Pool Experts

Water with high levels of dissolved minerals, such as calcium and magnesium, can show up throughout your home as soap scum in your tub, chalky deposits on your shower head, and scale buildup that impacts the performance of your appliances. Unfortunately, it can also affect your swimming pool. This guide will show you how to treat hard water in your pool before it tanks your water quality and damages your equipment.   What does hard water do to a pool? Before we explore how to treat hard water, it’s important to understand the effects of heavy mineral loads. Here are some of the signs and symptoms of hard water in your pool, spa, or hot tub:  Creates scale buildup Hard, white mineral deposits on your pool walls, tile lines, ladders, and other surfaces are a classic sign of hard water. However, these visible effects may indicate unseen stains in your pump and filtration system, which may increase internal pressure, reduce water flow, and make your pool much harder to clean.  No matter the location, hardened calcium carbonate deposits often require professional treatment.  Damages heaters and salt cells When scale accumulates inside a pool heater, heat exchanger, or salt chlorine generator, it acts as an insulator, causing these machines to work harder and less efficiently. Your equipment may use more power than usual, require more frequent maintenance, and fail prematurely.  Clouds the water Particularly high calcium levels and imbalanced water chemistry can cause minerals to come out of solution and give your pool water a milky, cloudy appearance.  What causes hard water in a swimming pool? Let’s assess the underlying causes of hard water in a swimming pool so you can determine how to effectively treat it.  Your source water Among all possible causes, the water you use to fill your pool has the biggest impact on calcium hardness. Tap and well water often contain elevated levels of dissolved minerals, so it’s possible your water source is the primary culprit behind the issue.  You might feel tempted to install a water softener to remove calcium and magnesium before it enters your home, but this isn’t recommended. Remember, your pool needs a certain amount of dissolved minerals to protect your pool from corrosion, wear, and calcium leaching.  Evaporation and top-offs The natural evaporation process reduces the water level in your pool, leaving behind dissolved minerals. In turn, those particles become more concentrated as water levels drop. Unfortunately, if your water source is also hard, refilling your pool will add more calcium and magnesium, so top-offs ultimately increase the pool's hardness.  Pool chemicals Certain chemicals, such as calcium hypochlorite, are used to shock pool water without raising levels of CYA and other conditioners. However, not all homeowners understand how they affect calcium hardness. This is why it’s so important to keep a testing kit handy and regularly assess your water chemistry.  Imbalanced pH and alkalinity While high pH and total alkalinity levels alone don’t increase calcium hardness, they can raise the risk of dissolved calcium solidifying and forming scale on pool surfaces. Under these conditions, mineral deposits can develop quickly, becoming out of control at a rapid pace. How to treat hard water in your swimming pool No one wants to swim in a cloudy pool that irritates their skin and dries out their hair, so let’s discuss how to treat hard water 1. Test your water Always test your pool’s water chemistry to determine the precise concentration of dissolved minerals. Be sure to use the right type of test kit. For example, you should use a saltwater testing kit for a saltwater pool. The results will reveal how hard or soft your water is and help determine the best treatment plan.  The ideal range is between 100 and 400 ppm.  2. Drain and refill If your readings show extremely high calcium hardness levels, starting from scratch may be your best option. Consider partially draining the pool, then refilling it with water that’s lower in dissolved solids. Although some instances require complete draining, these are rare and time-consuming, so it’s best to start conservatively.  On the other hand, many people choose to hire a service to perform reverse osmosis on their existing water with a specialized machine.  3. Use a scale preventer Softening your water may not be the best idea, but a scale preventer can help you work with higher calcium hardness levels. Scale inhibitors or sequestrants don’t actually remove calcium from the water, but they keep the particles dissolved, so they can’t form scale deposits.  4. Switch sanitizers Pools that require frequent applications of calcium hypochlorite are at risk of elevated hardness. Consider using liquid chlorine or a salt chlorine generator as an alternative solution.  Shop GPS Pools for all your swimming pool products and chemicals! GPS Pools is here to help you achieve optimal water chemistry and keep your pool splash-ready all year long. Reach out today to learn more about our maintenance services!  

Balancing water chemistry is one of the most important pillars of pool care and maintenance. While chlorine and pH tend to dominate the conversation, optimal phosphate levels can be just as vital. Today, we’re talking about phosphate remover for pools, so you can better understand how it works and when you should use it! What, exactly, do phosphates do to a swimming pool? Are phosphates really that bad for your pool? Here’s an overview of how they impact water quality: Food for algae Phosphorus is an essential nutrient for all plant life, including algae. Algae feed on these compounds, which enable exponential growth. Unfortunately, even a pool with crystal-clear water can have a high phosphate content. If sanitizer levels drop, these conditions become perfect for an algae bloom.  Drain on your sanitizer As algae reproduce, chlorine and other sanitizers must work even harder to kill it, causing sanitizer levels to plummet quickly.  Pools with consistently high phosphate readings can be increasingly difficult and expensive to maintain without a phosphate remover, as chlorine must constantly fight new algae rather than clean the water of other impurities. In turn, you must raise levels of hypochlorite (the active sanitizing agent in free chlorine) to compensate for the loss.  Common phosphate sources Phosphates are naturally occurring compounds found throughout your home and the environment in both living and non-living things, so it’s no surprise they often make their way into swimming pools. Common sources include: Leaves, grass clippings, pollen, and other organic debris Rainwater and storm runoff Fertilizers Body oils, sweat, and topical products from swimmers Certain pool chemicals Municipal and well-water sources How does a phosphate remover for pools work? A phosphate remover for pools uses a process called chemical precipitation to remove phosphorus compounds. Let’s take a closer look at how it works.  Binding agent Unlike older phosphate removers like aluminum sulfate, which were harder to use and adversely affected water quality, most modern formulas rely on lanthanum. Once applied to the pool, the lanthanum ions bind to phosphate ions, forming an insoluble compound called lanthanum phosphate. In other words, a phosphate remover for pools doesn’t destroy phosphates – it simply converts them to a larger, solid mass.  Filtration Following application, you may be left with larger particles floating around in your pool. So, how do you get rid of them? This is where your filtration system comes into play. Those newly formed compounds will remain in the water column until they’re captured by your filter.  For the best results, run your pump for several hours to several days. Then clean or backwash your filter to eliminate debris and maintain optimal performance. You might be surprised by how much solid material your filter has collected.  Water clarity No one wants to see cloudy water in their swimming pool, but after applying a phosphate remover, it’s actually a positive sign that the treatment is working as intended. That murky, hazy appearance is caused by the binding process and intensifies as phosphate particles become larger.  When should you use phosphate remover in your pool? Balanced water chemistry requires a strategic approach. Here are a few ways to determine when your pool, spa, or hot tub needs a phosphate remover:  High phosphate readings Water testing supplies should be your first line of defense whenever your pool chemistry is in question. However, interpreting the results can be a little tricky. Unlike free chlorine, alkalinity, and pH, there’s no universal standard outlining when a reading is considered too high. Some people use a phosphate remover when levels exceed 500 parts per billion, while others treat any pool that tests above 125 ppb.  Seasonal milestones Phosphate readings may peak predictably at certain times of the year, including: At the beginning of pool season During peak pollen season In autumn when leaf litter accumulates in the pool   It’s also a good idea to test phosphate levels following any heavy rainstorm or flooding and after refilling your pool. You might also keep an enzyme treatment on hand to break down organic contaminants before they fully decompose, helping you prevent algae blooms down the line.  Stubborn algae blooms Algae that keeps returning despite maintaining balanced water chemistry and sanitizer levels may indicate elevated phosphates as part of the problem. Remember, phosphate remover won’t kill existing algae, but it will eliminate a primary food source that keeps it happy. But when it’s used alongside proper chlorine levels, circulation, and filtration, it can help prevent algae growth.  Here’s a step-by-step guide to effectively tackling stubborn algae blooms:  Scrub affected surfaces to dislodge stuck-on algae. Use an extra-strength pool shock to destroy existing algae.  Clean or backwash the filter to eliminate any traces of algae.  Apply a phosphate remover to reduce the algae’s food source and help prevent future blooms.  Looking for the perfect pool products? Shop GPS Pools! At GPS Pools, we carry the supplies and equipment you need for your in-ground or above-ground pool! Shop our collections or explore our wide range of professional services today! 

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