Cloudy water, algae, creepy-crawly and winged things. Without the proper maintenance, your pool can become a nightmare instead of a midsummer night’s dream.
It’s especially prone to problems from mid-summer onward as temperatures rise, heat waves become more frequent and relentless, and your pool becomes a breeding ground for bacteria and other undesirable conditions.
“By now, all the pools are open and everyone should be on a weekly cruise control for maintenance, but many times that’s not the case,” says Darrin Binder, owner of Binder Pools. The company, based in Shelter Island, serves all of the North and South Forks.
Binder says if you’re maintaining your pool yourself, the obvious signs that it needs attention include cloudy-looking water and the presence of algae, which can give the water a green tinge and is caused by poor filtration, out-of-balance water, low or inconsistent chlorine levels or poor water circulation.
“A pool is a living, breathing organism you have to keep in check,” he says.
Scott Thayer, operations manager at Shinnecock Pools in Southampton, says testing and maintaining the water balance is a big part of it.
“It’s important to have an understanding of what you’re testing for—think back to high-school chemistry: alkalinity, pH, calcium and chlorine,” he says. When servicing a contact, Thayer says he performs checks at least twice a week and recommend pool owners do the same, for example, apply chemical treatments if necessary and then three days later do a water check.
Binder says even with all the proper checks and applications, “It’s possible to have all that in order and still have issues.” For example, he notes, “Phosphates can get into your pool through some of the different chemicals or if you used fertilizer on a lawn that comes right up to the pool.”
Thayer says sun’s UV rays and high water temperatures can reduce the chlorine in the water. “The higher the water temperatures, the more chlorine will get eaten up,” a problem solved by using tablets or “shocking” your pool with liquid chlorine if the level gets below .5.
There are simple visual inspections a pool owner can perform: keeping the filter clean with weekly checks, ensuring the pump area and heater vents are free and clear of yard and leaf debris—including mulch—and garden or pool furniture.
Binder says a common mistake pool owners make is thinking they’re saving money or energy by running the pool filter at night, but he notes the pros of daytime filtration outweigh the cons.
“The pool water needs to circulate when the sun is out,” he says, to discourage algae growth and bacteria. When you do have an algae problem—and it can be yellow, black, brown or green—Thayer says give it a squirt of copper sulfate algaecide.
For seasonal changeovers, Binder says ensure the winter cover is in good shape and ready to go when needed and any automation is working. Thayer recommends cleaning the pool thoroughly (but do not drain), blow water out of all the in/outlets and using one gallon of nontoxic propylene antifreeze per pipe.
Binder’s final recommendation? Enlisting a certified pool professional “can always make your summer more enjoyable.”
