Pool water care
Swimming pool water care allows you to stay healthy in the water. It is important to keep bacteria and contaminants of all kinds away.
Suppliers are just as essential as the basics of pool water care when purchasing the products.
This Poolstark.de guide will tell you what is important in your swimming pool.
What do you mean by pool water care?
Water care in the pool is an important criterion for ideal swimming fun in summer. Proper and appropriate care and cleaning allows you to stay safely in the water. Are you unclear about what exactly water care in the pool entails? The following information may help.
Successful water purification occurs using different methods and means. Water treatment is essential. You can treat the pool water both chemically and using a filter.
Additional disinfection of the water is also worthwhile so that the water care in the pool works completely. The market allows numerous choices in terms of providers and product ranges. But why is swimming pool water maintenance even necessary?
Why is pool water care important?
Anyone who has a swimming pool in their own garden will be happy about crystal clear and perfect swimming fun, especially in summer. However, the water quality suffers if the pool contents are not maintained properly.
The perfect location of the pool is not enough to ensure long-term and sustainable water quality. Cleaning is therefore one of the main elements of thorough pool water care .
Leaves from trees are just as undesirable as grass blown in by the wind. That's why an open area is ideal for the swimming pool, which ideally has a raised edge.
At the same time, water care for your pool is essential to avoid illness and irritation. In addition to the visible dirt, various bacteria and algae form. Algae, dirt and germs are the main disruptive factors in swimming pools. It is better if you remove them specifically and prevent them from occurring.
The germ load increases significantly if the swimming pool water is not maintained properly. The same applies to algae in the water. This reduces the fun of swimming. For this reason, proper pool water care is important. Cleaning the pool is the first step on the way to a hygienically clean swimming pool.
Pool water care – basic cleaning in advance
Before water ends up in the pool, the swimming pool should be largely clean. This can be achieved with detailed cleaning. Special cleaning agents make an important contribution to hygiene (e.g. edge cleaners). This primarily removes limescale and fats.
As soon as winter is at your garden door, a so-called winter preserver can also help you. This way you will make basic cleaning much easier the following spring. This makes winter dirt easier to remove.
Water treatment in the swimming pool – filters vs. chemicals
After the basic cleaning, water treatment is on the agenda. This gives you perfect water by using a filter and/or chemical water purification. In both cases you reliably remove contamination. The next sections illustrate how the methods of water care in the pool differ from each other.
Water treatment with filter system
A filter system is a common variant for treating water. The type of filtering as well as the size of the pool are relevant. To maintain clean pool water, you should circulate the entire contents of the swimming pool at least two to three times per day . The filter catches the coarse dirt. How long does the system have to run to allow the water to flow through completely?
The filter running time is determined by the pool contents, which is divided by twice the pump performance. Feel free to plan 6 to 8 hours! The volume of the pool is generally given in the unit m³ (cubic meters). If in doubt, you can easily calculate it based on the different pool shapes:
- Oval pool shape: 0.89 x depth x maximum length x maximum width
- Round pool shape: 0.79 x depth x diameter x diameter
- Rectangular pool shape: depth x length x width
- 8-shaped pool: 0.85 x maximum length x maximum width
Another aspect concerns backwashing . For example, it is regularly automatically activated in a sand filter. A crucial instrument here is the pressure gauge. As soon as this changes from the green scale area to the red one, the backwashing process is necessary. This usually happens once a week .
Backwashing essentially replaces pool water with fresh water. The filter size is crucial. It is ideal to replace at least 3 percent of the total pool contents with fresh water per week. Allow the backwashing process to take around 5 minutes .
Once the process is complete, we recommend rinsing for around 60 seconds . Also remember to switch off the system as soon as you press the changeover lever!
A vacuum cleaner can also be useful for automatically vacuuming up remaining dirt. Alternatively, you can use a landing net if foreign objects remain in the pool despite the filtration.
Chemical water purification for pool water care
In addition to using the filter system, an alternative option is synthetic water purification. This allows the swimming pool water to be reliably treated. The result is a hygienically safe pool contents. The chemical method requires five individual steps for perfect water:
- Determine water values
- Adjust pH value
- Disinfect water
- Prevent algae formation
- Flocculation
1. Measure water values
The water values are essential for pool water care. An ideal balance ensures healthy conditions in the water. If you have your own swimming pool for the first time in your life, you may not yet know everything about it. Determining the water values is straightforward.
In order for the swimming pool water care to be consistent, a few measurements are usually sufficient. You can find special test strips for this purpose in stores. As an alternative, it may be worth purchasing a digital measuring device . This is usually a matter of personal preference.
In any case, it is advisable to determine the water values twice a week . If there is a lot of swimming activity or high temperatures, a more frequent measuring interval may be worthwhile. Which measurements are important?
The three most important water values concern free chlorine , pH value and alkalinity (so-called TA value). Specifically, this means that your measurement values should lie within the following measurement ranges:
- Chlorine: 0.3 to 1.0 mg/l
- pH value: 7.0 to 7.4
- TA value: 80 to 120 ppm
Problems can arise if there are deviations from the ideal values. First determine the pH value! It provides information about how acidic or alkaline the pool water is.
Acidic water ( measured value below 7.0 ) can cause rust damage to individual pool components. This applies, for example, to pipes, sealing elements or the filter system.
In contrast, alkaline pool water ( value over 7.4 ) causes the contents of the pool to be milky and cloudy. This is not just an aesthetic problem. A pool content containing lime also reduces the effectiveness of the disinfectant. At the same time, limescale precipitates cause irritated skin - and this spoils the fun of bathing.
In order for the pH value to be optimal, alkalinity is important. The TA value directly influences the acidity of the pool water. A reading of less than 80 ppm indicates that the water is too acidic - a remedy called pH-Minus can help here.
If the opposite case occurs and the value exceeds 120 ppm, the lime precipitation described above occurs. For such measurement results, retailers offer the so-called pH lifter or pH-Plus .
2. Adjust pH value
Determining the water values already shows whether the pH value is in the neutral measuring range (7.0 to 7.4). This information basically defines a liquid as an acid or alkali. The scale basically goes up to 14.
The physical well-being of the bathers and the quality of the pool water depend on this measurement. That's why it's necessary to measure it in advance. If the test results in an excessive or decreased value, this must be reset.
Aids such as a pH increaser or pH reducer are available either as granules or in liquid form . Add them directly to the pool water, but pay attention to the dosage! It depends primarily on the size of the pool and the respective deviation from the ideal value.
3. Disinfect water
Disinfecting water is part of comprehensive pool water care. It enables hygienically perfect water quality . Algae and bacteria grow quickly under certain conditions. These include, above all, the weather or temperature (above 20 °C) as well as frequent use of the pool for swimming, paddling or bathing.
Without disinfection, your pool water will become cloudy. This increases health risks when used. That's why water disinfection is one of the elementary components of pool water care. In stores you have the choice between three options:
- Bromine (without chlorine)
- chlorine
- Active oxygen
The active oxygen is considered to be particularly gentle compared to the stronger chlorine. It protects the skin and reliably disinfects the water during pool water care. However, it has one disadvantage: If the temperatures rise to values above 30 °C, the effectiveness ends.
Chlorine is usually the common and proven means of water disinfection. Retailers offer a wide range of these. You get it either as tablets, liquid or granules. However, you should definitely follow the application instructions from the respective manufacturers in order to avoid problems.
Do not add the chlorine tablets and granules directly into the pool water. Otherwise your liner in the pool could be damaged. In this case, the chlorine causes a bleaching effect or unsightly discoloration. It is also advisable not to mix different disinfectants with each other.
4. Prevent algae formation
While the formation of algae in aquariums occurs more frequently in summer, this is clearly undesirable in swimming pools. The aquatic plants look unsightly and also impair the water quality. Bacteria then spread excellently in your pool water.
To ensure that bacterial growth and the formation of algae do not cloud the water quality, so-called algaecides exist . You may know these products as algae killers . They promote hygienically clean quality when maintaining pool water - especially on hot summer days.
5. Flocculation
The so-called flocculation is just as annoying as algae and germs in a swimming pool. The process involves tiny colloids in the water. These are suspended particles that affect the water quality in the swimming pool.
Ideally, the filter system is able to retain impurities. This fails with colloids due to the small size of the particles. So that the filter still removes such tiny particles, so-called flocculants are used.
The agents bind the suspended particles in the water. This creates larger accumulations of colloids. The filter system then does the rest and reliably filters out the bound particles.
Chlorine vs. salt – water disinfection for pool water care
An effective and at the same time efficient disinfection of the water can generally be achieved using the above selection options (active oxygen, chlorine, bromine). Essentially, however, the cost-benefit factor outweighs the choice between water disinfection with salt or chlorine.
Chlorine works reliably when it comes to pool water care. However, it is a chemical solution. The use of chlorine in the production and transport of chemicals is accompanied by CO2 emissions and increased environmental pollution. Therefore, water disinfection with salt often proves to be a better option .
A salt system offers the following advantages for pool water care:
- no red eyes when submerged, as the salt content is comparable to tears (per 10 m³ pool water: 40 kg salt)
- antiseptic
- no chemical pollution
- effective against bacteria and other microorganisms in the pool
- no smell of chlorine
- no combined chlorine in the swimming pool
- natural active ingredient
The biggest problem with a salt plant is measuring the free chlorine content . This is difficult to control, which makes disinfection with salt more of an option for more experienced pool owners.
What should you pay attention to when selecting products for swimming pool water care?
Pool water care is successful if you pay attention to a few criteria in addition to the classic price question. The manufacturer is just as relevant in the selection as the product quality. What does that mean?
Ideally, the manufacturer is recognized and reliable. But at the same time he is also responsible. It's worth questioning critically: Where does the provider manufacture its products? Bayrol produces the goods within Europe, for example. This usually ensures a higher product standard.
High purity and concentration should also be important. Purity in particular often determines product quality . For example, if there are foreign particles in the liquid chlorine, it is not a successful product.
The same applies to the active ingredient concentration . For example, liquid chlorine achieves poorer results in water disinfection if the concentration is too low. That's why it's worth looking at a sufficient concentration of active ingredients in your pool water care.
In summary, the following quality criteria are crucial:
- high purity (e.g. foreign particles in liquid chlorine)
- high concentration of active ingredients (e.g.: chlorine content in liquid chlorine)
- proven, responsible manufacturing (e.g. where is the product manufactured?)
Which pool water care providers are there and how do they differ?
When it comes to water care in the pool, you will inevitably come across four leading manufacturers :
The manufacturer Höfer has basically specialized in chemicals. In addition to swimming pool water care, the range also offers cleaning products for other areas (e.g.: waterbeds, sauna). In addition, most of the production takes place in Europe.
HTH is an American company that has many branches in the USA. There is no German location. Despite everything, HTH offers numerous products related to water care.
Chemoform, on the other hand, is considered a specialist in pool care. In addition to water treatment, the manufacturer also focuses on the construction of a swimming pool and technology.
Bayrol has been an expert in pool water care since 1955. The company was first founded in Munich and has grown steadily since then. It also produces in Europe and impresses with products, some of which were used at the Olympic Games.
Pool water care from Bayrol – this is what the manufacturer offers
If you choose Bayrol, you will find many expert solutions for pool water care . You can rely on proven products, such as “Chlorifix” or “Bayrol Superflock Plus”.
The manufacturer offers the right product for practically every cleaning and preparation step. Pool water care usually starts with Bayrol cleaning . The range contains, for example, “Bayrol Demikosan” to keep surfaces hygienic.
Then you can regulate the pH with the products “pH Minus” or “pH Plus”. Whether active oxygen, chlorine (e.g. “Bayrol Veritab” – a multifunctional tablet for water disinfection) or “Desalgin” – the product range supports you effective in disinfection and algae prevention .
Other products such as “Filterclean Silver” or “Calcinex” ultimately enable well-rounded pool care. Last but not least, the “Bayrol Superklar” (in filter systems with a cartridge) can be used to combat cloudy water.
Summary: This is how pool water care works
Optimal swimming pool water care begins with cleaning the pool.
Comprehensive water treatment follows. Filter systems and chemical cleaning agents are used.
Water disinfection is essential to maintaining hygienically clean swimming pools. To buy the ideal pool care, it will help you to look at the manufacturer and product quality.
Bayrol provides an example of proven quality with a comprehensive range of products for your pool water care .