Running your pool pump during a lightning or electrical storm should be avoided as a power surge or nearby lightning strike could damage your pump. However running your pump during is beneficial. The extra filtering will help clean out the impurities rain has introduced into your pool's water.
To prevent potentially dangerous electrical issues, it's imperative that you turn off the power to your pool equipment — such as pumps, motors, filters, heaters, chlorinators, and lighting fixtures. Even if you turn off the power to your pool equipment, it can still be damaged by wind, rain, and debris.
We recommend that our customers run their pumps rain or shine UNLESS we have an electrical storm. In that case, lightning could strike an outside circuit, which could damage your pump and other equipment. If you're worried about lightening, turn the pump off or shut off the breaker.
After the storm
Once the storm has cleared, the first step should be to remove any debris before it settles and contaminates the water. Next, drain the excess water; and then, check and balance the chemistry of the pool water before running the pool filter until the water clears.
Answer: It should not matter much. It could help to filter debris and contaminants the rain washes into the pool. However, lightning can be a concern with the filter running.
Give your pool a good shock treatment 1 to 2 days before the storm hits. You can bring the chlorine level up pretty high to prolong the pool being depleted of chlorine.
So shock your pool and keep the pump running.
And if you're wondering if you can shock a pool IN the rain, the answer is yes. Just remember that rainwater adds more contaminants, so it won't be as effective as shocking during dry weather.
Shocking your pool isn't necessary, although, it's not a bad idea either. If you get an extremely heavy rain fall, you could shock your pool for good measure. This will help fight off any contaminants that the rain may have brought to your pool.
You should keep the pump dry and out of the rain. Rain that is allowed to fall on the pump can get into the motor and cause a short circuit, burning out the motor in the process. Cover the pump and never allow water to fall on it from above.
A lightning strike can damage your pool's pump, filter and heater. The strike overloads the electrical circuits and can ruin the equipment. You can install surge protectors to prevent lightning from damaging your pool, but that's just another cost that makes pool ownership too expensive.
High Winds, Tropical Storms, and Hurricanes
Use shock treatment on your pool one or two days before the storm. Add chlorine levels significantly during the treatment and let it run for 24 hours to allow the treatment to fill the entire pool.
It is a fact that rain will decrease your Total Alkalinity level in the pool over time, requiring a pool owner to raise the alkalinity. Rainwater has a Total Alkalinity near zero. Heavy rains will dilute your pool alkalinity level, causing it to fall by 5-10 ppm a day.
We get asked this question every time there is a heavy rain. That answer is pretty simple when you think about it. The pool will only overflow by the amount of rain in excess of the amount of rain needed to fill the pool to the top.
Avoid contact with open waters during rainstorms to reduce your chances of encountering dangerous conditions. It's also a good idea to stay away from your pool when it's raining because your deck and other surface areas can be more slippery than usual.
Yes, pumps are made to function outside and will get wet from the weather with no real problems. There is a problem, however, when poor drainage causes standing water from storms to linger around the motor. In short, the motor is not made to function sitting in a puddle of water.
The level at which pool skimmers function properly is between one third and about half way up the opening of the pool skimmer. If the water level is too high the debris floating next to the opening may pass by without being pulled into the skimmer.
"Heavy rain dilutes pool chemicals, especially salt and chlorine, which causes the pool to turn green. This means the water is not sanitised or healthy, so it's vital to address this.
Skim the pool to remove excess debris. Shock the pool and run the filtration system for at least 12 hours. Test and re-balance pool water.
Lightning can also travel through any metal wires or bars in concrete walls or flooring." So it sounds plausible that it could happen to you. But according to Aquatic Safety Research Group, "There are no documented reports of fatal lightning strikes at indoor swimming pools. None!
One option is to purchase a surge protector device for your pool's computer system. The surge protector is designed to take all of the brunt from the lightning strike and protect the system for damage. It basically acts in the same way as an insurance deductible.
Do not return to the pool until at least 30 minutes after the last lightning is sighted or thunder heard. Check the radio or online for weather service warnings to make certain all is clear.
The short answer is 'yes', but there are other considerations. The biggest fear is a direct strike by lightning. When lightning strikes, it often (but not always) hits the tallest thing in the vicinity.
Even pools aren't safe. While you're less likely to be directly struck in a pool since there are things around you to draw the strike (especially in an indoor pool), the charge can still reach you while you're in the water. Metal elements like the pipes and plumbing can conduct electricity.