Apart from a pool being tiled or painted blue to give a blue impresion clean sanitized water will appear blue which is due to the way light is absorbed and reflected by the water. Light is made up of mainly red, green and blue. The water particles will absorb some of the colors especially red. Red light does not penetrate the water as much as blue light does, blue also penetrates the deepest so by taking the red out it means the blue light is reflected and refracted more giving the pool a blue appearance the deeper the pool the bluer it will look. Integra pool service can look after all your pool maintenance needs and keep your pool in balance. Book in for a pool cleaning service now.

If you use your pool often or if there are several trees shedding in your pool, clean skimmers and pump baskets daily to avoid poor circulation issues, which could result from the accumulation of leaves, hair and other debris. Vacuuming your pool weekly will help remove organic material that could compromise your pool's chemical balance. A weekly cleaning regimen is also best for the tiles of the pool to remove dirt and grime build-up. Depending on the media type of your pool's filter, it will be necessary to backwash/clean your filter during your swim season. Although the timing for this cleaning may be different for every filtration system and is dependent upon several factors, it can generally be indicated by, and performed based on the pressure rise on the filter tank pressure gauge. To help prevent algae, it is important to keep your pool clean, chemically balanced, and maintain proper filtration for an adequate number of hours each day. The easiest way to stay on top of pool cleaning is to either hire a pool maintenance pro or invest in one of our efficient automatic pool cleaners.

Your pool's pump plays a major role in pool maintenance. Circulation plays a key role in all parts of the process but is often overlooked. Circulation of the pool water allows you to filter your water and helps to spread the chemicals you add to the water, like stirring a cup of coffee after adding cream and sugar. It also keeps the pool evenly heated. To figure out how many hours a day you need to run your pump, you need to know the litres per minute (LPM) of water that your pump circulates. You can find this out by either looking in the pump manufacturer's installation and operating manual (IOM) or by calling the manufacturer. Multiply that number by 60 (minutes per hour), then divide that into the total litres in your pool. A general good rule to follow is to run your pump 8-10 hours per day.

What are phosphates?

Phosphates are the food source for algae Phosphates are compounds of phosphorus and oxygen and are common in water. In pools, they feed algae, increasing chlorine demand and reducing its efficiency. Therefore, maintaining phosphate levels below 500 ppb is crucial for pool care.

Where do phosphates come from?

Any contaminants can contain phosphates. Contaminants are unwanted substances in the water. They can be natural like leaves or soil, man-made like fertilizers, ash ,Products that inhibit scale and stains can contain phosphates and even substances on swimmers’ bodies. They can naturally build up, be washed or carried in by rain - shade sails are known to collect dust and debris containing phosphates.

How do phosphates affect my chlorine levels?

If the sanitizer in the pool eliminates microorganisms faster than their reproduction rate, it can maintain cleanliness. However, if the microorganisms reproduce too rapidly, it can lead to an infestation. The nutrients in the water can accelerate the reproduction of microorganisms, surpassing the sanitizer’s ability to kill them. This can create a cycle where new generations of microorganisms are constantly reproducing and being killed, leading to a continuous demand for chlorine. Since chlorine can’t directly interact with or oxidize phosphates, a phosphate remover is required.

How does a phosphate remover work?

A phosphate remover binds to phosphates in the pool, crystallizing them into larger particles. These particles can then be caught and removed by the pool’s filter and or vacuumed up. The Pool may appear slightly cloudy for 24-48 hours and some fallout may appear. We recommend backwashing or cleaning the filter cartridge 3-5 days after treatment and repeat if needed. Depending on phosphate levels further treatments may be required, please discuss this with your Integra technician.

A pool's filter system does hard work in keeping your pool water clean, but it takes chemistry to keep the water safe and balanced rather than aggressive and damaging. It's important to carefully maintain a correct chemical balance in pools for several reasons: