Pool owners who are not used to leaving pool for three weeks or longer might have been thinking of everything essential to prepare before leaving. The preparation is not that difficult, and would not take too much of everybody’s time, as long as the right procedures are brought into action.
In this article, we are going to emphasize what you a pool owner do when leaving pool for three weeks, and what could effect the pool. We are also going to figure out some maintenance tips to consider which might help pool owners address any possible issue that may occur while on vacation, as soon as they get home.
Part 1. Is Leaving Your Pool For Weeks A Problem?
We are not always around to swim in the pool, use it, or clean it. There can be times when we need to go out and enjoy life outside the pool, our homes, and our source of living. In cases when a pool owner is leaving pool for three weeks, could this be a problem?
The main dilemma that could be possibly derived from the situation we have above is the loss of chlorine in pools. This mostly concerns pools that are exposed to excessive sunlight or heat of the sun, chlorine can be used up by your pool water due to a lot of reasons. These reasons are:
- The heat of the sun might eat all the chlorine contents of your pool.
- There could be lots of organic and inorganic contaminants if your pool water does not have any cover and is exposed to an area where there are lots of trees.
- You did not make a test for your pool chemicals before leaving, making sure to top up what is lesser in the required level or adjust based on what is needed.
Once chlorine is used up, its ability as a sanitizer will deplete, also fresh chlorine has a really short turnaround time, once lost chlorine levels are not replenished, your pool is susceptible to many bacteria, germs, contaminants, and algae, of course. Once there is a lesser chlorine level in your pools, the pool can only hold up to 24 to 48 hours. Once it is passed the said time limit, you might come home to really dirty, unhealthy, unsafe, and very hard-to-treat pool water.
Part 2. Is There Anything You Could Do To Maintain Your Pool While You Are In A Vacation?
Whilst, it is really fun to get on a trip, it is not always the same for many pool owners. Although the difficulty will still depend on the duration of the trip, there could not be any better result especially if you are leaving pool for three weeks.
Three weeks is almost a month, and even if you have maintained your pool well before you leave, it could not be any nearer to its possible state once you come home. There can be unforeseen events that cannot be controlled and may pose huge effects on your pool water such as a storm, or a heavy rain. Things could be difficult especially if you do not have anyone to tend to your pool while you are away, so you have to brace yourself into coming home to a dirty pool.
When you have accepted that there is nothing you can do anymore, you just have to prepare all the necessary things that you might need to bring back your pool to its healthy state. You have to start by re-balancing the pH and the total alkalinity of your pool water, this will pose great impacts on the levels of chlorine and its ability to sanitize your pool water.
Once you are home, immediately check all your skimmer baskets, especially if your pool area is full of trees around, they might get clogged especially if you leave the pool for several weeks. You also have to check the filters, the pump, other pool equipment, floors, and your pool walls for any damage or excessive dirt. You have to execute deep cleaning as soon as possible to be able to avoid further damage to your pool.
Well, in case you are not sure whether you are leaving pool for three weeks or shorter, you can do the list of procedures below, aside from maintaining your pool’s sanitizer level.
1. Make sure that the chemicals in your pool are balanced.
The key to having a healthy and nice pool is having your chemicals balanced. Make sure all the basic markers are of the ideal ranges, these are the alkalinity, pH, cyanuric acid (CYA), and calcium hardness, to guide you, the level ranges are:
- Total Alkalinity must be between 80 and 120 ppm.
- The pH must be in the range between 7.2 and 7.8.
- The CYA or cyanuric acid levels must be in between 30 and 50 ppm, and if you have salt pools it needs to be in between 70 and 80 ppm.
- The calcium hardness must be in the range between 200 and 400 ppm.
It would also be safe to know your pool and the surroundings, it can happen that values of pH can be shifted while you are on vacation, in cases where you think your pH might go upwards, you can have a lower level of pH, so you have room for its sudden increase, in case.
2. Shock your pool water.
Once you shock your pool, it will be reset. It would be nicer to leave while your pool seems like it is reset. It is also needed to be able to oxidize and neutralize the contaminants in your pool water. In case there is algae in the early stage, it could also kill it. It will add a clean chlorine residual to your pool water, so it can last longer, a needed preparation as you leave your pool for weeks.
3. Do not forget to cover your pool.
This is important especially if your pool is uncovered and located in areas where there can be lots of contaminants like twigs, leaves, branches of trees, and a lot more. It will also protect your pool water by being quickly evaporated by the heat of the sun, or from being too exposed to sunlight causing your pool’s chlorine levels to deplete faster. Also, in cases of heavy storms, or heavy rains, it could minimize the possibility of having rainwater in your pool. This is also one effective way to drive away dirt and insects from infecting your pool.
4. Do not turn off your filter system.
If you are going away for quite some time, you have to leave your pool’s filter system running. This will help maintain the needed water circulation and filtration essential to maintaining your pool in a nice state.
5. Make sure your pool water is free from any debris.
It is also needed that you clean the surface of your pool and its surroundings before leaving. You can also brush the walls, and vacuum the floors to be able to remove anything that is settling down at the bottom. Free the skimmer baskets from any debris, and make sure your filter is cleaned so that it can perform its task well.
6. Be mindful of the water level.
You also have to make sure that your water level is exactly at its required level. Considering normal conditions, the pool water level must be around the middle of the skimmer to allow proper circulation, intake, and filtration to take place. It would also be better to check possible weather conditions in the coming days and consider it especially if you do not have any plan on covering your pool.
These are only some of the things that you can start doing to make sure the pool is in the right and nice state while you are away for a long time.
Part 3. FAQs
1. Will it be okay to turn off your pool pump for a week?
It is not a good way to save money, this will cause your pool chemicals to not circulate well, and algae could also be formed considering having it off for a longer time. Also, it will make the pump seals dry out which can make your pool pump leaky.
2. Is it safe to leave the solar cover on when pool water is being filtered?
There could be no harm in leaving your solar cover on why your filter is running. So, there could be no harm in having a solar cover while the filter is running if you go on a short but sweet vacation.