Which brands of pool and spa chemicals should I buy?

For any new pool or spa owner it can seem like a mammoth task to understand what chemicals you need, and make a selection from the numerous brands of very similar pool or spa chemicals.  It can be difficult to select a brand that is both of a satisfactory quality and also reasonably priced.  Simply spotting the chemicals you think you need in amongst the hundreds of related products and doing the research prior to purchase can be a chore.

It can also be frustrating when you swap or change brands, having got used to the doses required to keep your pool or spa water fresh and sparkling.  Different pool chemical brand names make their chemicals to different specifications of quality and resulting effectiveness.  Quality and price varies dramatically.  Beware of the extremely cheap or white label brands, as those using such chemical products often comment that they had to use ten times the dose to get the same satisfactory level of sanitisation they are used to.  You may think you are saving money, but in the long run you will buy more and spend far more time maintaining your pool or spa water.

Some of the most widely trusted and best known and pool chemical brands include Pro Swim (well known for it’s unbeatable quality), Blue Horizons (again, very high quality products), and AquaSPArkle (a very effective brand which is tailored just for spa maintenance).  Due to our large orders with these manufacturers we are now selling these high quality pool chemical brands at unbeatable prices, and as such we claim to be the best value pool and spa chemical retailer in the UK.  Our margins are set to give you the best price in the UK for these well known brands.  If it’s cheaper than us, then the quality is not the same!

Ok, now I know the brands.  But which pool chemicals do I need?

When I explain this question, I like to split all the pool chemicals into two groups.  Pool chemicals I will need regularly, and pool chemicals I might need from time to time.  It is also important to note that the principles and generally the chemical products are the same for both pools and spas, although branding is often specific to one or the other (Take AquaSPArkle for example).

Regularly required pool chemicals

Includes your basic sanitizer, which for most is either a chlorine granules or a chlorine tablets product (or a combination of both), however some users prefer not to use Chlorine due to sensitive eyes and may opt for Bromine based sanitation.  Both products basically kill and help to disintegrate bacteria and impurities in the water.

You will also need to balance the pH of your water.   This means you will require three further products.  Test strips provide you with the current pH levels, and indicate how much of either pH + (Alkali) or pH – (Dry Acid) you will need to add to bring the pH back up or back down to an acceptable level (between 7.2 and 7.6)

And that’s all you should really need on a regular basis, although Algaecide is also highly recommended.

Occasionally required pool chemicals

Occasionally required pool chemicals and optional extra chemicals are unfortunately a much larger group, covering everything from Calcium Hardness increasers to Total Alkalinity Reducers, Flocculants and Algaecides.  And for each type of product there are numerous different variations.  You will definitely want to use an Algaecide, and our long life algaecides are the easiest as they can last up to 12 months before you need to re-dose.  We provide you with both a copper based algaecide and a non-copper based algaecide.  Copper based algaecides are generally more effective but some products can leave staining or have even been known to make your hair blue!  So stick to the best known pool or spa chemical brands!

Flocculants are used to help aid filtration by sticking to all the tiny particles which are too small to be picked up through the filter and as such pass directly through back into you water.  If you suffer from cloudy water soon after applying algaecide, this is because you have lots of dead algae particles in your pool.  If filtration does not deal with it, consider purchasing a suitable flocculant.  Be careful to select one for your type of pool and certain flocculants are not to be used with cartridge based filters, and can only be used with a sand based pool filter.  We provide a flocculant (or clarifier as they are sometimes called) for each type of pool / spa filter system.

Mostly, you will not need the other chemicals.  But if you use 5 in 1 test strips, you may eventually spot a problem with your Total Hardness or Total Alkalinity.   In this instance, please call our support team so we can diagnose your particular problem and prescribe the pool chemical product/s to resolve the issue.

As always, we are happy to help.  Please do not hesitate to contact our pool and spa chemical helpline or drop us an email.  We can even provide digital water analysis of your pool water samples for those particularly frustrating dosing and maintenance problems with pool chemicals.  We also provide a large list of troubleshooting guides to help you understand the causes and solutions to the entire range of symptoms that can be experienced with incorrect dosing or maintenance.