Prepping Your Swimming Pool For Cooler Temperatures

In the Las Vegas area, fall is in the air which means you need to start prepping your swimming pool for cooler temperatures. We feel this is important information because with cooler temperatures gives you the opportunity to save a little money! When it comes to taking care of your swimming pool we want to enforce the fact that how you take care of your pool shouldn’t matter. For many, when the temperatures cool down dropping a chlorine tab in the floater is about all they do but if you want to prolong the lifespan of your investment we want to share a few tips on how you can prep your swimming pool for cooler temperatures.

The biggest difference is going to be in chlorine usage and filter run times. When the temperatures cool down you can get away with 1-3 parts per million (ppm) chlorine compared to 3-5ppm during the summer and you can definitely decrease your filter run times by a couple hours. Due to the fact that the temperatures in the water are cooler and algae don’t like cold water, you won’t need as much sanitation to keep your pool looking great. During the coldest times of the winter season, you can definitely lower your chlorine levels to 1ppm.

As for the remainder of weekly tasks for your swimming pool those shouldn’t change. The following are a list of tasks that should occur on a weekly basis:

• Brush the steps, benches and interior finish of the swimming pool to prevent staining and scaling
• Remove all debris from the swimming pool to prevent staining and chemistry changes
• Monitor pH to prevent scaling or the water becoming too acidic which can destroy equipment
• Remove debris from skimmer basket and pump basket to maintain adequate water flow into the filter
• Vacuum as necessary
• Monitor Calcium Hardness (CH) levels

In the Las Vegas area, our tap water is extremely hard and loaded with calcium, magnesium and other hardness minerals. As pool water evaporates these minerals remain in solution and gradually build up in concentration. As CH rises it will scale the tile, interior finish, filtration equipment, spillways, salt chlorinators, and plumbing. As a general rule of thumb when CH levels are above 600ppm you will want to change out the water in your swimming pool. At Clark County Pool & Lawn we recommend using Reverse Osmosis (RO) filtration to lower calcium hardness, total dissolved solids (TDS), Cyanuric Acid (CYA), phosphates, salts and waterborne diseases.

In the end, keeping your calcium low, your water chemistry within normal limits and your pool clean will go a long way in keeping your pool clean and your costs down. If you should have any questions in regards to Reverse Osmosis (RO) filtration or scheduling an appointment, please contact us today!