Summer swimming season is in full swing and it sure is hot outside! With that being said, you may be wondering how to lower the cost to effectively run and chlorinate your swimming pool during these hot months. Here are some tips that will help you assure a safe and affordable swimming season.

Install a salt chlorine generator

Yes, there is still time. A salt chlorine generator sanitizes swimming pool water by creating chlorine from ordinary table salt. The main benefit a salt chlorine generator offers is its ability to recycle salt. When chlorine is generated through a process called electrolysis, it breaks down further into hypochlorous acid and hypochlorite ions, which are sanitizers. After the hypochlorous acid and hypochlorite ions neutralize the contaminants in swimming pool water, they revert back to salt, only to be broken down into chlorine once more. To learn more about the process of electrolysis as it relates to salt chlorine generation, click here, and to learn more about the benefits and drawbacks of salt chlorine generators, click here.

Add cyanuric acid to your swimming pool water exposed to sunlight

Cyanuric acid, more commonly known as stabilizer, is a weak acid that, when added to your swimming pool, prevents the decomposition of chlorine. Cyanuric acid works by forming a weak bond with the free chlorine in your swimming pool to protect it from the sun’s ultraviolet rays.

By maintaining proper levels of cyanuric acid in your swimming pool (its concentration should measure between 60 – 80 ppm, (30 and 50 ppm if an ORP controller is used)), you can reduce the amount of chlorine needed each swimming season. You should add stabilizer to your swimming pool at the start of each year’s swimming season, and as needed.

Lower your swimming pool water temperature

Cooler swimming pool water temperatures contribute to lower chlorination costs in two major ways. Firstly, contaminants like algae and bacteria thrive in warmer water, so by lowering your swimming pool water temperature, you can reduce your swimming pool’s contaminants and therefore reduce the amount of chlorine it requires.

Secondly, temperature affects the speed at which chemical reactions occur. Chlorine reacts more quickly with contaminants (and therefore breaks down more quickly) in warmer swimming pool water than in cooler swimming pool water. By lowering your swimming pool water temperature, you can effectively preserve the chlorine in your swimming pool.
For a heated pool, lower your heater thermostat. For a non-heated pool, water temperatures can be lowered by using aerating jets/fountains, running through solar panels at nighttime, or installing a pool chiller.

Use a solar blanket or liquid blanket to prevent evaporation
A solar cover, also referred to as a solar blanket, is a large sheet of plastic that looks like bubble wrap and lies on top of your swimming pool. 75% of a swimming pool’s heat loss is due to evaporation, a solar cover minimizes heat loss from evaporation by acting as a barrier between swimming pool water and the air. One of the disadvantages of a solar blanket is having to remove the cover every time you would like to go swimming, as well as safety concerns when in use as it can be dangerous for pool owners with kids or pets. There is another option, liquid covers like Aqua Blanket™.

Aqua Blanket™ uses advanced Monolayer technology to modify the surface layer of water, to just one molecule deep, allowing for dramatically reduced evaporation. You cannot see it, feel it, smell it or taste it, but it works! In fact, Aqua Blanket™ is known as the “pool cover in a bottle”. Easy to use, just one small dose per week, poured onto the water’s surface, conserves water while preserving the beauty and instant availability of your pool. To read more about Aqua Blanket™ click here.

By taking advantage of one, some, or all of these recommendations, you should begin to see significant savings in your swimming pool chlorination costs. We at AutoPilot thank you for reading and welcome any questions or comments you may have!