The list of maintenance that you have to complete on swimming pools is seemingly never-ending.
Owning a pool comes with a lot of responsibilities and jobs that you have to do if you want your pool to continue being safe to use. From cleaning the filter, to disinfecting with chlorine, the list goes on and on.
But, one thing that you might not know much about if you are new to owning a pool is stabilizing it. This is an important part of pool maintenance, but what is it exactly?
If you want your swimming pool to remain clean, then stabilizing it is incredibly important. After all, it is this step in the maintenance process that ensures your pool remains clean and clear, and free of pathogens.
But what is a stabilizer? And, more importantly, how do you add it to your pool? In this quick guide, we’ll be answering these questions, so let’s jump right in.
What is a Pool Stabilizer?
As we have said, pool stabilizers are an incredibly important component when it comes to maintaining a clean and safe pool.
Of course, this step alone is not enough to keep your pool clean, as there is a long list of cleaning steps that you have to do to keep your swimming pool safe.
Stabilizers are made using a chemical compound known as Cyanuric Acid (CYA), and can be bought in various different forms (liquid, granules, powder, etc.). When combined with chlorine, the CYA will act as a stabilizer.
This stabilizer is used with chlorine, as it protects the active life of the chlorine in the water from UV rays.
This is incredibly important in outdoor swimming pools, where the water will constantly be in contact with these rays.
You may not know this, but chlorine is actually incredibly sensitive to UV rays, and direct contact with UV can cause the chlorine to quickly break down.
But, if you use it with CYA, then the chlorine will be protected, allowing it to do its job in your pool without being broken down by the UV rays. This is why CYA is referred to as a stabilizer.
When to Add Stabilizer
Now that you know exactly what a stabilizer is, you might be puzzled as to how to know when to add stabilizer.
There is a long list of maintenance that you must complete as a pool owner, and you might be unsure where stabilizing falls on the list. So, let’s have a look.
With some steps on the pool maintenance list, it is easy to know when they require doing. For example, you will know that your chlorine requires chlorine when it becomes visibly dirty.
But this isn’t the case with stabilizing the pool. Just like backwashing the filter of your pool, there is no obvious sign that your pool requires stabilizing, and so you have to figure this out yourself.
To find out if your pool requires stabilizing, you will need to measure the amount that is in the water. Chlorine breaks down over time, so you will regularly need to top this up.
But CYA does not. The only reason the content of CYA in your pool will decrease is from splashing, draining, or backwashing.
So, if you do any of these things, you should measure the CYA content of your pool using a digital tester. This will tell you the level of CYA currently in the water, allowing you to calculate how much you need to add.
How to Add Stabilizer
Now that you know what stabilizer is, and how to find out when your pool needs it, let’s take a look at how to add stabilizer to your pool.
One of the most important steps in adding stabilizer to your pool is calculating the amount that you need to add. So, first, let’s take a look at how to do this based on the information you measured earlier.
Step One: Calculate how much Stabilizer you need
When it comes to stabilizer in your pool, the recommended amount that you should have at any given time is 30 ppm. This is the equivalent of one pound of CYA to every 4,000 gallons of water.
In order to calculate the amount of CYA that you need to add to your pool, you will need to know the dimensions and capacity of your pool, and the existing CYA levels.
Based on this information, you can calculate the number of gallons of water in your pool.
This allows you to calculate how much CYA you should have in the pool, and you can compare this with the actual CYA content to work out how much you need to add.
Step Two: Safety First
After you have calculated the amount of CYA that you need to add to your pool, you should then take safety precautions.
CYA is a very strong chemical, so you should wear gloves and goggles when preparing the CYA to add to your pool. Once you have got all your safety equipment ready, move on to the next step.
Step Three: Prepare Your Stabilizer
With all the safety equipment ready, you can then measure the amount of CYA that you need and add it to a 5 gallon bucket full of warm water. It is then ready to be added to your pool.
You should do this by pouring the CYA/warm solution around the edges of the pool, until it is all gone. Then all that is left is to wait for the stabilizer to do its job.
Summary
In short, adding stabilizer to your pool can seem like an intimidating job, but it doesn’t have to be. If you follow this guide, then you will see that adding stabilizer to your pool isn’t actually that difficult.
So, there is absolutely no need to delay doing this essential step of swimming pool maintenance.
Simply follow this guide to find out how to measure the amount of stabilizer that you need so that you can add it to your pool and ensure it remains clean and safe to use.
