How to Safely Stock Up On & Store Pool Chemicals

Since winter is a downtime for pool use, chances are that your pool chemicals are currently being stored somewhere. Some pool owners may also be ordering extra pool supplies at this time of year when prices can be lower, helping them save while preparing for the upcoming pool season.

During this time, remember that pool chemicals must be stored safely in order to prevent injuries, chemical reactions, environmental damage or any number of other dangerous scenarios. Unsafe storage and handling practices can also lead to property damage or respiratory hazards when the storage area is opened again during pool season.

To help prevent these dangers and keep your Fort Smith, Arkansas pool chemicals safe and ready for next spring, follow these practices for buying and storing chemicals during the off season:

Remember FIFO — First In, First Out

FIFO is an important concept in food safety, and it can also be applied to any stored good. The letters, which spell “first in, first out,” dictate that the oldest existing product should always be used first. As you can imagine, in food service this prevents one bin of salad greens from sitting in the back and rotting while new, fresh bins towards the front of the shelf get used instead.

To maintain FIFO, obey these four principles:

1. Label everything by the date it was received.
2. Physically rotate your items so that the newest products are in the back and the oldest are most accessible in the front.
3. Properly dispose of any product deemed to be past its expiration date.
4. Regularly check on the stored products to ensure that they are being rotated, that they are not expired and that everything is in order.

While pool chemicals will not spoil like food will, allowing old product to linger can create complications. Namely, the chemicals can lose their potency and the containers they are in can degrade over time. Corrosive materials like muriatic acid should be monitored particularly closely since they can erode thin storage containers over the course of time.

Prevent Chemicals from Combining

Pool chemicals can harm you on their own, but when combined they can often have dramatic chemical reactions. Some chemical combinations may even trigger an explosion.

To prevent combining chemicals, abide by these storage principles:

• Keep chemical types separate.
  • e., do not store oxidizing shock materials right next to corrosive chemicals
• Keep all chemicals in their original containers. Dispose of chemicals whose containers have become unusable; do not transfer them.
• Never reuse containers.
• Use a different measuring scoop for each product.
• Do not stack different product types; especially do not stack a liquid chemical over a dry or powdered one.
• Store materials off the floor to prevent water intrusion.
• Do not store chemicals directly overhead in areas where people will be walking.
• Regularly inspect chemicals and storage conditions for leaking packaging.

Use General Practices for Storing Pool Chemicals Safely

• All chemicals should be stored in a cool area below 95 °F with low humidity and without any direct sunlight.
• Keep the floor of your storage area free from debris, especially flammable materials like leaves, rags and waste paper.
• Ensure that your storage area is well-ventilated and does not share an airspace with the home.
  • e., do not store chemicals in a garage if that air will be ventilated into the house
• Ensure that chemicals are stored securely and will not be knocked over by anyone entering the storage area.
• When stocking up on chemicals, avoid buying supplies that would last longer than the recommended “Use By” date.

Let Burton Pools & Spas Help You Maintain Your Fort Smith Pool Safely

With our many years of experience and a diverse set of resources at our back, we are prepared to help our clients enjoy their pools and spas safely. Our award-winning staff can recommend tools and practices that make pool chemical storage easier in addition to supplying you with the chemicals themselves.

Give us a call at 800-667-9180, or use our Contact Us page. We would love to answer any questions you may have, and we can recommend products or services that enhance the enjoyment of your pool while making its maintenance easier than ever.

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