How to Properly Care For and Maintain Your Pool

If you want to extend the life of your pool, it’s essential that you properly care and maintain it. Doing so can save money and headaches in the future.

Scheduling your pool maintenance tasks ahead of time is a wise idea, as it will make staying on top of things much simpler.

Water Chemistry

When caring for and maintaining your pool, it’s essential to comprehend the chemistry of water. This involves monitoring pH level, total alkalinity, calcium hardness, and chlorination levels to ensure everything remains in proper balance.

When the water in your pool is out of balance, it can encourage algae growth and lead to the buildup of other contaminants. This can create an unsanitary and unhealthy swimming experience; so it’s essential that you maintain it properly.

Ideal pH range for your pool should be 7.4 to 7.6. This ensures the water is neutral, without being too acidic or basic, which could corrode surfaces and harm equipment.

Test the chemistry of your pool using test strips or with a kit from your local pool store. Alternatively, take it for professional testing at their store.

There are various chemicals you can use to maintain the pH balance in your pool. These include pH products, alkalinity products, calcium products and sanitizers.

It’s essential to remember that your pool’s water chemistry can change over time due to atmospheric effects, sunlight exposure and pump filter action. Therefore, testing your pool regularly is recommended in order to maintain the proper balance of chemicals and ensure sanitizer levels remain at their proper values.

Remember to maintain your pool water at a safe temperature and check chlorine levels regularly. Doing so helps prevent algae growth and protects swimmers from getting sunburnt. Furthermore, ensure the pool is kept well-maintained with regular brushing of walls and floor cleaning – something you should do anyway!

Debris Removal

Pools require regular upkeep and attention in order to remain optimal. A well-kept pool not only looks better, but it’s healthier for you and your guests as well.

In order to guarantee your pool water is suitable for swimming, you must regularly remove debris from it. Debris left in the water can clog drains and cause irreparable damage to other components of the system.

To facilitate this task, empty the skimmer baskets on your pool’s sides at least once a week. Skimming will remove any leaves or other floating debris from the surface of your pool.

Another way to maintain your pool is by running its filtration system. Doing this allows the water in the pool to circulate more, decreasing the possibility of algae growth.

Additionally, you should regularly brush the sides of your pool. Doing so helps push dirt and bacteria attached to the walls onto the bottom of the pool.

A quality pool brush should be constructed of stainless steel or nylon bristles. Not only will this clean the sides of your pool, but it will also detach any algae growth on its walls.

On a weekly basis, use a vacuum cleaner specifically designed for pool use to vacuum the sides of your pool. This will help clear away any leaves or other debris clogging the filter.

Cleaning the Pool Walls

When it comes to caring for and maintaining your pool, cleaning the walls and floors is an essential step. Doing this reduces the buildup of algae and other contaminates that could cause cloudy water.

To clean the walls of a pool, utilize a telescoping pole similar to what’s used for vacuuming or skimmering. Adjust it at a shorter length for scrubbing the walls and extend it until you cover all surface area.

Brush the pool walls with either a stiff brush for concrete pools, or a softer one for tile, fiberglass and vinyl. Make sure you purchase an appropriate brush tailored specifically for your pool type.

For the water line, you’ll need a scrub brush if it has one. Otherwise, dip a sponge or nylon brush into a chlorine-based cleaner and work the scum away.

Plaster pools can benefit from using regular pool detergent to remove calcium deposits that build up over time. This may require two or three soakings.

Finally, adding Coca-cola to the pool water can help loosen any rust that’s built up around metal railings and fixtures. This will make cleaning walls and floors easier while decreasing the likelihood of stains forming.

In addition to scrubbing walls and floors, you should also clear away leaves and other organic debris that could stain water. This should be done at least once a week regardless of whether you use an automatic pool cleaning system or not.

Cleaning the Pool Floor

If you own a pool, it is your responsibility to ensure it receives proper upkeep and care. Otherwise, the potential hazards could range from serious health issues to death.

One of the most essential tasks is regularly cleaning the pool floor. This is especially pertinent in hot and humid weather.

Vacuuming the pool floor is an effective way to clean it. Vacuuming removes much of the debris that might otherwise float around at the bottom, making it difficult for you to enter and exit easily.

Another way to clean the pool floor is by brushing it. Although more laborious than vacuuming, this method can effectively keep algae at bay.

When brushing the pool floor, it is essential to do it slowly. Brushing too quickly could stir up dirt and cause some of it to float off and settle elsewhere.

Telescopic poles come in handy for this task, as they allow you to brush the entire floor of your pool from end to end. Additionally, you can attach other cleaning equipment like skimmer nets and brushes with them for even deeper cleans.

Cleaning the pool floor is not only essential for proper swimming pool upkeep, but it is also one of the most budget-friendly methods. Doing so can save you money in the long run as you won’t need to replace skimmer or other pool cleaning equipment as frequently.

Vacuuming

A pool vacuum is essential equipment for properly caring and maintaining your pool. It removes debris that the filter cannot, keeping your water clean and safe for swimmers.

Vacuuming your pool should be done once or twice a week, or more frequently if you notice that it’s getting particularly dirty. You can either use a manual or automatic vacuum for this task.

Start by attaching the end of your hose to the vacuum head. Make sure it’s secure and tight so it won’t move while vacuuming.

Once the vacuum head is submerged in the water, keep its other end on the pool deck. As bubbles rise from inside of it as it absorbs all dirt and debris, remove it with your vacuum head.

As you vacuum, work from the shallow end to the deep end in long, slow strokes. Be mindful not to go too quickly as this could disrupt any debris settled on the floor of your pool and make the water cloudy again.

If the vacuum head becomes stuck, you can break the suction force by switching off the pump for a moment. Afterward, reposition the head and try again.

Once you’re finished vacuuming, fill your pool with water using a garden hose. Doing this helps flush away waste created by your vacuum and keeps it from clogging your filter.

Once your pool is thoroughly cleaned, put the vacuum and hose away securely. Avoid leaving them on the deck next to your pool as this could present a tripping hazard.