The science behind pool care
Articles that give a more detailed, sometimes scientific knowledge of what is going on in a swimming pool
How does a swimming pool leak sealer work?
If you have a leak in your pool you are faced with two major problems. One is finding where the leak is and the other is the expense of digging down and repairing it. Getting a professional in to find and fix the leak will probably cost a minimum of £150 and you...
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What is the right sand for a swimming pool filter?
If you have a swimming pool filter then the likelihood is that it is a sand filter. As the name suggests a sand filter uses sand to filter the impurities out of the water. Sand is put in the filter vessel and the water is forced under pressure through the bed of sand....
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How much does a swimming pool cover weigh?
"How much does it weigh?" is a question we are often asked about our swimming pool covers. This is often because the pool owner wants to take the cover abroad and the next thing they want to know is how big is the cover when it is all packed up. So here is the answer....
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Is my swimming pool pipe 1.5 inch or 2 inch?
One thing that always confuses swimming pool owners is the size of the pipe work on their pool. This is because pipes that are called inch and a half are nearer 2 inches when you put a tape on them. With this article we hope to clear up the confusion. The first thing...
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What causes a pool solar cover to break up?
We are often asked why has my swimming pool's bubble cover started to degrade? The usual pattern is that you find little bits of white plastic floating in your pool water. You wonder where they have come from and eventually find that they are from the underside of...
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What is Available Chlorine?
On the label of most swimming pool chlorine products you will see a reference to "Available Chlorine". This short article will attempt to explain what that is. In its natural state of 100% purity chlorine is a gas but swimming pool chlorine is often refered to...
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How salt water chlorination works in swimming pools
Most people will know that that the best chemical for killing algae and bacteria in swimming pool water is Chlorine. Most people will know that salt is Sodium Chloride, a Sodium atom bonded to a Chlorine atom. Chemical Symbol NaCl. Most swimming pool owners know that...
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Why algae grows in your pool in the summer
This is an article about algae in swimming pools and it has got graphs in it. I am sometimes accused of being a bit nerdy, I don't know why! Algae need light to grow, strong sunshine is algae's best friend. Just when we are getting our pools ready for the warm summer...
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Chlorine kills 99.9% of all germs – what about the other 0.1%? Flocculation is the answer.
Although this is much more of a concern for large commercial pools it is important for domestic pool owners to understand the potential risks. Despite Chlorine’s ability to kill just about anything organic there is one type of nasty that evades being killed by...
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The top four ways to kill algae in a swimming pool
Algae growing in a swimming pool is a perenial problem for the swimming pool owner here we will examine the 4 most popular ways to get rid of it. These are Chlorine Copper Quats and Poly Quats Phosphate removal. As we will see some of the above can be used to kill...
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Does using Bayrol Soft & Easy mean saying goodbye to Chlorine?
PoolStore's recommended non-chlorine alternative is Bayrol Soft and Easy. For a comprehensive article on all the various non-chorine alternatives read our help and advice section on the main website. We like the Bayrol product because it is easy to use but it...
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How to connect Intex pipes to standard pool pipes
Intex make great above ground swimming pools, the best on the market, which is why PoolStore only sell Intex pools but the pipes that come with the pools are a non-standard type and if you ever want to connect any non-intex item to your pool, like a heater for...
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A quick word about heat pumps in the spring
Heat pumps are without question the most efficient way to heat a swimming pool. They suck heat out the air and put it in your swimming pool at up to 600% efficiency. But they have their limitations and they are particuarly noticable in the spring. This article was...
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Are you totally confused about Total Alkalinity?
Total Alakalinity is to swimming pool water what the Liberal Democrats used to be to british politics. Over shadowed by the other two but important in their own way. In swimming pool water chemistry the big two are pH and free chlorine level. You have to test for...
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