Proper post-party pool cleaning is essential to keep your water crystal clear and your equipment running smoothly. In this guide, we’ll cover the top pool cleaning tips after a party, from skimming and shocking to filter maintenance and chemical balancing.
Check Your pH Level
The basic building blocks of pool chemistry are chlorine, alkalinity, calcium hardness, and, for me, the most important is pH. Your pool water’s pH level has the ability to hinder your chlorine’s effectiveness, cause damage to your pool basin, and negatively affect your swimmers. Your pool’s target pH should be in the range of 7.2 – 7.8.
To ensure your pH is in check, keep a supply of pool test strips or liquid reagent Taylor Test Kits on hand, and of course, have the correct balancing chemicals for said adjustments: pH Up or pH Down.
Shock Your Pool
With our pH in a good range, the pins are set up for the proverbial bowling ball that is Chlorine to come clean’em up. No one likes to think of their pool party guests as hosts for a horde of bacteria, unless you’re Howard Hughes, but the long and short of it is, they are. No matter how long a swimmer pre-rinses before dipping into your pool, they’re going to affect chlorine levels negatively; they could bring in germs, or when they leave, they take some active chlorine along with them.
The best and quickest way to counteract that dip in Chlorine is to use a recommended dose of regular chlorine shock and non-chlorine shock as a finishing touch, post-shock treatment. Traditional chlorine shock is a super-concentrated, non-stabilized form of Chlorine, which spikes your chlorine levels, which should effectively kill most germs or harmful organics in your pool.
The byproduct is chlorine shock doing the good work are chloramines, which are the cause of that unpleasant “chlorine” smell. A lot of people think that the chloramine stench is the sign of a clean pool, when it’s actually a big red flag that your pool needs to be cleaned; that’s where non-Chlor shock comes in. Non-chlor shock is a powerful oxidizer that breaks down organic and non-organic compounds in your pool water. The oxidation chemical reaction breaks down the chloramine compound, eliminating that nasty chlorine smell.
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