?
It’s cooling down a bit here in southern California, and most would say that we are finally near the end of our drought. The past few years, home owners have been forced to ration their water usage. But now that restrictions are gone, homeowners can finally get back to normal water usage... for the most part anyway!
With the drought, we have noticed many pool-owners have understandably put off replacing their old pool water. However, now is a great time to finally do so. Water restrictions are lifted, and with it cooling down, your water costs will be less this time of year! Also, pool draining at this time of year is best to prevent unnecessary sun, heat, or moisture damage to the pool surfaces and filtration systems!
This is a great time of year to drain and refill your pool with new water! Don't wait till Spring! The heat will bring algae!
We recommend draining especially if your pool is described by one or more of the following:
The pool has not been drained in the last 5-7 years
The pool has hard water readings/total dissolved solids readings (i.e. calcium, phosphates)
within the water, which can only be balanced with a full pool drain. High TDS will eventually leave calcium and mineral deposits that can easily damage pool tiles and grout!
Minerals in the water such as calcium and copper will “fall out of solution" and will dull or change the color of your surface. This causes chalky deposits you may notice around your waterline, these stains harden and adhere to surfaces and only professional cleaning chemicals and equipment can remove the staining and build up ( i.e. Acid Wash!)
The pool has high conditioner/stabilizer readings (Over 100ppm!)
and the easiest way to fix this issue is to drain the old water! If conditioner (aka cyanuric acid)
level remains the same, it will lock in the chlorine levels and the chlorine will have no effect on (if any) algae! The only way to remove high conditioner is to drain the old water or reverse osmosis (which is very costly). High conditioner Is very common with pools that use chlorine tablets because they have conditioner in them and they increase the level about 10ppm per year.
Quick growth of algae after scrubbing; which implies Algae spores are burrowed deep inside the porous plaster, which a draining and acid-wash should eliminate.
We highly recommend having your pool water drained and refilled, especially If your home was near one of the recent fires. Both the ash from the fires and the "phos-check" used to contain the fires can alter a pools delicate chemical makeup.
The ash from the recent fires clouding up pools has been quite frustrating! Not only does it make a pool look undesirable, it also damages and clogs up filters, as well as leaves stains on pool surfaces when the ash settles! Ash is so fine that it proves very difficult to remove from pools with just regular maintenance. A filter will do it's best to remove the microscopic debris, however ash has been known to clog and actually cut though a pool filter grid! Again, we recommend draining the water to avoid any staining or further damage to equipment.
The brightly colored red powder dropped from helicopters known as “phos-check’ can have dangerous effects if it finds Its way into your pool, or any body of water for that matter.
What is phos-check?
The fire retardant known as phos-check is 85% water, 10% fertilizer and 5% minor ingredients such as colorants, anti-corrosive material, thickeners (clay or natural gum), stabilizers and bactericides.
The fertilizer consists of ammonium phosphate, a salt, which causes it to stick to plant material and repel flames. These ingredients are intended to help regrow plants after the fire, amongst other things. While promoting growth for vegetation, it also promotes algae growth!
The ammonia and nitrates found in this mixture can change water chemistry drastically!
If you notice any of the previous issues with your pool, please call or email us!
(818) 445-4729
Kirby's pools will provide a chemical inspection, a drain release, and can safely drain your pool.
We recommend draining your pool should only when the circumstances absolutely require it, it is necessary to hire professionals to undertake the procedure as draining imposes serious a serious risk of damaging the pool.
