Owning your own swimming pool brings all the best parts of summer right to your backyard! It isn’t all sunshine and fun, though, as there are many pool problems you may face.
Pools are a big investment and between chemicals, filters, and construction, can develop some major issues.
You are in luck, as even the most bizarre and invasive of problems have easy solutions. We here at Sahara Construction & Custom Pools want you to keep your pool running for a long time to come. Read on below to see how!
Avoiding the 10 Most Common Pool Problems
Swimming pools are a big investment of time and money. You need to be vigilant that your investment stays in top working shape.
The list of worries is long, from contaminants to poor structure, but all of these problems have a solution. Here are 10 of the most common pool problems and what to do about them.
1. Algae Everywhere
Despite all the chemicals, it is not impossible for all sorts of things to grow in your pool. The thought is gross, but it can be an easy fix.
Algae shows itself by turning your pool green and is a signal that you haven’t kept up your pool maintenance. This problem, while common, only comes from neglect and weird circumstances.
Cleaning your pool on a regular basis can help to keep algae and other growths at bay. Shocking your pool can be a helpful strategy to hammer this idea home.
2. Various Filter Problems
Filters are key components to keeping your swimming pool neat and tidy in the background. When they are working, they can break down contaminants and pull the worst dirt and grime from your water.
When they are dirty, that is a good sign they are working. Filters will get clogged and dirty. If your filters are not dirty, then your filters have done something wrong.
The easy fix for this, of course, is to clean your filters. This is as simple as rinsing out all the dirt and grime in it. Remember to check it often, as a clogged filter can ruin your pool’s cleanliness.
3. Rough Surfaces
Cement pools will have a bit of a rough texture to them. This texture should not be enough to cause a lot of irritation or even bleeding by stepping and moving on it. If you often leave your pool with sore or even bloody, you have a real problem.
The problem could be one of two things. Your contractors may have made a mess and used an improper material or building technique. The other option is calcium build up.
To check the calcium build up, measure the pH level of your pool. You should be too around 7.2 to 7.6.
4. Cloudy Water
The green of algae or the brown of dirt and grime are obvious and bad. Have you ever noticed your pool has an overall cloudy appearance? This could be a sign of a few problems in your pool.
This is often a combination of a few problems. Check your filter to see that it is not clogged. This could be a simple clogged filter not getting out excess chemicals and contaminants.
Next, check the pH levels of your pool. Too high and you may have various buildups.
Last, you can check to see if the outside elements are spreading into your pool. Small little organisms and other debris could be small enough to notice, but big enough to cause problems.
5. Rust Stains in Your Pool
When you find the tell-tale signs of rust stains, often in orange and brown stains on your poolside, that can be a sign of a major problem.
If you are getting rust in your pool, and there is not an obvious source like rusty metal beside the pool, then it can be damage to your tiles and foundation.
Check for cracks in your pool. They may be letting water into a steel foundation and causing it to rust.
6. Irritation From Your Pool Water
Irritation from swimming in your pool is not the experience you often want with a big investment like this.
This is a common attachment to pH imbalance. Outside of the comfortable range of 7.2 or 7.6, the human body can get some serious damage done to it. Always check the pH balance of your pool on a consistent basis.
7. Cracks in the Pool Structure
The rust problem above is a hazardous side effect of cracks in your pool’s foundation. This may not always be a sign that you see, but cracks are no less dangerous.
Even the tiniest cracks can compromise the structure of your pool. It may take a keen eye, but a once over every few weeks to check for cracks can save you a lot of money. Catching a small crack before it breaks into a big one can be huge.
8. Calcium Build-Up
The rough surface issue is only the tip of the calcium problem iceberg. Calcium build ups come in two major forms: calcium carbonate or calcium silicate. Carbonate appears as white flakes, silicate shows up as grey scales.
Silicate is the more dangerous of the two. It takes longer to form and often comes from a leak in your foundation. With a long growing time, if you find calcium silicate, it has been there a while and you have a big problem.
Calcium carbonate is less dangerous and often due to a pH balance issue. You can remove both with calcium remover, pumice stone, and hard scrubbing.
9. Spalling
Spalling refers to the chipping away of a few layers of plaster in your pool. This is often a simple issue in how contractors built your pool. The contractors may have over troweled certain areas of your pool during construction.
You can sand these areas to flatten them out. If it is too extreme, you may need to have it troweled again, which can be a very involved process.
10. Foundation Shifts
A pool is not an absolute fixture. If the structure gets compromised or the ground around it suffers major issues, you can find your pool facing upheaval and intense breaks.
If it gets so far as having parts of the pool break or lift out of the ground, it may be too big of an issue to solve yourself. This is something you will have to keep a keen eye for and is an issue caused by your pool contractors.
Knowing what your insurance options for your pool are can save you huge expenses like this in the future.
Sorting Out Problems To Resume Your Fun
Swimming pool problems can be a downer, but with this list, you know to be ready for them! Keeping up with a swimming pool is a big responsibility, but you have help.
When you are in need of some heavy-duty maintenance, we here at Sahara Construction & Custom Pools are eager to help. Contact us today for more information!
