What Does Routine Fiberglass Pool Maintenance Look Like?
Owning a fiberglass pool brings with it the benefits of reduced upkeep demands and the guarantee of continuous enjoyment during the warmer months. Yet, it’s crucial to recognize that this ease of ownership is complemented by the need for consistent maintenance, particularly in maintaining balanced pool water chemistry, to ensure your pool remains a radiant and inviting space to spend time with your family and friends. This post examines what routine fiberglass pool maintenance entails and guides you through a plan to keep your pool in perfect harmony throughout the swimming season. Starting the Season Right Opening your fiberglass pool marks the commencement of the swimming season and sets the stage for a season of fun and relaxation. Once you open your pool, commit to conducting daily tests to adjust your pool’s chemistry until the water’s Langelier Saturation Index (LSI) value is balanced (-0.30 to +0.30). This crucial first step ensures your pool water is neither too corrosive nor scaling, protecting the integrity and appearance of the fiberglass gel coat. Maintaining Chlorine Levels Once the LSI is in balance, the next step is to add sanitizer to maintain chlorine levels within a safe range of 1 to 3 […]
Read MoreFive Essential Steps to Maintain Your Pool’s Finish
For many homeowners, the benefit of reduced maintenance responsibilities is influential in their decision to install a fiberglass pool in their backyard. The non-porous surface of a fiberglass pool significantly lessens the likelihood of algae growth and reduces the demand for chemicals to maintain water balance. This inherent characteristic of fiberglass pools substantially contributes to their appeal, offering homeowners more time to enjoy their aquatic sanctuary with less laborious upkeep. However, it’s crucial to understand that “lower maintenance” does not equate to “maintenance-free.” Maintaining your pool’s vibrant, smooth finish is just as important as keeping the water clear and inviting. While the allure of crystal-clear water is undeniable, the unseen balance of water chemistry plays a crucial role in preserving the integrity and appearance of your pool. Step 1: Use a Stain and Scale Control Product Regularly Even well-balanced water can carry minerals that deposit on your pool’s surface, leading to staining or scale buildup. A reliable stain and scale control product helps prevent fiberglass pool discoloration with chelating agents that can effectively shield your pool from calcium. In our experience, products like SC-1000 by Orenda and Scale & Stain Eliminator by Pool Stain Removers work well and […]
Read MoreExamining the Elements Involved in Factoring LSI
Maintaining balanced pool water chemistry in your fiberglass pool is truly a balancing act. Each of the six factors that calculate the Langelier Saturation Index (LSI) can ebb and flow, although some are more reactionary and volatile than others. While maintaining all six factors may feel like a juggling act, understanding what they are, how they interact, and their impact on your pool is critical to keeping the LSI balanced and your water in equilibrium. The Critical Role of pH pH, or “potential of hydrogen,” is the most critical variable in water chemistry balance. While alterations of any involved equation variables can affect your water balance, a change in pH can have ten times the effect compared to other LSI factors. pH levels indicate water’s acidity or basicity. They range from 0 to 14, with 0 being very acidic, 7 being neutral, and 14 being very basic. Chlorine and other sanitizers will only remain effective and function correctly within specific pH ranges—namely, the range between 7.2 and 7.4 deemed ideal for swimming pools. Hydrochloric or muriatic acid can lower high pH levels, while a low-pH pool will need an alkaline boost from sodium carbonate. The best thing an owner […]
Read MoreHow Do I Balance My Pool Water Using LSI?
Balancing your pool water is essential for maintaining its clarity, safety, and longevity, especially for fiberglass pool owners. While pool water chemistry balance may seem complex, modern tools like the Orenda Technologies LSI Calculator have simplified the testing and adjustment process. This blog post will guide you through using Orenda’s app to achieve optimal water balance in your pool, ensuring it stays in beautiful condition without needing a degree in chemistry. We’ve included step-by-step instructions, complemented by screen-capture images, to make the process as straightforward as possible. Editor’s Note: There are available alternatives to the Orenda app. Thursday Pools and Orenda have no relationship other than sharing a desire to help fiberglass pool owners properly maintain their water chemistry. If you want to get even more informed on water balance and related topics, check out Orenda’s library of educational videos, tutorials, and other resources. Step 1: Download the Orenda App The journey to balanced pool water begins with a simple download of the Orenda app, available on both iOS and Android platforms. This app significantly simplifies pool chemistry, particularly focusing on the Langelier Saturation Index (LSI), making it an indispensable tool for pool owners. Step 2: Input Your […]
Read MoreWhat is LSI?
LSI and Fiberglass Pool Chemistry The Langelier Saturation Index (LSI) is a formula that the gunite pool industry adopted to determine water balance and predict whether water will form calcium scale or dissolve it. Some pool industry professionals insist you should focus strictly on LSI balance, but for fiberglass, that advice can damage your pool. However, an LSI calculator can be helpful for fiberglass pool owners as a secondary tool in keeping critical factors of water chemistry within fiberglass-safe target ranges. What Are Fiberglass-Safe Water Chemistry Target Ranges? pH: 7.2 to 7.4 Total Alkalinity (TA): 80 to 120 ppm Free Chlorine (FC): 1 to 3 ppm Cyanuric Acid (CYA): 30 to 50 ppm Calcium Hardness (CH): Less than 120 ppm (NEVERt add calcium) Total Dissolved Solids (TDS): Less than 1,500 ppm (or up to 1,000 ppm above your salt level) Always use a stain and scale control or chelating and sequestering agent as part of routine care and for winterization. Never use calcium hypochlorite or any calcium-adding products in fiberglass pools. When pH, calcium, and chlorine are all elevated at the same time, the risk of damage to the fiberglass pool gelcoat increases significantly. If only one or two are […]
Read MoreIs a Fiberglass Pool Shell Right For Your Pool?
If you are looking into buying and researching inground pools, you have likely discovered that pool forms are made of concrete, vinyl-liner, or a fiberglass pool shell. In this post, we’ll take a closer look at fiberglass pool shells so you can determine if one may be right for you. What is a fiberglass pool made of? Fiberglass has become a well-known material in the past 50 years. It’s used to make boats, automobile parts and, of course, pools! Fiberglass material is quite literally fibers of glass. In the manufacturing process, fiberglass is flexible and thin, almost hair-like. Unlike hard, solid shards of glass, fiberglass doesn’t shatter or cut you because the fibers are heated until they’re molten and become a sticky, gooey texture. It is then forced through superfine holes that create glass filaments that are so thin that they are measured in microns. These thin threads of fiberglass are woven into larger swatches of material. For strength and durability, a fiberglass pool shell is made of more than fiberglass. What makes the material even stronger than metals by weight is the thermoplastic polymer resins that are added. Through years of testing and our commitment to continuous improvement, Thursday […]
Read MoreChoosing Between Gunite and Fiberglass? A Guide.
A GUIDE TO CHOOSING BETWEEN GUNITE AND FIBERGLASS. Inground pools come in three different types—vinyl, gunite, and fiberglass—so determining what’s a right fit for you requires a little research. If you’ve arrived at the point where it’s a decisionon fiberglass vs gunite (concrete), you’ve narrowed your decision tree a bit by throwing out vinyl as an option. This post will consider a concrete pool vs fiberglass pool to help you narrow your choices even further.      Buyer’s Checklist The answers to the following questions can be differentiating factors of choosing a concrete vs fiberglass pool. How will your pool be used? Is it a party backdrop, a sunning platform, or the wet arena of countless epic splash-sport battles? Who will maintain the pool? If it’s you, what is the amount of time you’re willing to commit? If it’s someone else, what is the annual budget? How big a pool do you want or need? Do you want a particular size, shape, or feature? How much decking and landscaping? Who will use the pool? Will it include children and pets? Does your dealer provide a warranty and track record of installing durable pools? About Concrete Pools The first gunite pool was […]
Read MoreLarge and Deep Fiberglass Pool Options
Pool owners love fiberglass pools for many reasons. Fiberglass pools are low-maintenance, quick to install and require fewer chemicals. Because fiberglass pools don’t have liners to replace or concrete that will eventually need to be replastered, they have the lowest lifetime cost of ownership over vinyl and gunite pools. They also have a smooth, durable finish that’s totally pet friendly, making them a sure bet for everyone in the family to love. So why would anyone choose anything other than fiberglass? Well, there really aren’t too many reasons! However, for pool buyers looking for a large inground pool, the options in fiberglass are somewhat limited. Whereas gunite and vinyl pools are built on-site, fiberglass pools are made in a factory, out of a mold, and then transported in one piece to the home of their lucky new pool owners. There’s a limit to the size of what can be safely loaded, unloaded and transported, and on-site physical barriers like fences and trees also have to be taken into consideration for delivery. Alas, there are some large fiberglass pool options that allow swimming pool owners the best of both worlds–big and low-maintenance. For your convenience, we have created comparison charts of […]
Read MoreWhat Can Damage a Fiberglass Pool?
It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of something new. Whether it’s a car, a boat, or an inground swimming pool, it’s only natural to want to do as much research as possible before signing on the dotted line. You’ll want to know how long it’ll last, right? If you’re currently considering an inground fiberglass pool and trying to cover all your bases, you may have searched for potential problems such as, “What can damage a fiberglass pool?” and “Can you scratch a fiberglass pool?” Perhaps you’ve also looked up fiberglass pool gelcoat problems and fiberglass pool bulging walls. This post covers a few common concerns you may have heard regarding fiberglass pools, how they happen, and if you can prevent them or repair them if they occur. How Does Fiberglass Pool Chemistry relate to these issues? A big part of the longevity of your fiberglass pool is the water chemistry. Water chemistry can be tricky for any pool owner, and it’s best left to the professionals that do pool maintenance for a living. However, as a fiberglass pool owner, it’s important to understand water chemistry guidelines so you can take the best preventative care possible of […]
Read MoreThe Best Robotic Cleaners For Inground Fiberglass Pools
Every fiberglass pool owner should have a thorough and working knowledge of necessary pool maintenance. It’s essential to stay on top of care and maintenance from the time you open your pool in the spring through closing it for the winter. Robotic pool cleaners can be a great help when it comes to keeping dirt and debris out of your pool, saving you time and effort. With an overwhelming amount of options available on the market, all with various features and benefits you may or may not need, deciding on a robotic pool cleaner can feel overwhelming. In our experience, the following four models are great at getting the job done while you sit back and relax. Hayward TigerShark A Hayward TigerShark robot can clean a 20’ x 40’ pool’s floors, walls, and waterline in just three hours. There are three configurations to choose from, including the standard TigerShark, the TigerShark Plus with remote control capabilities, and the TigerShark QC featuring a patented 90-minute quick-cleaning alternative mode. All the TigerShark models have an easy-to-clean cartridge filter system and a 24-volt motor to conserve energy and save you pool maintenance costs over time. Average Price: Less than $1,500 […]
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