When it comes to above ground swimming pool maintenance you’ll find that you’re spending a lot of time testing and treating the water. This is important to ensure your water is clean, safe and fresh and it won’t cause any harm to the bathers or the swimming pool components. Adding the chemicals in the wrong way can curtail their effectiveness and possibly harm the pool. Where to put chemicals in the pool, how to properly mix them and adding the correct amounts will all play a role in proper swimming pool chemical usage.
The Water Cleaning Process
Because most swimming pool chemicals are highly concentrated, you’ll need to dilute them before adding to the pool. Failure to do so could cause etching, staining, bleaching and other damage to the pool components. This is especially important with granular chemicals. Make sure they’re thoroughly dissolved in water before adding to the pool. It’s best to have a clean and dedicated bucket in which to mix the chemicals.
Most of the time you’ll want your pool pump to be running and the pool completely full of water before adding any chemicals. You’ll also want the pump to continue running for several hours after adding the chemicals to allow them to be properly mixed with the water.
How to Add Chemicals
You’ll typically want to add the chemicals around the entire edge of the pool. Start near the water return and slowly walk around the perimeter of the pool while emptying your bucket of chemicals into the water. You’ll want to add more of the chemical to the deep end than the shallow end. Empty the last remains of the bucket when you’ve circled the entire pool and are back in front of the water return.
Never add chemicals directly to the pool skimmer unless the directions specify it. Undiluted chemicals, especially acids, can cause damage to pool components, so you want to ensure they aren’t in direct contact with sensitive equipment such as the water pump.
Before you add chemicals it’s a good idea to wash out your water pump skimmer baskets. Backwashing your water filter will also aid in the circulation of the added chemicals. Refrain from backwashing the filter after adding chemicals as this will unnecessarily waste them.
Chlorine tablets shouldn’t be added directly to the skimmer basket either. This can cause high concentrations of chlorine to come into contact with the water pump, heater, and filter and cause damage over the long run. Chlorine should be added using floating feeders or erosion feeders that are attached directly to the plumbing system.
If you need to add acid to your pool you should make sure to keep it away from the skimmer intake as it can cause damage. Also, make sure you don’t splash or spill onto any pool surfaces or the deck. Evenly add it around the entire pool while the pump is running. The exception to this is when you’re reducing the total alkalinity and you need to add it into one area of the deep end with the pumps turned off.
Now that you know how to add pool chemicals, download a pool brochure to learn more about our models.