Depending on where you live, the number of days you have to enjoy your outdoor pool may be impacted by the threat of rain, particularly in the spring and fall. However, just because you’re not getting to enjoy your pool on these wet days doesn’t mean you can slack off of your pool maintenance routine. In fact, bad weather can often bring even more responsibility to pool owners.
The main question is, with regards to rainy days, should you leave your pool to operate the same as any other day? Are there any adjustments that should be made to accommodate the increase of water your pool will receive? Particularly, should you keep your pool pump running? Keep reading to find out!
Does Rain Affect Pool Water?
A drop of rain is never the end of the world. However, heavy rain can lower the quality of your pool water. As you may know, rain is technically acidic and can therefore affect your pool water’s pH level, which could ruin the conditions that you’ve worked hard to achieve. Not only that but if you attempt to swim in the pool after the rainfall, be prepared to feel irritation on your skin and eyes.
Plus, think of all the extra debris and residue that rainwater brings with it and leaves behind, making your pool water gradually filthy over time. With this mix of debris and acidity, your pool becomes a breeding ground for algae – which is every pool owner’s nightmare.
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Algae can be detrimental to humans as it creates and attracts all kinds of additional bacteria to it. Once it’s in your pool, it can be an arduous task to vanquish algae completely, and your pool water will require lots of additional treatment.
Should I Run My Pool Pump When It Rains?
Based on all the problems considered above – absolutely you should run your pool pump. There is no point taking the risk and incurring such problems as altered pH levels and the threat of algae when your filter could just as easily continue to filter out the debris and bacteria throughout a period of heavy rainfall.
Although it will not guarantee that your pool water will be safe enough to swim in once the rain has stopped, it certainly means that cleanliness is maintained, and at least some of the debris is filtered out, which will save you the hassle of cleaning it out yourself later.
Thunderstorms and Extra-Heavy Rain
The only real reason to turn your pool pump off during the rainy season is if there is a thunderstorm forecast. Storms could prove to create particularly dangerous electrical issues regarding your pool pump, as well as your pool heaters, chlorinators, motors, and lights. It would be advisable to switch off everything in the event of a thunderstorm.
It would also be important for you to keep an eye on your pool pump in case of an excessive amount of rainfall over a short period of time. All pool mechanisms, as well as the whole pool itself, are at risk of flooding completely in such incidences, which could prove too much for your pool pump to bear.
If you notice that your pool is rising significantly or that your pool pump has been totally overrun with water, be sure to turn everything off. When pool pumps are submerged for a long period of time, they can break.
If your water level is already particularly dry, it would be a good idea to drain out a little bit, leaving just enough for the pool pump to operate while also leaving plenty of room for the rainwater. That way, you can avoid flooding.
If there is an incident where you have to leave the house and are unsure if the rain is going to become heavy enough to flood the pool, it would be prudent to encircle the pool with sandbags to prevent outside water from running in and creating a flood.
Cleaning the Pool Filter
On top of leaving your pump on through rainy seasons, you can also do several other things to maintain the quality of your pool water. This will ensure that its functions remain in tip-top shape. One very important task is cleaning the filter regularly.
Given the amount of excess debris and bacteria that rainfall can bring to your pool, your pool filter should be cleaned just as much, if not more, than it would be during the summer months. It’s important to make sure that your pump can maintain itself through continued rainfall, so be sure to hose down all baskets and other elements of the filter until all debris is removed.
Other Ways to Help the Pump After Rainfall
There are several other things you should keep in mind to get both your pool and pump back in working order once a storm has passed. First, you should clean the pool of all fallen debris and algae, which will help reduce the pressure on the filter when circulating the water. It’s also advisable to clean the perimeter of the pool, as a lot of dirt and bacteria could have been washed off of drains and rooftops and could be washed into your pool the next time it rains.
Be sure to measure the level of the pool water after the rainfall and set your filter to ‘waste’ to drain the pool a little if necessary. Also, check the pH level, as well as the chlorine, alkalinity, and sanitizer levels, to ensure that your pool water is healthy and won’t damage the pump.
Conclusion
Having read this article, you are now aware of how rainwater affects your pool water, and you now know in what conditions to leave your pump on or turn it off! Maintaining your pool during the rainy season can be as stressful as in the summer. However, by following the advice presented here, you are sure to be able to maintain your pool, pool water, and the mechanisms that make it work.