DIY Tips

A scorching summer is well on the way, and that can play havoc with your pool water’s health. The forecast El Nino event means extremely dry, hot weather is on the way, so pool owners need to be especially vigilant. But there are steps you can take to ensure you and your family can cool off in confidence that there are no nasties lurking in the H2O.

There’s nothing appealing about diving into a green murky swimming pool – it’s also dangerous and unhealthy. That cloudy discoloured water is the result of algae, a plant that thrives in water with a high pH level. It grows from spores and attaches to the skin of swimmers, resulting in a slimy feeling. While the slime washes off skin easily, the danger is when it attaches to pool stairs, sides and ladders, making them slippery.

Every summer, algal blooms in waterways cause headaches for health authorities across Australia. Unfortunately, the high phosphate levels that cause these blooms can also be found in home pools, posing a risk to swimmers even in their own backyards. Last summer some of the highest recorded levels of phosphate were found in pools across the country. The health risks of these blooms should not be underestimated, as the toxins they produce can cause people or animals to become seriously ill, and can even result in death. Another, lesser side-effect of excessive phosphate levels, is rapid chlorine consumption.

People live increasingly busy lives, which means cleaning the pool is often well down the list of “to do” jobs and sometimes slips off the radar altogether.

We'd all like to emulate the resort look in our pool area. A quick trip to the nursery, some romantic (or impulsive) purchases and the pool area looks fabulous - for a few weeks. Then the rot sets in. Suddenly the oasis looks more like a desert.

Buying a pool is enormous fun. Choosing the size, shape, colour, accessories, decking and plants is exciting. Less exciting but more important than all these things put together is the pool fence. Australia's fabulous weather means we have more backyard pools per capita than any other country in the world. And safety is paramount, which is why there are regulations around pool fencing.

If the days of enjoying your pool are long gone thanks to crumbling coping, faulty equipment and an ageing interior, then it’s time to think about a makeover – especially with the warmer months looming on the horizon. Breathing new life into your poolscape can be as simple as replacing old waterline tiles, or extensive as draining the water and starting with a clean slate.

You know the saying – fail to prepare, prepare to fail. The saying is very applicable to many areas of life. One of these is the general maintenance of our home, as you can’t just float along expecting all parts of your home to take care of themselves.