Make a habit of recognizing your moment of excellence in your pool and never let your excellence go unnoticed. If this must be at the forefront of your mind, you need a trouble free pool test kit.
One thing every experienced pool care professional will tell you is never to assume your pool is clean by mere looking. You can never be so sure if you do not carry out tests regularly. There might be no obvious sign of impurity in the initial stage, but that does not make it suitable to swim.
Put in that effort in getting the best care and treatment necessary to achieve that cleaner pool you most desire. Never fall victim to choosing a low-budget inferior product to an original because good quality will speak for itself over time
Who Should Test My Pool?
Testing your pool is hassle-free and might not necessarily require a professional from a pool store. In fact, I would recommend pool owners test their pool. It is no rocket science, and you do not need to be an expert to carry out your test by yourself. With this, you would be sure of your readings and not something manipulated.
Yes, you might want to think of taking your test to the store. Undoubtedly, most of them are experts, but not so much I can vouch for. Many employers are flawed in their testing. Sometimes, not because they are not good enough in their work but because they are always in haste to satisfy many customers.
Some customers are not well-trained to use the equipment and end up mismatching readings and turn the whole process upside down.
However, there are some good stores which can be reliable, but you can never know. So, it would be best you carry out the test yourself.
How to Read a Pool Test Kit?
Pool test kits are in different forms. Some are more reliable than others with a higher accuracy level. Some test kits monitor the chlorine level of your pool and send results to your phone. Those are the digital water analyzers. Some will require reagents to determine the chemical level. Others come in strips and are very easy to use. Just put them in your pool and analyze the readings from the color chart. However, the strip method is not the most accurate pool test kit because the colors in the color chart are small and hard to interpret.
Here, we will not be talking about how to use a test strip. Instead, we would show the step-by-step guide to using the most popular chemical test kits you can find today. Remember that different products come with different instructions and should be used as specified by the manufacturer.
Here are the steps using:
Step 1:
Open your kit. Bring out the vials and rinse with your pool water (cover included)
Step 2:
Dip the tester to a foot deep in the pool for an accurate sample to be gotten beneath, not above the swimming pool.
Step 3:
Check the vials level and make sure the sample is filled to the labeled column indicated by the manufacturer. For an accurate reading, you would need the appropriate ratio of water to the solution.
Step 4:
Run the test for free chlorine and residual chlorine by adding 5 drops of the chemical to the column reserved for testing chlorine. Remember, some test kits might come in a different look, so you would have to follow instructions as a suite.
Step 5:
Cover the vial with its cap and mix the solution with the pool water. Wait for some seconds to notice the color change. Once set, the color will change. Compare the color in the vial with that of the indicator on the plastic tester.
Step 6:
After some minutes, compare the color again to be sure of the reading. Note that your kit might come a little different from your neighbor. Some manufacturers incorporate one kit to test for free chlorine and residual chlorine. In contrast, others have different kits for such purposes.
Step 7:
Rinse the vials again and take another sample a foot deep from the pool to prepare for another pH level test.
Step 8:
Add 5 drops of solution 2 to the pH indicator (red phenol indicator) and mix gently. Compare the color change to the one on the standard plastic tester to know the pH level. Note: If the pH level is above 7.6, add some acid to bring the pH down but if it is below 7.4, add some alkalinity to raise the pH level.
Conclusion
Testing your pool is now made easy with an easy-to-use personal home kit. Remember never to buy chemicals over an extended period of more than a season as they could lose potency over time. Also, you do not need to purchase an entire test kit when you are out of chemicals. You can easily purchase just the solution without having to buy the whole equipment.
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