The Ultimate Guide to Pool Maintenance: Tips and Tricks
|
|
Time to read 4 min
Consistency and knowledge allow you to keep your swimming pool clean, healthy, and looking and feeling great all season long. Plan on about 45 minutes to one hour each week, along with high-quality pool chemicals, and you're well on your way to the clearest pool in your neighborhood.
We’ve put together the ultimate guide to pool maintenance to help keep your pool crystal clear. You are getting all of our favorite tips and tricks.
When it comes to pool care, there are five key things to consider:
Each of these keys prevents problems in your pool and helps you plan your regular swimming pool maintenance.
#1: Circulation
Your pool water must circulate adequately for it to stay clean and clear. If your water is moving, your pump and filter also work. Then, you may end up with algae, and no one wants that.
In addition, if you want your sanitizer to be effective, the water must be in motion. The more you pay attention to circulation, the less likely bacteria will grow, and algae will take over. Moreover, debris is pushed into your filter when you circulate your pool.
Pay attention to the four parts of the circulation system: the pump, the filter, the skimmer, and the jets. Your pump sucks water from your pool into your skimmer, which catches dirt and debris. The water travels through the pump into your filter. Then, the clean water returns to your pool via your pool jets.
The Pool Pump
You want to run your pool pump and circulate your water daily for 12 hours (or more). The more you run it, the cleaner the water. If your home is warmer, you want to run your pump more. Variable-speed pumps are a good addition because they are quieter, use less energy, and save money.
The Filter
On occasion, you want to backwash or clean your filter. Do this when your filter gauge reads about ten psi higher than usual. If you have a cartridge filter, then you need to clean it.
The Skimmer Basket
Empty this at least one-two times per week. This is vital to your overall pool maintenance. To do this, simply turn off your pump and empty the basket under your skimmer lid. You also want to clean the pump basket on your pool pump occasionally.
The Jets
Another thing you can do is adjust and angle your pool jets, so they point away from your skimmer in a circular fashion. This helps keep the water circulating correctly and makes it easier for your skimmer to eliminate debris.
#2: Filtration
Your pool filter is one of the most important pieces of pool equipment. We touched on this earlier, but you want to clean it often. You want to chemically clean filters to remove the debris backwashing doesn't grab.
#3: Cleaning
There is more to cleaning your pool than attending to your pool filter. Your pool has walls, a floor, steps, and ladders that need cleaning.
Brushing
You want to brush the walls and floors of your pool at least once a week. This helps you catch any debris your filter misses. It doesn't hurt to do this more often during the summer.
Brushing the walls with a pool brush prevents algae, staining, and scaling. Be sure to brush areas such as your steps, ladders, under the skimmer, and around other crevices. You can also use an automatic pool cleaner to do the hard work.
Skimming
Use a leaf or net rake to remove large debris from the surface of your pool. You don't want it falling to the bottom and staining your pool.
Vacuuming
Do this at least once weekly to avoid damaging your pool and reducing circulation.
#4: Testing
Test your water several times a week during the season and especially with high bather loads. You want to ensure you know your pH and sanitizer levels. In addition, you want to test your water before you open your pool and when you close it.
Testing your water is the only way to ensure your swimming pool is balanced.
#5: Chemicals
You want to use the right pool chemicals at the right time for a clear, sparkling, healthy, balanced swimming pool. A pool with the right chemicals is safe for swimmers and protects them from bacteria. Your pool equipment and surfaces are also protected.
A balanced pool won't have as many issues as green water, cloudy water, algae, or bacteria build-up.
Here are some basic guidelines:
- Test one to two times per week.
- Balance your pool's pH and alkalinity.
- Maintain sanitizer levels.
- Shock your pool every other week. When you shock your water with sanitizer, you kill off all the bacteria, contaminants, and even organic matter. This is also important after days of high bather loads, heavy rain, or an algae issue.
Keep the following things in mind:
- Maintain your pool's pH around 7.5. If your pool's pH levels are too high or too low, you end up with green algae or corrosion.
- Keep your pool's alkalinity around 120-150 ppm. If you drop under this, you can cause pH problems and staining issues. If it's too high, you end up with a cloudy pool.
- Pay attention to your phosphates. If you run into cloudy or green water, your phosphates are likely out of balance. And if you have too many, you may end up with algae.
- With calcium hardness, keep it around 200-400 ppm. Go too low, and you may damage the surface of your pool. Go too high, and you have to deal with removing calcium deposits.
- Chlorine is vital; you can get it in sticks, granules, or tablets. Chlorine breaks down all the harmful bacteria and sanitizes your pool. You want to keep these levels stable. The sanitizer levels depend on whether you use chlorine, bromine, biguanide, or minerals.
You're Ready with Your Ultimate Guide
Now that you have our tips and tricks, creating a maintenance schedule is best. This way, you know when you need to attend to each task.
These pool maintenance tips, combined with the best pool chemicals, will help your pool look beautiful and stay healthy all summer.
You've come to the right place if you want quality pool and spa products shipped to your door. At Pool Goods, we are here for you to help you make every day better in your pool or hot tub with the best pool chemicals, hot tub chemicals, and spa chemicals!
