April Showers Bring May Flowers

...And those showers also enhance algae growth! We've seen several storms blow through Central Texas during the last few weeks, and we have more coming. If your home/pool is subjected to a large amount of rain overnight, you may find you pool looking a little funky afterwards. The reason: rainwater dramatically changes the pH level of your pool water, while introducing all kinds of contaminants to the water. The free chlorine in your pool will be used to fight those contaminants, leaving no residual for later. Couple that with warmer water temperatures we're seeing now, and you'll find algae blooming in your pool within hours. Shock your pool ASAP, using either granular or liquid chlorine after a rainstorm to get things cleared up. If you see algae on the walls, brush it off first!

Pro tip: Adjust your pH prior to adding shock to your pool. Appropriate pH levels fall between 7.2-7.6. Add muriatic acid to your pool if your pH is above those marks. Why is that important? Because the lower the pH level, the more effective the chlorine will be. At higher pH levels, you'll need twice as much chlorine to equal the sanitizing power of water with lower pH levels. If you've ever added granular shock to your water and it clouded up, that's probably why...