Is It Time to Get Your Pool Cleaned? Here’s What You Should Look Out For

Swimming pools can be a fun addition to your home. If you live in a warm state or swim competitively or recreationally, you can definitely make good use of a pool in your yard. However, if you use your pool often and leave it unclean or unmaintained for a long time, health risks may accumulate in the pool.

Pools must be cleaned regularly, especially if you begin to see telltale signs of filth. Don’t wait for these signs to show up because it could make cleaning and maintenance more expensive in the long run. If you see the following health hazards or know that these situations have occurred, it’s time to get the pool cleaned by professionals. Gold Medal Pools offers pool cleaning services in Allen, TX, and other cities.

If you’ve recently hosted a pool party or invited many people over to use the pool, schedule it for cleaning. You might recall that not many (probably even no one!) showered before entering the pool. All that sweat, dirt, and germs on your guests’ bodies definitely ended up in the pool.

Another reason you should get that pool cleaned: bodily fluids. People unknowingly leave saliva, snot, and sweat in pools. Not many would openly admit to peeing in the pool, but one in five Americans do, according to a poll by Water Quality and Health Council.

And while only babies would actively defecate in a pool, human bodies contain approximately 0.14 grams of human feces, which come in contact with the water when a person enters the pool.

A clean pool has a clear light blue color that allows you to see the bottom drain (considering, of course, that your tiles have a light color). Any color, foam, or sliminess in texture is a red flag that there is something wrong with the water. Leaving a pool for two to three weeks makes it turn green – and even faster during the rainy season. This green thing is only algae, but it can also be a breeding ground for dangerous bacteria like E. coli.

A liquid’s pH level determines how acidic or basic it is. You can buy pH strips online, at a drugstore, or in a health food store to check the level yourself. A clean pool with chlorine should have a pH level of about 7.2 to 7.8. Anything outside of that range could be harmful to anyone swimming in your pool.

If your eyes, nose, or throat feel irritated during or after swimming, this could be the result of chloramines. These irritants form when chlorine combines with bodily fluids. They create a strong chemical smell and can cause irritation and respiratory problems.

Swimming in an unclean pool raises your and your guests’ risk of being exposed to bacteria and contracting diseases. Let Gold Medal Pools service your pool and have it cleaned and maintained to keep it safe for your next swim.

Contact Gold Medal Pools today for a free, no-obligation consultation.