Maintain A Clean Pool After Any Storm (Rain & Dust Storm Tips)
When the sky opens and gumboots come out, it may be worth having a look at your pool.
After a heavy down pour, the excessive amount of water entering your pool can dilute your chemical balance as well as wash nutrients into your pool, which is superfood for algae.
This means you may need to add phosphate removers, flocculants and other chemicals to get your balance back.
But what about other types of storms your swimming pool has to weather?
In Australia we’re no strangers to storms. Keeping your water clean and maintaining water balance of your pool can get tricky under bad weather conditions these bring on.
This Pool Professors article shares about the storms we face here in Australia, how to prepare for them, and then how to clean your swimming pool after them. We go over rain storms, dust storms and also heat waves as these affect your pool’s water just as much as storms do.
- Types Of Storms In Australia
- Preparing Your Swimming Pool For The Storm
- 3 Pool Care Tips After A Rain Storm
- Cleaning Pool After Dust Storm
- Heat Wave Pool Maintenance Tips
Table of Contents:
Types Of Storms In Australia
Hurricane north of Australia
Depending on your location, the most common types of storms in Australia that could affect your swimming pool health are dust, wind and rain storms.
Heavy rains and flash flooding is a common occurrence throughout Australia. The northern half of Australia gets the most storms.
As you go south these lessen, however, southeast Queensland, central and eastern New South Wales, and northeastern Victorian highlands also see many storms and floods.
This list of severe storms in Australia shows how much damage storms cause each year.
Rainstorms In Australia
Rain storms bring on 2 potential issues that affect swimming pools. Rainfall and flooding. From 2003 to 2012 we experienced one of the worst droughts in Australian history. But since then we’ve been getting lots of rain.
Although many rainstorms are short-lived where it rains only for a few hours before clearing up, these periods of rain can be heavy and enough to trigger floods.
Northern Australia especially is no stranger to La Niña influenced tropical cyclones and major flooding.
Dust Storms In Australia
Haboobs, or any Australian dust storm, can inundate your swimming pool with large amounts of dust.
“Dust storms resulting from synoptic-scale mid-latitude frontal systems affect inland, eastern Australia, predominantly through spring and summer but extend to the east coast only rarely when strong, frontal westerly winds crossing the continent are sustained over the coast.” – Science Direct
Preparing Your Swimming Pool For The Storm
While preparation is not always possible for oncoming storms. It’s good to be ready with these pool preparation tips when you do feel one coming.
Leave water in the pool.
Some say to remove water, but the water will help protect your pool walls and floor from flying debris that would otherwise not strike these the same way or at all.
Store away objects if possible.
Any storm can easily sweep pool chairs, cushions and loose flower pots into the water.
If you can put pool chairs, tables, umbrellas, or any objects that can be picked up by the wind away that would be ideal.
Turn off the power
Cutting the circuit breaker power goes a step beyond simply switching off your pump and filter. But this ensures it all gets shut off, from the motor to lighting. This will lessen potential pool equipment malfunctioning issues during a storm. Additionally, a fixed waterproof tarp or covering is recommended.
Tree trimming
It’s a good idea to tend to your trees and make sure they’re trimmed and in good health. Possible broken branches can become an issue during storms, so at the least these are good targets for swimming pool storm preparation.
Helpful Related Resources:
- Green Pool Water – Get It Clean & Clear Again
- Top 5 Attractive, Low Maintenance Plants To Grow Around Your Pool
3 Pool Care Tips After A Rain Storm
Swimming pool getting hit with heavy rain
After a rainstorm, the water in your pool gathers bacteria. It is very important to keep the water clean. But what do you do? Here are 3 simple tips to get your pool back in shape after a rain storm
1: Check your pool electrical equipment
Extreme amounts of water could damage your pump or chlorinator. Check your equipment for signs of water damage and see if puddles have formed around the equipment, as this may cause a safety issue. Get professional help if you suspect any electrical damage.
2: Add extra chlorine to the water
Heavy rains can dilute your chlorine level. By adding a small amount of extra chlorine or increase your chlorinator settings may assist in preventing an algal bloom.
3: Get your water checked by a professional
Your local pool shop will be able to assist in getting your pool water back in ‘Splish Splash’ health. For your nearest pool shop, visit our Kreepy Krauly dealer locator.
Cleaning Pool After Dust Storm
A dust storm can be a real headache. If your pool is brown, cloudy and dirty after a dust storm, these tips plus a high quality pool cleaner can help you get back to a pristine pool in no time.
Brown Pool Cleanup Tips
Here’s what’s most often recommended on how to clean your swimming pool after a dust storm.
- Remove debris in pool and skimmer basket
- Clean the filter and backwash
- Shock your pool and run your pump and filtration system overnight.
- Test water
However, instead of trying to filter out loads of dust from your pool by backwashing multiple times, a proper pool vacuum like any of our Kreepy Krauly models can do a better job of cleaning up this dust.
With a Kreepy Krauly you can just shut your pump off overnight, let all sand and dust settle at the bottom, then let your Kreepy Krauly vacuum it all up to waste.
Once your dust is gone, then you can do the overnight test to determine if you need a shock treatment.
Watch the Sprinta Plus pick up sand from the bottom of a pool.
Heat Wave Pool Maintenance Tips
While not a storm, heat waves can affect your pool’s water just as much. Summer is the most intense season for Australian weather. Water balance is key here during the hot months.
Algae is quick to grow if your pool water is not circulated properly, especially during a heat waves.
Kreepy Krauly Vortex action ensures your pool water is properly stirred, circulated and filtered from bottom to top. This vortex action creates the circulation your pool needs, especially during heat waves and hot summer days. This is important as it makes sure that there are no dead zones in your pool that let algae blooms generate.
If you don’t have a Kreepy Krauly pool cleaner then you’ll need to make sure to brush your low water circulation area pool wall and floor such as corners, steps and benches, to prevent algae growth.
Chlorine deterioration happens faster during heat waves due to increased UV exposure and temperatures. This can quickly lead to algae blooms, so you will want to keep some extra shock around.
Maintain proper pH levels during the summer.
Pool water pH levels need to be maintained during hot weather months. Keep it in the 7.2 to 7.4 range to avoid issues during heat waves. Once per week you should test your pool water and treat as necessary to keep it bacteria and algae free. You also may need to backwash your filter more often as it works harder during heat waves.
Conclusion
These are the basic requirements for tending to a swimming pool during and after a storm. Now that you know how to handle rain and dust storms (and have a high quality pool cleaner on your side to help too), you can overcome anything that could potentially murky your waters.
In Australia we’re no strangers to all types of storms. Not even blizzards. But this doesn’t mean that maintaining a swimming pool has to be a challenge. By being extra vigilant before and after storms, your pool will always be in the best shape it can be in, regardless of the weather. And you can ensure it will always be a great place to spend time with your family and friends.
We hope these tips help keep your swimming pool clean and clear before and after any storms you face.
For more helpful advice, view our dedicated pool maintenance page that goes over all important aspects of pool care and maintenance..
