Proper and consistent pool hygiene is absolutely essential to make sure that your pool is always in its top condition whenever your family or guests come over for a swim. While many people believe that pool maintenance involves a high budget, that’s not necessarily true. The most useful things you can do to care for your pool are actually cheap, and the only thing that it require of you is your time. Here’s a few tips we have to help you keep your pool clean and crystal clear.
Tip #1: Hire A Pool Cleaning Service
Honestly, we were reluctant to even post this as a tip but we felt like it served a lot of value so we did it anyways. We’re going to throw this out there first and say, hire a pool cleaning service. If money isn’t an issue, consider hiring a professional to help maintain your pool. They’ll take a number of hassles off your agenda and when swimming season strolls by the corner, your pool will be in its best condition for you to swim in.
Tip #2: Examining The Water Level
This is perhaps one of the most straightforward and effortless things you can do to help maintain your pool. From time to time, take a quick look at your pool to see if the water is at a good level. If it’s too high, it can cause a number of complications for any filters you have installed. Skimmers won’t help much either if your water is too high. However, if the water is too low, then skimmers will suck air in and that’ll make it less effective. To lower your pool water, simply adjust your pool valve to release some excess water.
Tip #3: Examine Your Pool Cleaner
While technology has advanced and reinvented itself to make life easier for pool owners, not all work is taken out of the occasion. At least once a week, examine your robotic pool cleaner to ensure that this bag isn’t filled. Empty it as needed and remember that the pool cleaner doesn’t have to be used around the clock to keep your pool clean. We highly recommend that you only use it two to three times a week to reduce the wear and tear & read the robotic pool cleaner reviews before using and buying it.
Tip #4: Check And Maintain Your Pump And Filter
This is another item on your checklist that you can do with little to no effort. At least once a week, check your pressure gauge to make sure that there aren’t any abnormal readings. If your pressure gauge indicates normal, it means that water is flowing through your filter with no issues or obstructions. However, if you find that the pressure is lower than usual, it could signal a variety of things like closed valves, low water level, and more. Higher pressure, on the other hand, shows that there may be issues with closed valves or a dirty filter. In any case, monitoring the pressure gives you a good indication of what action to take to help maintain your pump and filter.
Tip #5: Think Chlorine And pH
If you don’t know what chlorine or pH is, now is the perfect time to add those two words to your dictionary. Any responsible pool owner should know how to properly balance their pool chemical levels. Doing so is important because it helps eliminate and sanitize the pool of any floating bacteria or germs. It’s worthy to note that the correct chlorine level is between one to two PPM, while pH should be between 7.4 to 7.6. We highly recommend that if you’re not able to check these two levels everyday, the very minimum should be at least two to three times a week. Either take that route or hire a pool cleaning service.
Tip #6: Empty Out Any Baskets
Inspect your baskets at least three to four times a week to help clear any basket that is too full. To increase the efficiency and maximize the results, empty out your filters, skimmer baskets, and anything else you use to collect dirt and debris.
Tip #7: Check The Calcium Hardness
It’s inevitable that calcium will be left behind in the water every time someone uses it. Calcium hardness is the amount of liquefied calcium that’s left behind in the pool water after every use. While low calcium hardness levels can cause molding and decrease the life of your pool vinyl liner, high calcium hardness levels will result in an outcome of calcium deposits on the surfaces of your pool. You’ll also notice calcium deposits on your equipment as well.
Our rule of thumb is checking to see if the calcium hardness in your pool water is between 200 – 250 PPM. This is the ideal level for concrete pools but for vinyl pools, the appropriate calcium hardness level is between 175 – 255 PPM. IF you need further assistance, we highly advise you to consult your trusted pool professional for further guidance.
Tip #8: No Metals!
Our last and trusted tip to you is no metals in the pool water. Because pool water already contains a number of other chemicals in its composition, adding metals to the picture would only cause further issues down the line. The general rule of thumb is that you should not have the following metals in your pool water: Iron, Manganese, or Copper. If you notice any trace amounts of these metals inside your pool water, most commonly coming from loose change that fell while people were swimming, then we highly advise that you remove it immediately. Having it stay at the bottom of your pool could potentially cause stains on the tiles, which would be very difficult to remove over time.
We highly advise you that if you’re starting to notice stains at the bottom of your pool, we recommend using a stain and scale remover. We also highly recommend that you use this on a regular basis to prevent staining overtime. Overall, it’s important to impose a rule to all guests to empty their pockets before they enter the pool. This will surely cause less headaches for you down the line.
Author Bio: – Angie Earley is a founder of Pool Vacuum HQ blog; it’s a blog about Pool Cleaning tips, guide, reviews, news, equipments and events.
