BOAST

Maintaining the correct water balance is important for a few reasons:

• Bather comfort
• Chemical efficiency
• Easier maintenance
• Protect pool and plant equipment

To achieve balanced water, the below parameters should be kept within the recommended ranges:

pH: 7.2 – 7.6
Calcium Hardness (CH): 200mg/l minimum
Total Alkalinity (TA): 80 – 150mg/l

Oxidising is also known as shock dosing.

Oxidising or shock dosing is the process of adding high amounts of chlorine to the water, for the purpose of burning off bather wastes and chloramines, leaving you with refreshed pool water.

You should shock dose your pool weekly to keep the water safe and comfortable for bathers.

You should also shock dose your pool:

• When the water is cloudy
• After a thunderstorm / heavy rainfall

Algae can grow and multiply rapidly in pool water, usually turning it green. Algae spores are not usually visible until there is a bloom, which can be time consuming and expensive to fix.

To keep algae at bay you should:

• Maintain the correct water balance
• Maintain the correct sanitiser levels
• Oxidise weekly to destroy the food source
• Use an algaecide to support the above

Sanitising is all about keeping your pool water safe, clean and healthy by preventing harmful bacteria from growing. Without a sanitiser, your pool can quickly become unsafe and unpleasant to swim in.

Chlorine is the most widely used sanitiser. It’s effective, easy-to-use, and keeps your water hygienic by destroying bacteria and breaking down organic waste.

Chlorine levels should be kept between 1.0 – 3.0 mg/l

Bromine is another option, often chosen by those with sensitive skin. Unlike chlorine, it is not broken down by sunlight.

Bromine levels should be kept between 2.0 – 4.0mg/l

By continuously maintaining the right sanitiser levels, you’ll keep your pool water clear and bacteria free.

Without testing, you really don’t know the state of your water. There are three ways to do this:

• Test strips
• Pool testers
• Electronic test kits

Test strips are the easiest and cheapest method of testing.

Regardless of the method you choose, it is important that your pool water is regularly tested, ideally everyday during the swimming season but twice a week is the minimum.

You should check the following levels are in range:

• pH
• Total alkalinity
• Calcium hardness
• Sanitiser