Dogs make the best pool accessories. Who doesn’t love watching their pet paddle around the pool or shaking the water out of their fur? But owning a pool comes with a certain amount of responsibility. If you’re a pool owner who likes to swim with your furry friend, you need to make sure you’re keeping your pool sanitary and bacteria-free. Otherwise, you and your pet could get into trouble. Learn more about pool chemicals and how they can keep your pets safe.
Chlorine and Pool Chemicals
Chlorine is the chemical of choice when it comes to keeping a pool clean and free of bacteria. Despite some common misconceptions, even saltwater pools use chlorine to ward off potentially harmful bacteria like algae and other pollutants. And the truth is that most pool chemicals are safe for pets as long as you use the recommended amount in the pool. Pool chemicals alone can be dangerous to pets, but when they’re dispersed in the pool water, you shouldn’t have to worry about your pet swimming around in the pool.
Some pet owners will choose bromine instead of chlorine to treat and clean their pools; however, bromine is best suited for hot tubs and spas because of its ability to stabilize in hot water. Yet, bromine can be more difficult to rinse off. At the end of the day, both chemicals work well in the pool and neither should have an adverse effect on your pet’s health.
Using too many chemicals in the pool, like calcium hypochlorite shock, that change the pH level, or acidity level, of your pool can be dangerous to pets. Remember to read the instructions carefully when using chemicals in your pool so you don’t put your pets at risk.
Pool Maintenance and Pet Safety
In fact, pool chemicals can actually help you keep your pets safe. Using chemicals in the pool is an important part of pool maintenance because it removes toxic particles and bacteria that can be harmful to both you and your pet’s health. Letting your dog in the pool, especially after they’ve been running around the yard unsupervised, can lead to the spread of bacteria. That’s why you need to use chemicals to make sure your pool is safe for everyone to use.
If you fall behind on pool maintenance, you and your pet could be at risk of coming into contact with all kinds of bacteria, including algae, fecal matter and other bodily fluids. You should also keep your pool covered when it’s not in use to prevent the spread of bacteria.
Tips for Keeping Your Pet Safe at the Pool
If you’re adamant about keeping your pet safe at the pool, you need to stay on top of pool maintenance and regularly look for floating debris that might be carrying harmful bacteria. Use these tips to make sure your pet is staying safe.
Drinking Out of the Pool
It’s never a good idea to let your dog or pet drink out of the pool. Ingesting these pool chemicals can be a major cause of concern. If your pet swallows a small amount of pool water, it shouldn’t affect their health, but it’s important to keep an eye on your pet when they’re near the pool so they don’t accidentally drink too much.
Rinsing Off Your Pet
You should also make it a habit of rinsing off your pet with a hose or drinking water when they get out of the pool so they don’t have to walk around with chlorine on their fur all day. While some excess pool water shouldn’t be an issue, some dogs and pets like to lick themselves after getting wet, so just to be safe, rinse them off and let them go on their way. This gives you more peace of mind that they won’t ingest more chemicals after their swim.
Owning a pool means staying on top of pool maintenance. It’s recommended to use chemicals like chlorine or bromine to keep bacteria out of the pool that can pose a risk to you and your pet’s health. If you own a pet, you’ll also need to keep an eye on them when they’re in or near the water. Make sure they don’t ingest too much pool water and keep the pool covered so it doesn’t turn into your pet’s second water dish. Follow these steps and you and your pet should be all set for some fun in the sun.