At Champions Pool Repair & Service, we understand that you want to keep your pool in the best shape possible for swimming season and beyond, so we’ve laid out the top 5 ways pool owners may be damaging their equipment and hindering their swimming season:
The “hardness” of your pool’s water refers to the amount of calcium and magnesium in the water. Pool water that is not hard can damage the plaster, filter system, and fiberglass. By keeping the water in your pool hard, you can prolong the overall health of your pool’s interior and avoid damage that requires costly repairs. Aim for a maintained hardness level of 200-225 ppm and enjoy a healthy, beautiful pool for years to come.
An accumulation of algae can clog your pool’s filters, meaning that the filter cannot function properly and will quickly malfunction. If you notice an algae buildup in your pool, your first response may be to use your automatic cleaner to address the problem. However, this can actually make the issue worse, as the automatic cleaner may spread the algae around your pool rather than removing it. Instead, use your pool vacuum to manually remove the build-up of algae. Be sure to remove the vacuum’s drain plug to ensure the algae is sucked up directly into the vacuum.
A pool with consistently low pH levels will quickly become too acidic. While a highly acidic pool may look healthy and clean, it can actually cause significant damage to:
If the water’s pH level reaches extreme lows, it can cause damage to everything it touches. To ensure your pool’s pH levels are not getting too low, test the water often. Aim for an alkalinity level between 80 ppm and 120 ppm. To ensure the job is done correctly, you may want to enlist the help of a professional pool service company, such as Champions Pool Repair & Service.
To ensure that your pool’s water is clean and safe for swimmers, it should be filtered once a day. Usually, this takes 8-12 hours. If you do not give the pump enough time to filter all the water, it may become dirty and develop damaging algae. However, if the pump is run too often, it becomes overworked and burns out much more quickly. Running the pool pump once a day for a maximum of 12 hours is enough to keep your pool healthy without causing any damage.
At Champions Pool Repair & Service, we understand that your pool is a place to gather with friends and family for fun times that will lead to great memories. However, if you have unintentionally damaged your pool with one of these mistakes, the fun may need to be postponed. If you are noticing that your pool has become damaged, contact Champions Pool Repair & Service. Our professionals will have your pool running like new again in no time.
We all want a sparkling blue pool but should still focus on being environmentally conscious. Check out our list of the top ten ways to be a green pool owner.
1. Make the switch to a solar-powered heater
It's never clear whether or not using a pool heater is environmentally friendly. On one side, the less energy you use, the more environmentally friendly you are. A heater, on the other hand, allows you to use your pool for longer periods of time (or even the entire year).
Using the sun's energy will not only save you energy, but it will also save you money on your monthly electricity bills. Although converting to a solar heater will require an initial investment, the benefits will outweigh the costs. The sun's heat is infinitely renewable, and it will always be free.
2. Make Use of a Pool Cleaning Robot
Robotic pool cleaners are environmentally friendly for many reasons. For one, they minimize the number of chemical cleaners used in your pool. Second, they cut down on the number of times you need to clean and replace your pool filter. Third, they are over 90% more effective than conventional pool filtration systems and operate for less than five cents per hour.
3. Make Your Pumps Work with A Timer
Most circulation pumps work more often than they should, wasting energy and costing you more money than they are worth.
According to Energy.gov, you can only operate your pump for six hours a day, which should be enough if your pump is sized appropriately for the volume of your pool.
However, turning it on and off on a regular basis can be inconvenient. This either causes your pump to run inefficiently or causes your pool's circulation to suffer. Adding an automatic time clock to your pump system is the most efficient way to ensure that your water is filtered on a regular basis without wasting electricity.
Champions Pool – The Eco-Friendly Options
If you’re looking for help with maintaining your pool, then Champions Pool is the way to go. Champions Pool is the eco-friendly, convenient, and affordable route to go when looking for a pool company. Schedule an appointment today!
After a long cold period, everyone is ready for a swim, but you can’t just hop in. An improperly re-opened pool can cause harm to your swimmers. You might now be asking yourself “how to start up a pool for the first time?”, so here are our 8 steps for preparing your pool to open it.
Your pool’s pump is key during the circulation process. Regularly check the pump basket to ensure that there is nothing that could clog the impeller. Additionally, pool owners should check that the pump’s lid is well-lubricated and secured tightly to prevent any air leaks. To maintain clean water, the pump should be allowed to circulate the water for at least 8 – 12 hours per day. If you begin to notice problems, like strange noises coming from the pump, be sure to call a local pool company for a repair. This will help ensure your pool’s water is constantly being circulated properly.
Sanitizing the pool is essential to prevent potentially harmful bacteria from building up in your pool. Typically, chlorine tablets are the sanitizer of choice for pool owners. You should add enough chlorine to maintain a level of 1.0 – 2.0 ppm, which you can confirm by using a water testing kit purchased from your local pool supply store. It is also essential to shock the pool every so often. This is essentially a super-dose of chlorine that eliminates any residual bacteria or algae. Chlorine conditioner will also be needed as a part of the sanitation process to protect the chlorine from degrading in intense sunlight. Make sure to let any chemicals sit for a week before hopping in. A trusted pool company will be able to give first time pool owners advice on what products are needed to maintain clean water.
The filter helps keep your water clean by trapping debris and particles that can quickly lead to a dirty pool. However, for the filtration process to be correctly carried out, a clean and well-maintained filter is necessary. Whether you choose a sand filter, DE filter, or cartridge filter, each one requires a certain cleaning schedule. Talk to trusted pool experts to learn the cleaning and maintenance needs for your filter.
At Champions Pool Repair & Service, we provide expert pool repair and maintenance services for Spring, Texas, to help keep your pool healthy. Give us a call at (281) 355-8504 or visit us at https://championspools.com/pool-services/.
With ice laying on the ground for multiple days in Houston, the freeze was very damaging. Champions Pool hopes that everyone has remained safe and well. As you assess the damages to your home, please, be sure to check your pool as well. Here is a helpful guide on what to check for when it comes to your pool.
If you removed these items prior to the freeze, this would not apply to you. Plastic materials do not hold up well in freezing cold temperatures. When left in water that reaches a freezing temperature, the expansion inside of the skimmers, baskets, or other plastic components can cause them to crack and break.
Things to check for: Cracks, breakage, stressed or bulging areas
2. Pool Pump
Frozen water inside of your pool pump can easily break components. Even if you left the pool pump running, during this hard freeze, it is possible that the water still froze. If you lost power during the outages for a prolonged period of time, this would also indicate possible damage due to the water not circulating continuously and potentially freezing within the pump and equipment.
Things to check for: Strange noises, changes in functionality, visible damages such as cracks, breakage, loss of pressure to the pump, water not circulating
3. Pipes
During this trying time in Houston, plenty of pipes have burst due to the hard freeze. Check all of your pool pipes to ensure that they are intact, and you don’t see a significant loss of water to you pool or any large puddles of water around the pool or equipment.
Things to check for: Leaks, cracks, chipping, loss of water in the pool, large puddles of water around pool or equipment
4. Pool Heaters
The freeze can damage a pool heater with a cracked rear header due to the temperatures, but other portions are susceptible to breakage as well. Be sure to do a thorough evaluation of all the parts and connections to assess for any damage or breakage.
Things to check for: Changes in sound or functionality, cracks, breakage
5. Tile (If Applicable)
Tiles in the pool can expand, crack, and fall apart when it freezes. While pool tile breakage is usually common and not the biggest item on this list, it is the most visible and could lead to injury once you are back to enjoying the pool.
Things to check for: Broken or chipped off tile, small cracks, loose tiles
Champions Pool – Serving Local Houstonians
We know it’s hard to know for sure if an appliance is broken which is why we’re here to help. Champions Pool is servicing Houstonians during this hard time by coming out to your location to check up on your equipment while keeping up with CDC COVID-19 guidelines. To schedule an appointment, contact us (link to contact form).
Winter pool care in Texas is unlike other states, as pools do not need to be closed or winterized. Instead, Texas has an off season. Winter pool care in Texas consists of lowering the run time, and adding less chemicals.
For a more in-depth explanation of how to care for your pool in the winter, read our previous article: HERE
Pool chemicals in the winter do not vary much from summertime chemicals. The primary chemicals not commonly used in the summertime are oxidizer, sanitizer, and algaecide. Of course, the regular chemicals used in balancing water chemistry are still necessary to care for your pool.
Oxidizer preforms the same duties as chlorine, and is in fact safer than chlorine. It is preferable in winter, since chlorine takes longer to dissipate in cold water, making oxidizer the more effective way to kill off germs.
Sanitizer preforms the same function as oxidizer but also prevents the growth of viruses, as well as staving off algae and other organic contaminants brought in by the weather.
Algaecide is an important addition to the winter chemical list, as it kills any growing algae. In addition, it adds an extra preventative barrier against algae growth alongside sanitizer.
It’s no surprise that BioGuard is one of the most renowned names in the pool industry. Champions Pool gives you easy access to these excellent pool products both online and in store. Not only does Champions provide easy access to these products, we will also maintenance your pool for you! For more information about pool products, pool maintenance, or any general pool care questions Contact Us.
If you’re missing that summertime swim, a pool heater is the solution. Many know the joys of having a warm pool to swim in during the summer, but don’t know that like every other pool appliance, a pool heater requires regular maintenance and check-ups. If your pool heater is no longer keeping your pool warm during the winter, it may be time for maintenance or a replacement.
More than likely if your pool is no longer being heated to the optimal temperature, the pool heater will only need a repair. While it may appear easier to replace it than having a company such as Champions service the heating unit, the price of a new heater is significantly steeper than that of maintenance. The cost of a new heat pump usually starts at around $2,000 but can go up to $5,000 depending on what type of unit you may need. Make note, this price doesn’t include installation, because installing it yourself won’t be a cakewalk.
Professional pool heater repair doesn’t just help you save money upfront; it prevents costly problems from happening down the line, too. For example, if your heater’s sensor isn’t working properly, the other parts of the heater will overwork to compensate for the deficiency. Overtime this overworking of parts can caused it to break down faster, potentially ruining almost the entirety of the unit meaning you’ll need to buy a new one anyway.
Your heater is probably the part you think about the least since it has seasonal use, but just like the rest of your pool it still needs to be maintained. Some other things to think about when it comes to pool maintenance is your water chemistry. Imbalances such as the pH balance being off can lead to chlorine dissipating quickly potentially leading to corroded metal equipment and can even put your swimmers in danger. (If your swimmers are experiencing irritation and dryness of the skin and stinging to the eyes, contact Champions Pool immediately to have your water chemistry checked.)
Champions Pool Repair and Services is Houston’s leading pool repair company. With convenient servicing around your schedule, COVID safety procedures, and knowledgeable, skilled, and polite technicians. Champions Pool is ready to service all Houstonians in need of pool help. Let us maintain and service your pool, protecting it from irreparable damage by scheduling an appointment, call us at our Kuykendahl location (346) 336-6713, or our Louetta location (281) 355-8504 to schedule an appointment.