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What Water Treatments Does My Inground Swimming Pool Need?

Chad Maag • August 26, 2022

After you’ve installed the inground swimming pool of your dreams and filled it up, you’re ready for the water treatment stage of the process. Many homeowners might think that they can dump in some chlorine and be done with it, but chlorine makes up only one part of a comprehensive water treatment plan.

Let’s go in depth and look at all of the products you’ll need to ensure the water in your pool is within a safe and healthy range.

Once you’re ready to start water treatment in your inground swimming pool, you’ll need to:

Get started with some chlorine.
Consider an automatic brominator.
Give your pool a little shock treatment.
Invest in an algaecide.
Make sure that you have a stabilizer.
Keep an eye on your TDS level.

Now that you know the basic steps of how to treat the water in your inground pool, let’s go in depth on each of them.

Get Started With Some Chlorine

Chlorine is the most well-known pool treatment chemical for a reason. Not only does chlorine work wonders for killing bacteria in the water and sanitizing the pool, but it can also keep your inground pool looking clean and clear.

Chlorine is available in several different varieties, from granules to sticks to tablets. Whatever your delivery method, it’s important that you keep the chlorine level in your pool in the 1-3 parts per million range.

Consider an Automatic Brominator

If you’ve got a hot tub, spa area, or like to keep your swimming pool’s water a bit warmer, you should look into adding bromine to the water. Bromine does much of the same work toward killing bacteria and cleaning your pool that chlorine does, but it performs better than chlorine in hot water environments.

With an automatic brominator, you won’t have to constantly check the levels in your pool and can instead let the device maintain the proper amount of bromine.

Give Your Pool a Little Shock Treatment

Beyond checking and maintaining proper chemical levels in your pool, you’ll also need to monitor the water for external debris and administer shock treatments as needed. As swimmers enter the pool, they might occasionally bring in grass blades, bits of leaves, or other debris.

A shock treatment will help to break down this material and keep your pool clean. It’s often administered with a concentrated dose of granular cleaner and doesn’t need to be done as frequently as some of the other water treatment methods.

Invest in an Algaecide

As Bob Vila notes, algae growth in swimming pools is often interrelated with chemical imbalances, especially chlorine imbalance. But when you’ve checked your chlorine levels and confirmed that they’re looking good and you still have algae in your pool, it’s time for an algaecide.

This backup solution is also one that you shouldn’t have to resort to often. As a precaution against algae growth, you should add an algaecide to your water after each shock treatment.

Make Sure That You Have a Stabilizer

Over time, direct sunlight will break down chlorine and diminish its effects. To combat this, you should invest in a good stabilizer. You can buy this in either its powdered or liquid version. Regular use can help stretch out the effectiveness of your chlorine.

Keep an Eye on Your TDS Level

The final step in the water treatment plan for your inground pool should be to get rid of any remaining total dissolved solids. TDS will include deposits like mineral buildups, organic debris, dust accumulation, and more. These deposits can lower the effectiveness of your pool cleaners over time and make it harder to keep your pool clean.

You should periodically check your water’s TDS level. If it’s at or above 3,000 parts per million, it’s time to remove and replace some of the water in the pool.

Conclusion

Once you’ve installed your dream inground pool, the work toward maintaining a beautiful and safe pool has only just begun. By maintaining proper levels in the water and regularly checking for contaminants, you should have a pool that everyone will want to visit in the summer!