How to keep the pollen out of your Delaware pool
April showers bring May flowers, but along with those flowers comes the dreaded yellow dust we call pollen. It coats our patios, cars, and clothes and is the cause of many allergy sufferers’ worst symptoms. The same nuisance can cause your Delaware pool to look more like a swamp than an oasis if not treated correctly.
Family Pool Maintenance is your go-to resource for all things pool maintenance. This spring, it’s important to remember these four simple steps to ensure your pool filter and water don’t get clogged with pollen.
Keep the pool cover on as much as possible
Trees shed their pollen early in the morning around dawn, and pollen counts reach their peaks early in the morning from dawn till noon. Additionally, airborne pollen travels most when the weather is warm and dry, so having your pool cover on overnight and leaving it on until you are ready to get into the pool will help keep as much pollen out of the water as you can.
When removing the cover, it’s important to remember that pollen might dump into the pool as you’re rolling it up. Take the time to lift the cover off the water so the collected pollen doesn’t go back into the pool. Having a water hose handy to spray down the cover as it’s being rolled will help keep collected pollen from going into the pool when you put the cover back on.
Run your filter 24/7
During the day when pollen counts are high and you cannot keep the cover on, you can opt for a number of strategies for pollen removal. The most popular way to keep your pool clean is to simply run the filter as much as you can. Having the filtration system operating ensures water is constantly cycling through the filter, and airborne pollen that settles on the water’s surface while the pool is in use can be captured quickly.
Periodic removal of the filter and clearing during high pollen count days will make sure the filter can capture more debris and particles. Take some extra time to remove the filter and spray it off to remove dust, dirt, and pollen from the fibers, helping it remove more unwanted items from the pool’s water.
Skim your pool regularly
In addition to keeping the cover on during nonuse and running the filtration system, you can skim the surface with a micro-mesh pool skimmer. The ultra-thin screening on the skimmer is designed to pull up small particles, including pollen, allowing you to isolate the floating debris for removal.
Another way to skim the pool, with slightly less effort, is to use a pool skimmer sock. These durable mesh liners fit the overtop of the filter and collect smaller scale debris and contaminants. During pollen season, an extra skimmer layer can collect the particles that you would otherwise be trying to tease out by hand.
When all else fails go the chemical route
If pollen build-up is still an issue even after the skimmer socks, filtration system maxing, and excessive covering, your best bet may be a chemical fix. Consult your pool professional on the latest trends in algae, mold, and pollen mitigation. There are a variety of methods and mixtures that could be of use depending on the severity of your issue. Several chemical compounds have the ability to clump the pollen together into one grouping while in the water, allowing you to clear the pollen in one simple skimming. Other compounds when applied will act as a bonding agent to all pool contaminants creating a jelly-like mixture that can remain suspended in the pool in a device, gradually picking up the pollen as it hits the water’s surface.
In all cases, the proper techniques for deployment and mitigation are best left to professionals since the fix would involve chemical use, which may cause damage to people or equipment if not applied properly. The professionals at Family Pool Maintenance specialize in getting the bad stuff out and keeping you in the pool this season.
For more information about how Family Pool Maintenance can keep your pool pollen-free this summer give us a call at 302-270-3700.
