Good Morning!
So, as many of you would have noticed, the UK has been basking in some beautiful weather over the last few days. In fact, the record for the hottest day in May was broken two days in a row!
Now, I don't want to show off or anything but I do have a swimming pool at home. It's nothing fancy, just a 12 foot round above ground pool that I put away for the winter. I should have been better prepared and had it setup ready for the hot bank holiday weekend but instead I decided to set it up and do all of the heavy lifting during the hot weather!
Setting up my pool did raise a bit of a quandary for me. Most of the time we at SoftenerGeeks would advise that when you install one of our water softeners, you leave your outside tap unsoftened. That was not possible in my property, so I have a soft water outside tap. This was where I was filling my swimming pool from - all 9,500 litres! I had a choice to make; bypass the softener for the duration of filling or, fill with softened water. Filling with soft water had the benefit that it would be gentler on skin but would absolutely hammer the softener capacity and salt consumption.
There is a second layer to this decision that needed consideration and some explaining for those of you who are unaware. If you are considering a purchase of a swimming pool you may want to read this next bit to know what you are getting yourself into. There is a level of chemistry needed for maintaining a swimming pool - something I had not anticipated when I bought mine in 2022. Everybody knows that chlorine is added to swimming pools to keep it nice and clean, but it turns out chlorine is a bit fussy. For chlorine to work effectively your water needs to be the correct pH and Total Alkalinity. This varies from area to area. In my area the hard water comes out the tap at the perfect levels for chlorine to do its thing - nice! Softening that water changes it, this means more adjustment chemicals to get it right and therefore more expense. Fortunately for me, I work in the water treatment industry so testing equipment and chemicals are easier (and cheaper) to come by.
So, what did I decide to do whilst filling my pool regarding the water softener I hear you ask? Well, I am somebody who loves to be a little bit cautious and find a compromise where possible. I did half and half. Half soft, half hard. My softener did not take too much of a beating and my pool will be slightly gentler on my families skin. I now have to spend my summer evenings testing and adjusting all the levels to ensure the water doesn't go green! Great! It is worth it to see the kids enjoy it for a few days a year - I think.
Stay cool and hydrate. Steve