Well, just a few weeks ago (July 12th) I told you what a mild summer we seem to be having. OOPS!
Since that time, it has been very hot-with several record breaking days. As a matter of fact-July was the 11th hottest July on record. The hottest July on record was 1980 and the 3rd hottest July on record was last July-2011.
We have had approximately 17-18 days where the temperature reached 100 degrees, which is our average for the whole summer. It now appears that we will have many more than our average, but we will not catch the record-breaking summer of 2011 (71 days).
What does this mean for pool owners? In mid-July, most pool water temperatures were in the 85-90 degree range, but now pool water temperatures are approaching the mid-90’s. This means that pool care is a bit more difficult, but still manageable. Following are some tips to help your pool survive this heat:
- Test your water at least once per week. We suggest testing the chlorine, pH, and cyanuric acid on a weekly basis. If you have a salt system, it is also a good idea to test the salt on a regular basis.
- You must use your test kit. We have staff members who have been working on pools for over 20 years, and they must still test the water. There is no way that you can tell if the water chemistry is in the proper range by just looking at the water.
- Periodically bring one pint of your pool water to our retail store so that we can have it computer analyzed, which could prevent problems.
- Be sure to keep the chlorine on the high side—at least 2.0. Test it on a regular basis and do not let it fall below that level.
- Chlorine is much more effective when the pH is at 7.2 than it is at 7.6, so try to keep your pH in the lower half of the range (7.2 to 7.4).
- Be sure that your cyanuric acid is in the proper range. Cyanuric acid is considered the “sunblock” for the chlorine, and without cyanuric acid this time of year, you cannot operate a pool effectively. Cyanuric acid is also important if you have a salt system on your pool.
If you have any water quality issues, let us know and we will be glad to do our best to assist you.
Below is what I believe is a good explanation as to why.
We have some major changes occurring in the worldwide weather pattern which will have a significant effect on North Texas over the next several months through the end of the year. Even though we’ve seen a recent surge of triple digit heat across the Dallas/Fort Worth area, this isn’t a sign of things to come based on some of the long range signals.
