Chemicals and Maintenance Products Stocked in Our Shop - The Spa Kling Pool Company

Keeping your pool safe and clean can be an arduous job if you don’t have the right chemicals to hand and you don’t know what you should be doing!  It’s imperative that your pool is kept crystal clean to avoid infection to those who’ll be enjoying it.

In this article, we outline the 12 categories of chemicals and equipment you’ll need to be familiar with if you own a pool or maintain one,  and what they’re used for.

Pool chemicals come under certain categories depending on how they work and what they’re expected to do:

  1. Sanitizers
  2. Oxidizers
  3. Water Balancers
  4. Clarifiers
  5. Algaecides
  6. Enzymes
  7. Filter Cleaners
  8. Metal Magnets
  9. Phosphate Removers
  10. Stain Removers
  11. Tile and Vinyl Cleaners
  12. Test Kits
  1. Sanitizers

These chemicals do exactly what their name implies – they sanitize and disinfect your pool water.  Essentially, they come in the form of chlorine or bromine.  They’re used to keep a constant level of chlorine in the water to keep it clean and infection free.  Chlorine is usually used for swimming pools and bromine is more suitable for use in spas, where it works better in hot water.

Some sanitizer tablets come with cyanuric acid too – which is a chlorine stabilizer and protects the chlorine from breaking down by UV rays.

  1. Oxidizers

These are secondary sanitizers that should be used every few weeks to help kill any algae or bacteria that may have developed in the pool.  They usually contain calcium hypochlorite and will essentially ‘shock’ the pool water and lift the level of chlorine in it. A good back up chemical to maintain your chlorine levels.

  1. Water Balancers

You should be testing your pool several times a week in the summer months or when it’s in regular use.  You should test for both chlorine and pH levels and adjust with water balancers where necessary.  Water balance chemicals will help keep the alkalinity  and chlorine levels of your pool in check.  Examples of these chemicals include pH increasers, pH reducers, Alkalinity increasers, calcium hardness increasers and chlorine neutralizers.

  1. Clarifiers

Clarifiers are used to coagulate tiny particles into larger ones that can then be trapped in the pools filter system, thus keeping your pool water crystal clear.  Flocculants, on the other hand, will coagulate large particles so that they sink to the bottom and can be hoovered up to your waste system.

  1. Algaecides

These chemicals will help prevent algae from growing, but if you already have algae in your pool, you should consider shocking it first before using an algaecide.

  1. Enzymes

Enzymes are helpful as they’re used to break down oils that may be present in your pool due to suntan lotions etc.

  1. Filter Cleaners

These are used to clean the sand inside your filter to enable it to continue to work efficiently.

  1. Metal Magnets

These chemicals will keep trace metals in a solution so that they don’t stain your pool surfaces.

  1. Phosphate remover

Phosphates are the main food substance for algae to feed on.  If we remove the phosphates from the water, algae production is inhibited, ensuring that you have a well maintained, clean and safe pool to enjoy.

  1. Stain removers

These remove any staining from the build-up of minerals and metals in your pool.

  1. Tile Cleaners

These will help remove the staining from the build-up of algae etc from around the water line of your pool.  They can make an amazing difference to the look and feel of your pool.

  1. Test Kit

At the very least, you should be testing your pool for pH and Chlorine several times a week.  Test kits will help you do this as they contain testing liquids for both chemicals.

If you’re at all concerned about your pool maintenance or need some advice, we are The Spa-Kling Pool Company and most of the products listed are stocked in our shop.  Take a look at our website www.thespa-klingpoolcompany.co.uk or give us a call on 01242 520 337 – we’d be happy to help!