The blooms are now eminent. They are currently growing and some may already be falling. This news post goes out as a warning to pool owners everywhere that have any amount of blooming trees around their pool. Please make sure to empty the skimmer and pump baskets for your pool every day, twice a day if you have a complete canopy.
Every March or so, we get a seasonal drop out of blooms. Right before the blooms, the leaves of the oaks will drop out to accommodate the emerging blooms, so you get a double wa-mee if you’re lucky enough to own a few oaks in your back yard. As if dealing with a constant rain of blooms isn’t enough, spring will typically bring rains and windy weather conditions. These things can make a pool owners frustration with the pool even worse.
The next thing you will have to endure is the pollen. Pollen is attracted to the pool water like a magnet. Along with being in amounts detrimental to human health, it is very tiny. Each grain of pollen is times smaller, in diameter, than a human hair. If you have a sand filter, brace yourself for what is in store for you.
Sand filter media is many, many times larger than a grain of pollen. That is the problem, it’s like trying to catch a mosquito with a large cargo net. Inevitably the mosquito will simply pass through the large holes in the net, as will the pollen simply work its way through the sand. If you have a sand filter attached to your pool, arm yourself with a good clarifier.
Clarifiers work on a simple premise, most particles have a negative charge, clarifier is a positively charged solution. Opposites attract, as the paricles become clumped together, they get heavier and will eventually drop to the bottom. Pollen being very small, keeps it in suspension, when it clumps, it gets heavy enough to drop to the bottom where they can easily be vacuumed to waste using your standard vacuum.
Cartrige filters and especially D.E. filters will do a lot better job of removing these tiny particles. Remember pollen is usually yellow and most pool water is usually some sort of blue, yellow and blue make green. Often times pool owners think that they have an algae bloom, when in fact all they are really looking at is the color created when blue and yellow come together.
If you have an “algae bloom” that doesn’t die, no matter how much shock you put in the water, take a step back and make sure you are dealing with algae and not a pollen infested pool. If that is the case, then a good clarifier will be a lot better investment than all the shock in the world. I have tried to shock the color out of the pollen, and have been unsuccessful.
If you have a severe pollen infestation, then you might want to try a floc. Floc is a super clarifier on steriods that requires a procedure, that must be followed to be successful. A floc will essentially drop everything suspended in the water in about a 24 hour period, that can easily be vacuumed to waste very quickly. Follow the instructions and you will clear up your pool quickly.
If during this difficult time of year you can at minimum remember to empty your skimmer baskets and pump baskets you would be doing yourself a huge favor. Not only are you helping keep your pool clean, but you are more importantly protecting your equipment. Your pumps are a mechanical device that turn on when asked, no matter what condition exists. If your pump can’t pull water because it is full of debris it will steam the water that is in it and begin to melt, shrink, and damage your plumbing. This also has the potential for buring up your seal. Water flowing through the pump acts as a radiator, cooling the pump, without it, it will burn up. If you need an example, try running your car without fluid in the radiator.
If you simply do the above, remembering to empty all baskets and bags, you will keep your pool cleaner and protect your equipment. If your pool turns colors like brown or maybe even black, don’t worry, this is the “tea effect”. All the debris in the pool is simply “teaing” up the water and can be “blued” by a good shocking.
A lot of things happen during the spring season, what doesn’t have to happen is damage to the equipment. A pool can always be cleaned up, but equipment needs to be repaired. Pools are a chore, even a challege this time of year. Do what you can to clean the pool and soon the trees will retreat and settle in for summer and things will get a lot easier. Hang in there, this spring season is not as bad as previous years and will soon be over. Then we will start to worry about algae and summer time use. That will be our topic next time.
If you need assistance during this difficult time of year, don’t hesistate to contact us at reliablepoolcareaustin.com.