Although you may be thinking why would you close your pool when you live in Florida? Typically, we don’t. The weather here most likely will not freeze the water and many pools have water heaters.

However, often we have travelers they may be gone for an extended period of time. We are also accustomed to the weather. While it may be snowing in the northern hemisphere, its chilly to us here when the weather gets down in the 40’s and 50’s, even 60’s, let’s be honest! And we may just want to put it to rest for a few months.

Typically, ‘winterizing’ your swimming pool consists of draining the pool, emptying the pipes, and covering the top. This helps to prevent pipes and plumbing from freezing and creating costly damage. However, in Florida, it’s a different story, all this is not necessary. Actually, draining your pool in Florida can be dangerous with the amount of ground water we have here.

Also, it never get near cold enough for algae to stop growing, if you drain your pool half-way, clear the pipes of any water, and turn off your pump, your pool will most likely turn green.

Below, we provide a few simple steps to keep your Florida pool crystal clear on the down months.

1. Clean your pool. Simple cleaning steps like removing debris, floating leaves, also sunken debris that sits at the bottom of your pool. This will help prevent staining and algae growth and when you reopen your pool, leaving the debris long-term will increase your pool bills later to fix and/or clean up.

2. Keep your chemicals balanced as you normally would in the summer months. Balance them at least one week before closing your pool.

3. Run your pump. Run your pump about 6 hours every day. If there is a rare threat of frost, try to run it throughout the day and night. This helps circulate the water and chemicals and also lessens the risk of plumbing damage.

4. Cover your pool. This helps keep it clean by not allowing debris to enter the pool, also lessen he amount of chemicals you will need to ad.

So as long as you keep your water balanced and your pump running, here in Florida, you are set for the winter. However, it’s not necessary to ‘winterize’ your pool during the winter here in Florida. So, feel free to enjoy the cold dip or heat your pool and enjoy the hot tub feel.

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Summer has come and gone and the kids are buried deep in their school books. The pool has been quiet these past few months however, Winter break is right around the corner and it’s time to prep the pool for some winter fun. But what is the best temperature for the water during the winter months in Florida?

This can be a touchy subject as there are many opinions based on what you like individually and how the weather is. Winter months in Florida can be unpredictable. It can be 95 degrees one day and 65 the next. Because of this you will need to heat your swimming pool at least some of the time. This will help keep it at the perfect temperature for you and your family.

So, what IS the perfect temperature?

Typically, the perfect pool water temperature runs between 78-82 degrees in the spring and fall months. However during the winter month’s it seems to drop to an ideal temperature to 76-78 degrees.

An outdoor unheated pool will typically remain what the outdoor temperature is and can go as low as 53 degrees.

Now anything colder than 78 degrees will start to make you feel chilled when you step out of the water. Anything above 82 degrees will begin to feel like bath water. However, 80 degrees is generally warm and cool enough for all to enjoy.

Of course, you should keep in mind that each degree the temperature rises results in increased energy costs of 10 to 30 percent. So, the right temperature for your pool water is a function of how it feels on your skin and how it feels on your wallet.

Save Some Money: Keep Pool Temperature Costs Down

Here are a few ideas that will help to keep your pool warm while keeping your costs down:

• Install trees, bushes, fencing, and the like to keep wind from blowing through the pool area.
• If your pool heater is more than five years old, consider investing in a new heater. In some cases, these units quickly pay for themselves in lower utility bills.
• If you tend to use your pool only on weekends, lower the temperature setting by 8 to 10 degrees during the week.
• If you are going on vacation, turn off your pool heater. We don’t have to worry about freezing conditions in Florida.
• Install a timer that can automate and optimize your temperature settings.
• Run your pool’s filtration system between 8 pm and 10 am, when electricity demand and rates tend to be lower.

It may take a little time to find the right balance of comfortable water temperature and cost-effective operation. That temperature will change with the seasons. With a little effort, you can find your perfect temperature setting. Remember that it is always best to consult Challenger Pools with any questions to see what might be best for your specific pool.

>>> Choosing an Interior Color for your Pool

 

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So you have plans to head out of town, huh? You’ve been waiting for this long overdue vacation. Good for you! BUT, before you go, we would like to give you a few simple steps to maintaining your pool while you are gone on vacation. While gone and out of town we recommend hiring a professional to keep an eye on your pool in case something goes wrong. Or if not a professional, then ask a neighbor or friend to help keep an eye out. In the case something breaks down, you will need someone there to help resolve the issue while you are gone. However, below we provide a few simple steps to help you save a bit of cash if you choose to not have a professional on hand while gone on vacation. These basic tips will help keep your pool clean while gone and crystal clear when you get back home.

Overdose your pool with chlorine!

Depending on how long you will be gone, add double the amount of pool shock that you would normally add (e.g. for a 7,500 gallon pool, add 2-3 lbs. worth of powder shock or 1 to 1.5 gallons of liquid shock). Let the filter run for a couple hours after adding the shock.

Cover your pool!

When the sun shines on your water, algae will grow, so the less sun the better. Covering your pool makes it difficult for algae to grow. It will be well worth coming back to a clean pool. If you do not own a pool cover yet, this would be a perfect time to buy since you will still need one once the colder months come around.

Use a timer!

A great tool while gone on vacation and for daily use. This will make it so your filter can automatically turn on and off for a period of time. This is important to have available so you can filter your pool and while you are gone. There are many timers available ranging in all kinds of prices. The cheaper ones will do the job, no problem. The more expensive provides you with the bells and whistles, depending on what suits your fancy.

Now go enjoy your relaxing time away and don’t worry about your pool while gone. Enjoy those moments of slowing down that you have worked so hard for.

 

Learn more about “Technology and Your Pool“

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So, you finally did it, you bought that long sought after hot tub. You have dreamed about enjoying a hot tub for years. The relaxing evenings of with a glass of wine is always picture perfect during those stressful days. However, did you imagine the hot tub maintenance and care that goes behind a nice and clean hot tub? I’m sure you didn’t, BUT it is a reality that you need to face. An important one to make sure your hot tub has a long life of clean water and many relaxing nights. We are here to help you learn the simple basics and needs to maintain your hot tub and keep it in great condition and reduce costly upcoming issues.

Know what you have

This sounds pretty basic, I know, but knowing the name and brand of your hot tub is important. This will help you to get parts and service when you need them. Also knowing your hot tub’s specifications and limits. These are more specifically the water capacity, age and any water challenges that are necessary (such as hard water).

Maintenance Basics

Circulation, Cleaning and Chemicals. Keeping in mind these three basics, your hot tub will run smoothly all year long.

Circulation – this is important as still water is never a good idea. Circulation helps keep your water of contaminates. Most hit tubs these days have automatic circulation that you can schedule and time to run.  The circulation cycles can vary from 15-30 minutes and cycles the water through the filters. Let those filters do their job, the more you run your hot tub the cleaner it is, so running it can never hurt.

If you don’t have automatic circulation on your hot tub, simply turn it on and run it once or twice a day for 15-20 mins.

TIP: Add a few tennis balls to your hot tub after you have used it. Hot water removes oils from our skin, including lotions and soaps we use daily. These make the filter work ‘extra hard’ when trying to clean your water, so to help it along, place tennis balls in the water.  Oil is attracted to the felt on the balls and it helps to collect those oils.

Cleaning – Keeping your hot tub is one of the most effective maintenance tasks you can tackle. Scum is a common occurrence in hot tubs and can be tackled with a few easy steps. Once a week use white vinegar and a sponge or cloth to wipe away scum on the water’s edges. Also wiping down the jets and spa’s shell will keep your hot tub clean.  If you have an outdoor hot tub, you will need to remove debris like fallen leaves, broken branches, sometimes even trash or small critters. 

Also, a quick rinse down with a 10% bleach solution will make sure that mildew stays away.

Once every 3-4 months or more if your using it often, you will need to completely drain your hot tub and refill. Fresh water after a few months is a nice relief and reduces germs.

Be sure to check your filters!

Your filters will also need a regular cleaning to work well and properly. A simple rinse, spray or soak will do. Your local pool store has a filter cleaner to use when cleaning your hot tub filter. After some time when it looks as if they are getting clean, a filter replacement is probably due.

Chemicals – Maintaining your hot tubs water is very similar to a pool’s water. However, it’s slightly different due to the reduced size body of water. Before you add any chemicals be sure to get a baseline reading of your water after it has been freshly refilled. Simply test your water to get a current reading of the pH and alkalinity levels.

Aim for a pH level of 7.4-7.6 and 125 -150 parts per million (ppm) for your alkalinity.

For alkalinity, shoot for 125 parts per million (ppm) to150 ppm. If alkalinity gets too high, it can cause scaling and cloudiness.

So now go…go enjoy your hot tub! Invite friends over, make sure those jets aim at your lower back and reap the rewards and enjoyment of it. With these simple steps, you will enjoy your hot tub for years to come.

 

> Learn more about how to maintain and clean your swimming pool here.

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When making decisions while you are in the pool building and design process, choosing an interior color is going to be one of those decisions you need to make. Ask yourself, what ‘look’ do you want for your backyard pool? What water temperature do you want regularly? What is your monthly budget for maintaining and running your new pool? The answers to these questions will play a part in what color you decide for your pools interior.

There are three interior textures you could decide on. Tile, pebble, and plaster. Tile and Pebble are incredibly durable and will last you and your family a long time. Plaster however, more known and used due to its cheaper cost, has a lifespan of 8-10 years. At that point it will start to crack and break apart. You will then need to get it resurfaced or choose another interior textile option.

The traditional and most common colors are blue and white, however more recently there are more non-traditional colors being used to give a unique style and ambiance.

All though, at first glance, it seems that the color of water itself is blue, however it isn’t. Water has no color. Its color is provided by the sky reflecting onto the water. Cool huh?

Selecting a color for inside your pool will make it look unique and different.  Today, many prefer colors like white, gray, black, red, earth-tones or a variation of blue.  Let’s look at some of your color options in detail:

Blue

The most common as we all love the look of crystal, clear blue water. As we stated earlier water is clear and reflects off the sky for its subtle blue color, with a blue pool interior it enhances the blue and makes it much more vibrant. This provides a relaxing, tranquil atmosphere.

White

This is also a very commonly used color for a pool interior. As it’s on the cheaper end of cost, it’s used quite frequently. It’s a perfect color for sunny states as it helps maintain water temperature. A white interior is a beautiful color as it helps bring out any decorative elements or accessories inside your pool. This can be a simply stunning, clean look. However, maintaining a regular cleaning schedule is vital to its beauty.

Gray

Surprisingly, gray makes the water in your pool look like sea water. It can be a great choice because it’s helpful with hiding dirt and debris plus it also helps increase the water temperature.

Black

Black is the most suitable color for your pool if you want the water temperature to be higher all year round. The color helps to prolong the use of the swimming pool, and, high in energy savings for heating the pool.   It is one of the most advanced coatings, and with it, you can obtain spectacular designs.

Red

A color that has grown in popularity in the more recent years. Red will provide transparent water that will change its appearance considering the weather and the state of the sky at that time. Depending on the amount of light, as well as the season of the year and time of day, the color variations can change, often providing a warmer atmosphere.

Factors to be considered when choosing your interior pool color include your backyard theme, pool surrounds, water reflection and water temperature, just to name a few.

When people renovate or build, it is common to collect samples of tiles to help decide on color. We highly recommend that when you are choosing your colors you lay it outside in different spots of where your pool will be or beside your current pool if renovating. Review them and observe at different times of the day. Morning and evening can provide different shades and give you a truer sense of what the color will be when you pool is completed.

If you have more questions on how to determine a color for your new pool, contact Challenger Pools today here. We can help you build or renovate your pool and be there for you every step of the way.

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