Maintenance For Your Pool Water Chemistry After It Rains

A close up of water droplets on the surface

Maintenance For Your Pool Water Chemistry After It Rains


Maintenance For Your Pool Water Chemistry After It Rains

If you’re a pool owner, when the rain falls that means you will have a little bit of work to do when the clouds clear. Rain can sometimes affect your pool’s water chemistry depending on what elements are in the rainwater. And because rainwater is sometimes acidic, it can affect your pool’s pH balance.

After heavy rain, you have a lot of extra water in the pool that can dilute the water’s chemistry. Occasionally, you can see mold growing in your pool after the rains. When this happens, it can make swimming in the pool a bit dangerous. In such situations, reputable service providers such as sugar land pressure washing companies can be contacted who can eliminate the breeding ground of bacteria that feed on algae and restore your pool to its original state. If you only experience sprinkles or light showers, I wouldn’t worry about the pool chemistry. A light rain will have very little effect, if any, on your pool water. However, it wouldn’t hurt to do these checks anyway, if only for peace of mind.

A close up of water droplets on the surface

After a heavy rain fall, the first thing you should do is clean the water and check the water chemistry with test strips, especially the pH, alkalinity and sanitizer levels.

1. Clean The Pool

Many times rain is accompanied by heavy winds. Wind is the main culprit for blowing dirt, leaves and other debris into your pool. Skim your pool first, then vacuum. You can use an automatic pool cleaner if you have one or manually vacuum the pool yourself. Once you have it cleaned, you can test the water chemistry.

Alternatively, if the mud around your pool area has accumulated significantly and you do not believe you can clean it up on your own, you may want to get pressure washing done on your pool deck. Pressurized washing might be able to lift dirt, grime, moss, and other substances from the surface, and it can also get into the smallest crevices to blast out everything that has built up over time. This might stop the damage to the pool or clogging of pipes before it has a chance to take hold and cause you a major headache.

2. Check pH and Alkalinity Levels

The acidity in some rain can cause your pH levels to drop. However, this is the alkalinity’s job to handle. When the rain water starts to lower the pH, the alkalinity will be affected more as well. Which means, your alkalinity levels could have a more drastic change than your pH levels, which can be a good thing.

3. Check Sanitizer Levels

Next you will want to check your chlorine or sanitizer levels. Rain water can often bring in unwanted elements to your water, and your sanitizer will start fighting them off. That means your sanitizer levels could be low as well. So be sure to check these levels.

4. Check Your Water Level

Naturally rain will add more water to your pool than is needed. If you have excess water in your pool, you can drain some of it out by using your filter’s “waste” setting. Drain just enough to restore it back at your normal water level.

5. Shock Your Pool If Needed

Even after a good rain storm, shocking your pool isn’t always necessary. But it usually isn’t a bad idea either. If you get an extremely heavy down pour, you could shock your pool just to be sure. This will assist in fighting off any unwanted elements the rain may have brought into your pool. Just be sure to drain the water to the correct level, check your pH, alkalinity and sanitizer levels, and then shock in the evening after the rain has ended. Additionally, you may also require assistance from Sydney emergency plumbing or any other plumbing service in your location, that can come in to check if all the pipes such as inlet, outlet, and other connecting pipes are in good condition, if not, they can help you in getting them replaced. You also do not need to worry too much about your calcium or CYA (cynauric acid) levels, these are not really affected by the rain besides dilution.

For your safety, we recommend avoiding swimming in your pool during any type of thunderstorm. Plus, run off from your pool deck may also bring in some contaminants from your lawn or the deck itself. Make sure you follow this checklist after a heavy rainfall and your pool wont’ have any issues like cloudy water or algae. If you have any additional questions about your Pool Chemistry give us a call at 623-939-1346 or come visit us at our retail store and one of our pool care professionals will be happy to help!

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