What Is In Your Water Before Filling Your Pool or Spa

In the beginning of spring, pool owners will open their pools and if they drained it for the winter or evaporation loss, chances are they will be refilling the pool. Maybe this is the year you decide to buy a pool. Have you ever put any thought into what’s in your tap water? This water is used when you wash your hands, take a shower, do the dishes and when you fill up or top off your pool. So it is rather important to understand exactly what kind of water you have, so you know what you are filling you pool up with.

Hard Water

This means your water has high levels of minerals. Minerals like calcium and magnesium, which can affect your pool. Some problems that can occur with hard water are scaling. Scaling is when Calcium deposits are released from the water and form a thin white powdery scale in your pipes on your pool wall and can cause your skin to dry out. When water has too much calcium it tries to release it to keep a natural balance. The place where this causes the most problem is in your heater element if you have a heater. In warm water calcium becomes less soluble leaving a film in your heater element causing your heater to work harder.

Soft Water

Is the exact opposite of hard water. This means your water has low levels of minerals such as calcium and magnesium. Also this means that your water may be low in pH levels and can be acidic. When water is acidic it tries to balance itself out by getting calcium wherever it can. It can get calcium from the plaster or concrete in your pool, which will cause pitting. Also acidic water can do a lot of damage by eating and corroding any metal parts in your pool

Metals In Your Water

Some water is rich in metals especially if your water comes from a well. The usual metals that end up in a pool are iron and copper. These metals can react with chlorine to create all sorts of colors and it can also cause staining on your liner plaster, or fiberglass swimming pools walls. All metals should be removed from your water before it enters your pool. There are filters that are made to drastically reduce the amount of metals in tap water. For more information about your townships water you can contact the local utilities department or visit a local pool dealer to get your water checked for any of the these water problems.