photo credit: frecklemel

Having a swimming pool in your back yard is always a welcome addition to the amenities your home has. It’s a good place for the kids and the rest of the family to hang out, especially in the summer, where everyone needs an escape from the heat. It’s also a great place to gather for an afternoon barbecue or dinner party for you and your friends.

However, the real challenge – and you can say trade-off – to having a swimming pool is the maintenance involved. Keeping your pool nice and clean is a must, for it to be not only usable, but also pleasant to look at. No one likes to look at a pool that has algae growing on it or has lots of fallen leaves and other detritus floating on the surface. Plus, dirty pools are a health hazard, especially for children who swim in it, for obvious reasons. Thus, it is of primary importance that you are able to keep you pool clean at all times.

One of the basic ways to keep the pool clean is through the use of chlorine, which basically kills organic matter like algae and other growths that can be harmful to you and the rest of your family, and helps lessen the load on the organic filter of your pool. Just make sure that you have the right amount of alkalinity in the pool, which you can measure manually, or just have an automatic pool cleaner – which is more convenient, but naturally much more expensive as well.

Of course, you will also need a cover for the pool. There are a variety of designs to choose from – just make sure that your cover is long and big enough to cover much more than the entirety of the pool, so that it’s won’t slide into the water, thereby making it’s function moot. Having a pool cover minimized the effort you need to rid the pool of falling leaves and the like, which instead of falling into the pool and dirtying it, just fall on top of the cover. Also, if you have enough space, you can consider putting up a n elevated net on top of the pool, which serves as a pool cover, but one you won’t need to constantly remove whenever you’re going to use the pool.

Keeping you pool clean is a very important task that you should pay serious attention to, so that every swim you have with your family and friends in your pool will be a safe and clean experience everyone will enjoy.

photo credit: der_dennis

Having a swimming pool at home is great way to provide some fun and entertainment. But then you should be mindful of the hazards it entails as well. As the adult in the house and as a parent you have to see to it that the children will not get into accidents like drowning. Supervision is imperative when children are in the pool at all times.

Prevent Unauthorized Access

Make sure that there is always an adult supervising the children when they are using the pool. To prevent unauthorized access, you should put barricades around the pool so they will not get in without your knowledge.

Fences with locked gates would even be more effective in keeping the children out for their own safety. They would have to ask permission to use the pool to gain access to it. You would always know when they are using the pool so you will be able to make sure there is someone to supervise them every time.

You can also put some sturdy pool covers and safety nets on the pool so if children accidentally fall to the pool, they will only fall to the cover and they will not drown. In addition to that, such covers would even help you keep your pool free of dirt and debris. This makes the pool safe from drowning and from any infections or irritation due to dirty swimming pools.

Flotation Devices Imperative

Children can be very boisterous and active. They can go running around and playing with other children. In many instances falling into the pool becomes inevitable. When this happens what would help make them safer are some flotation devices. If they can grab unto some flotation devices they will be saved from drowning. It would even help children and even adults who can barely swim enjoy the pool too.

Access to Safety and Emergency Pool Accessories

That is why you would at least need a phone by the pool. This would allow you to call for help immediately in cases of emergency. Other pool safety devices should be accessible as well. This will help prevent accidents and help you act immediately when they happen. It would be best to build a pool house where everything can be stored. Everybody would know where to look if they need anything. This will help make the pool and its surrounding areas safe and clean for the children and everyone else as well.

photo credit: I believe in lucky pennies

It’s difficult, time-consuming, and expensive to change the swimming pool water everyday. That is why most pool owners will only put cleaning chemicals for the swimming pool. If you have a pool in your house also, and it’s your first time to have one, better have the three most important chemicals that pool owners should have.

Chlorine Tablets

Chlorine tablets are perhaps the most common chemicals for swimming pool. These are used to kill the germs in the swimming pool water. You can find this chemical in different dimensions named as 1 inch and 3 inch. You’ll usually put three to four tablets of chlorine every time. But how often should you put chlorine tablets for your swimming pool?

During summer, say you use the swimming pool everyday, the ideal frequency to change the chlorine tablets is every week. Each skimmer will need one set of chlorine tablets, which will be 3 to 4 tablets each set.

Now, you might already be imagining how many chlorine tablets you’ll need for your swimming pool. Better buy chlorine tablets by the bucket. One bucket contains about 30 to 50 chlorine tablets. Every bucket is priced around $80 each so it’s really more expensive if you’ll use the swimming pool more often.

Alkaline Powder

Using chlorine tablets will surely raise the acid level of the pool water. When that happens, the metals in the swimming pool will start to corrode. You’ll notice if there is a need for alkaline water if the water turns to misty green color.

But don’t put too much alkaline powder to the pool because it will make the water look cloudy. When the pool water is cloudy, that means the germ level has increased, which could lead to hazardous health issues.

Alkaline powder should be used as how the manufacturer recommends it. Carefully follow the manufacturer’s instructions so you’ll only give the proper amount of alkaline for your swimming pool.

Chlorine Powder

Use this chemical to kill germs like bacteria and algae that might have been in the pool or developing in the pool. Doing this will also prevent multiplication of germs and algae at a fast rate.

For the chlorine powder to be effective, you need to consume a large amount of it than other chemicals. Worse, chlorine powder can be expensive so it is important that you determine how much you need before buying in bulk.

Anyway, it’s okay if you’ve already bought some sacks of chlorine powder since you’ll regularly need it for your swimming pool.

Before you buy or use these three necessary chemicals, make sure first that you know the dos and don’ts of using and handling these chemicals. You should not mix any chemicals so better place them in one container for each chemical. Don’t add water to any dry chemical as well because doing so will change its composition. Also, make sure you won’t hold the chemicals using your bare hands.

Always remember, no matter how helpful, chemicals are still hazardous especially when used wrongly. So take extra precautions before you put anything to your swimming pool. Always consult the manufacturer’s recommendations—better safe than sorry.