Pool Maintenance Following Heavy Rain

Green pool water

Pool Maintenance Following Heavy Rain

Have you had a heavy downpour in your area recently? Are you wondering how excessive rain could affect your beautiful fibreglass pool?

In Australia, we have experienced some significant rain events in recent years, with some areas receiving over 400 millimetres of rain in just a few days. The reality is that if it’s not addressed quickly, lots of rain in and around your pool can cause issues. When it comes to pool maintenance, heavy periods of rain can be a bit of a nuisance, but it’s important to take some critical steps to maintain your pool so that it returns to its former condition following the wet weather.

So, what can you do to combat the effects of heavy rain on your pool?

Combating an Overflow

Depending on the type of filter you have, there are different steps you should take when your pool has excess water in it. If you have a cartridge filter, fit your pool hose to the 3-way valve and place it in the stormwater drain, before turning the handle on the valve to divert water through the hose. Turn the pool pump on and adjust the water to the correct level.

If you have a sand filter, start by changing your multi-port valve to its waste setting. Then, turn the pool pump on and bring down the water to the correct level to have the water re-circulate efficiently again.

Water Underneath the Pool

Regularly check your standpipe/inspection pipe to ensure that water that has collected under the pool gets pumped out. By removing this water, you prevent such problems as ‘floating’ hydrostatic valves from occurring. Take note of the weather patterns in your area; if you’re in a location that gets heavy rain a lot, you will need to pay more attention to water underneath your pool than those in drier locations will probably need to. The water underneath your pool can be pumped out via one of two methods – one being to use your pool pump and skimmer box and the other being to use a Slurpy pump (a small pump you can purchase at hardware stores).

Re-balance the Pool Water

Heavy rainfall will affect the water in your pool, so ensure you regularly check and log your water chemistry. You will find that after a heavy downpour, the composition of your pool water, ie. pool minerals and chemicals will have been diluted, so you’ll need to adjust the chemistry to get everything back into balance and to keep your pool in tip-top condition. You must check and adjust PH, Total Alkalinity, Chlorine, Stabiliser, Sanitiser and Calcium Hardness. You can arrange for your local pool shop to conduct regular checks and pool cleans.

Cloudiness in the water 

Once you’ve cleared out all the debris and shocked your pool, it’s common for the water to remain cloudy. This is due to tiny particles that are too small to be captured by the filters. This is where the use of flocculants and clarifiers comes in handy. Cloudiness in the water is caused by small particles that are negatively charged and suspended in the water, which won’t be captured by the filter system. To eliminate these particles and restore clarity in the water, positively charged flocculants and clarifiers are added to the water. These chemicals bond the suspended debris together, causing them to either float to the surface and be caught by the skimmer or sink to the pool floor for manual vacuuming.

It’s important to note that flocculants work more effectively in higher pH levels, so be sure to test the pool’s pH before adding a clarifier or floc, ensuring that the pH level is at least 7.8. If needed, you can raise the pH by adding Buffer to the pool, which will also increase Total Alkalinity.

Need help?

If you still have questions on how to maintain a healthy pool, get in touch. We are pool professionals and have more than 20 years of experience building inground pools on the Gold Coastconcrete pools in Brisbane and building pools south of Brisbane

Call Oasis Pool Constructions today on 07 5649 9810 or via email: [email protected]

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