Pool Maintenance

Last Updated: June 15 2020
Reading Time: 6 minutes

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Pools are a fun way to be active and have fun during hot months, but maintenance can be a pain. So hopefully this guide makes maintenance for your pool easy .A large rumor that have a professional clean your pool you can also do it by yourself! But if you are interested into purchasing services you can go and request a quote and get multiple responses from business in your area.

Filtration

When having a pool, you must have a pool filter. A pool filter should last about 2000 hours before you should start to see some damage. If you use suntan lotion, haircare products ,etc. If so than your filter can break down a lot faster. Still when people leave the pool oils are left in the water. Luckily, there is a solution. All you have to do is just get a tennis ball and place it in the water. If your pool is larger or you have had a large sum of people in your pool than you should add multiple tennis balls. The fibers that are made in the production of the ball can easily soak up the oils and stop any layer of oils to gather. The best part is after the oils are extracted you can dry the ball and it is as good as new.

Cleaning

When cleaning your pool or spa you should look into cleaning the walls of your pool with a designated pool brush. If you clean your pools walls, then you can avoid baby algae from sprouting and you can remove any dark stains on your pools surface. You should also clean your pools water with any necessary pool chemicals like shock and chlorine. Finally cleaning off any debris is important because it can clog up your pipes .If you have an excessive amount of leaves ,dirt or any other debris you might want to look into buying a pool cover which can help you pool with debris control.

Circulation

Circulation is a major part in maintaining your pool or spa! Circulation systems are responsible keeping your pools water healthy and for the flow of your pool water. If you do not circulate your pools water a hazardous amount of bacteria buildup can occur. Bacteria buildup can pose a threat to your swimmers so testing your water is crucial.

Water Testing

Water testing! Making sure you test your water every 1-2 weeks will make sure you have optimal comfort and pleasure for your swimmers! This will also make sure your pools water fits into your needs! When checking your pH level, you should always consult with someone to make sure that you are making accurate decisions. You also have multiple ways of testing your waters pH level. You should always strive to have a 7 ,meaning a neutral, which is the prime water level that all pools have. You have the option of using a pool strip which is an accurate, affordable, easy to use and a plentiful choice in many stores .You simply submerge the strip and then compare it to the colors on the bottle. You should then know what your waters pH is and how you should treat your water. Or you can use a pool testing kit which they say is more expensive but they say it is more accurate because you do not have to compare it to different colors.

Chemicals

Products do not have to cost you hundreds of dollars each year! Especially because many pool owners buy un-needed products!

Shock is a chemical pool owner can put into their pool to kill unwanted bacteria such as algae which can cause your pool to green. It also helps sanitize the water! Calcium Hypochlorite is a type of pool shock that can be used to quickly kill algae pool boost and higher levels of chlorine .
Chlorine is also a necessity for a clean pool. Chlorine helps neutralize and eliminate microorganisms which are unneeded and unwanted in your pool system! Chlorine tablets are favorited over the liquid version because of the easy way you can just put them into a holder and that just floats around your pool. Tablets are also cost effective and are easy to store!
A hazard when using liquid chlorine is that if it is mixed with ammonia or turpentine it is known to cause explosive compounds. So before putting in chlorine into a green pool you should check out our article on green pool cleanup to learn if your pool is contaminated with ammonia and not algae.
If you are trying to care for your pool on a small budget you can actually use baking soda! Sodium bicarbonate can be found in many pool products .So if one of your pools products has sodium bicarbonate then you can just use the same ratio.

Making a schedule

To make sure that your pool will maintain its new fabulous look you want to make sure that you clean it regularly like once every one to two weeks. And you want to make sure that you are using the proper products. Or if you have hired a pool service company than you should look into creating a schedule that will work for you!

Pool opening

If you have pool cover then remove it. If you have freeze plugs then remove them too.
Make sure that you have proper water level. Add water if necessary. Water level should be in the middle of the skimmer opening
Check your pump, skimmer and filter and make sure they are working properly.
Remove any debris from the surface and brush pool walls and vacuum the bottom of the pool.
Test and balance water. Usually you can do it for free in your local pool supply store. You can buy other chemicals if necessary.
Adjust Free Chlorine to 1-4 ppm.
Add algaecide. This is the one of the most important part of the pool maintenance.
Shock water to remove lingering contaminants.
Consider adding water clarifier.
Prime and then run pump for extra few hours than usually when it is first opened.

Pool closing for winter time

Remove any debris from the surface, and brush pool walls and vacuum the bottom of the pool
Clean your filter and skimmer basket
Test and balance water.
Adjust Free Chlorine to the high end of 1-4 ppm.
Apply an algaecide to prevent algae growth. See instruction on the bottle.
Shock the water and let it circulate few hours longer than usually.
Power down equipment.
If you living in colder environment where you can expect freezes you may need partial water drain.

Tips

If your pools chlorine levels are too high you will notice itchy skin and if you open your eyes underwater you will notice itchy eyes! Rashes can also come up if your skin is exposed to too much chlorine!
After adding any chemicals, you want to make sure that you wait the designated amount that it says on the container or package.

Summary

I hope that this guide will help you more on how to maintenance your pool and steer you away from doing certain harmful things. Also, for the best results you should practice good pool and spa cleaning at least 3 times a month. If you go through this easy guide, then your swimming pool will look like a new pool in no time.