Swimming Pool Chemicals � How To Keep Your Pool Water Clean

Swimming pool chemicals are an absolutely essential component of swimming pool maintenance for both above ground and in-ground swimming pools. If you don't treat your pool water with the proper chemicals on a regular basis, you can end up with a variety of significant problems. First and foremost, your pool can become a health hazard for your swimmers, as bacteria and other harmful contaminants will build up in the water. Without the proper use of pool chemicals, you will likely also end up with dirty, cloudy water as well as stubborn algae blooms. However, simply by keeping up a regular routine with the right pool chemicals, you can enjoy a clean and sanitary pool environment all season long.

When it comes to swimming pool chemicals, the sanitizer is arguably the most important. Sanitizers helped to keep the pool water clean by eradicating bacteria and other contaminants that could otherwise potentially cause infections or illnesses in your swimmers. Pool chlorine is the most common and widely used sanitizer and it is very effective for creating a healthy swimming environment. When pool chlorine is added to water, a reaction occurs, which results in the production of chlorine's active form, hypochlorous acid. The hypochlorous acid then deactivates and kills harmful microorganisms such as bacteria.

Although pool chlorine is the most commonly used pool sanitizer, it is not the only option available. Another highly effective sanitizing chemical used to keep swimming pools clean is pool bromine. Like chlorine, pool bromine destroys bacteria to promote clean water. However, there are a few differences between pool chlorine and pool bromine that are important to mention. First of all, bromine dissolves more slowly than chlorine does and, therefore, must be dispensed into a swimming pool through an automatic feeder. Secondly, pool bromine is a pre-stabilized chemical which means that it does not require the addition of stabilizing chemicals. Furthermore, bromine does not produce a strong odour like chlorine does and is generally less irritating to skin and eyes. For these latter reasons, some pool owners greatly prefer to use bromine over chlorine.

In addition to sanitizers, pool clarifiers and pool cleaning chemicals can also help to keep your pool water sparkling clean and clear. Some pool clarifiers are available as fast-dissolving gels and help to remove dirt and oil from the pool water. This not only prevents the water from becoming cloudy, it also helps to boost the efficiency of your pool's filter. While pool clarifiers and other similar swimming pool chemicals can be used during the swimming season, there are also specific products available that are designed to be used during the winter months.

In order to keep your pool water clean and ideal for swimming, water balancing chemicals and algaecides are also important components of every pool maintenance routine. Since chemical levels are affected by many different factors such as sunlight, rain, water evaporation and the presence of dirt and oils in the water, they are constantly fluctuating. This is why it's vital to test your pool water regularly. Whenever the pH level, total alkalinity or other pool chemical levels need to be adjusted, balancing chemicals allow you to do just that. Examples of common balancing swimming pool chemicals include pH increasers and reducers, calcium hardness increasers and total alkalinity increasers.

As the name suggests, algaecides are pool chemicals which are designed to kill and prevent algae blooms. Algae is a fast-growing and very stubborn type of plant life that can very quickly appear and take over a swimming pool that is not properly cared for. Algae blooms not only make swimming pools unsightly and unpleasant, they can also clog up your pool's filtration system. Although algae can be very stubborn and troublesome, there are a variety of algaecides available that are very effective at eradicating and preventing algae growth. When you incorporate the use of an algaecide into your pool maintenance routine, you will likely reduce the need for frequent shock treatments.

Stabilizers are another type of chemical that may be important for some pool owners. As already mentioned, pool bromine does not require stabilizing chemicals. However, other chemicals such as chlorine do require stabilizers. The purpose of stabilizers is to protect the chlorine molecules and to slow their deterioration by UV radiation from the sun. In other words, stabilizing pool chemicals make chlorine more effective and provide the chlorine molecules with more time to eradicate bacteria and contaminants from the water.

Considering the role that swimming pool chemicals play in keeping pool water clean and free from algae and contaminants, it's easy to understand why they are so necessary. Any swimming pool, whether large or small or above ground or in-ground, should be treated on a regular basis with a sanitizer and any other necessary chemicals such as clarifiers and stabilizers. When you use the right chemicals in the right way, you can enjoy a fun, healthy and worry-free swimming season.