Caring for Your Pool After a Natural Disaster

The Atlantic hurricane season typically runs from July through November each year. September is the month with the largest number of both tropical storms and hurricanes in the Atlantic region. While keeping your family and your home safe is understandably your chief concern, you shouldn’t neglect your home’s pool either.

Your home’s pool is outside and exposed to the elements, which makes pool care after natural disasters that much more important. Below we’ll cover some tips on caring for your pool after a natural disaster.

Don’t drain your pool completely

Although the water might be dirty and fully draining your pool might seem like a good solution, it’s not. After a significant storm, the water table in the ground has been raised, and if you were to drain your pool completely, there’s a chance it could “float” or “pop” out of the ground. This would be a catastrophic problem that would be very costly to fix.

Remove floating debris

There will typically be a lot of debris in your pool after a storm. Using an extendable pole, scoop out any leaves, twigs or other debris on the surface and bottom of the pool. Focus on the larger pieces of debris first, and get as much as you can out of your pool to prevent the growth of algae.

Check the electrical equipment

Before you turn anything on, you should perform a visual inspection of your pool’s electrical equipment, checking for any visible damage. If the equipment is wet, dry it off and wait 24 hours before activating the electrical equipment. If your equipment won’t turn on when you want it to, or if it isn’t functioning correctly, call in an expert to take a look at it.

Clean the filter

Severe storms can bring large amounts of dust, dirt and debris into your pool and its filtration system. It’s highly recommended that you not only clean but backwash your filter before running a filtration cycle. You may have to do this several times to get all of the debris out of the filter. You should consult the owner’s manual for the best way to safely clean your pool’s filter.

Return the water to its previous level

If the storm brought a lot of rain, your pool’s water level could be higher than it should be. While you shouldn’t drain your pool completely, as we mentioned above, you should use a sump pump or a siphon to lower the water level until it’s at a manageable level halfway up the skimmer opening.

Rebalance the chemical levels

Rainwater and debris can throw your pool’s pH level out of whack. You’ll want to perform a chemical test on your pool and then apply either a chlorine or non-chlorine shock treatment. Run the filter while the pool is being shocked, and continue running it until the water is clear. No one should go in the pool until at least 48 hours after the shock treatment.

Call for pool maintenance today

Hopefully this article underscored how important it is to practice proper pool care after natural disasters. And while these tips on caring for your pool after a natural disaster can be helpful, they’re no substitute for professional assistance. That’s where we come in. Give us a call at A-1 Pools & Spas, where we provide free estimates on our full range of services and supplies.

Categorised in: Pool Contractors