How much chlorine will I use in my pool?
We just bought a house in MI with a 16×32 inground pool. I am getting ready to buy chemicals for it. The pool has an automatic chlorinator and I am wondering whether or not to buy 3″ or 1″ tabs or the sticks or whatever else there is. Also how many pounds of chlorine will I go through in the summer running the pump for 12 hours a day. Any other pool tips or chemical advice would be greatly appreciated.
You definetly DO have to chlorinate a private residential pool, otherwise you will very quickly have a swamp rather than a swimming pool. Go with the 3″ tabs, they dissolve less quickly so you won’t have to add tabs but about every one to two weeks ( I have some pools on my route that I only have to add once a month). As far as how much to buy, as with everything, the more you buy the more you save. It does not expire so if you have some left at the end of the season, just store until the next.
As far as other tips, the key to keeping a nice pool if preventative maintenance ( as with any investment).
I recommend taking one day a week (only an hour or so) and perform maintenance:
*clean the water line (with a tile/vinyl cleaner from your local pool store)
*Remove large debris from bottom of pool with a leaf rake (large deep net that attaches to the end of telescopic pole)
*empty skimmer and pump baskets
*vacuum pool
*clean filter according to filter type (backwash sand filter, *clean cartridge elements in cartridge filter, and for DE backwash and recharge with DE)
*Test chemicals — Test Chlorine and pH weekly, Total Alkalinty biweekly, and Calcium Hardness monthly.
Recommended chemical levels:
Chlorine: 1-5 ppm
pH: 7.2-7.6
Total Alkalinity: 80-120 ppm
Calcium Hardness: 200-300 ppm
In addition to chlorine, you will need to purchase other chemicals for balancing, namely Sodium Bicarbonate (for Total Alkalinity), Soda Ash (for pH), and Calcium Chloride( for calcium). If you would ever need to lower the pH, use Muriatic Acid.
You can buy these chemicals at your local pool store. They will most likely try to sell you BioGuard or some other brand of pool chemicals. The ones that I named are what we call bulk chemicals, they come in 50 lb. bags and are much less expensive. They are the exact same thing, you’re just not paying for advertisement. Again they do not go bad, so you can save them for years. Just make sure you store chemicals out of the elements.
I recommend getting yourself a good test kit (the best is made by Taylor). Do not use test strips as they are difficult to read and often wrong.
I see that you are in michigan. If you happen to be near the Saginaw/ Bay City area there is a great company there called Cherokee Pools. They have a retail store and also do service if you would ever need any repair work done.( My husband got his start with them years ago and we now own our own business in Myrtle Beach).
If you have any other questions I would be more than happy to answer them.
Polynesian Pool & Spa Grand Rapids MI Installation Service