Proper Pool Maintenance

On those hot, searing, summer seasonal days, a swimming pool is a very welcoming respite from the blistering heat. Having an appropriate weekly cleaning schedule for your swimming pool will ensure you have safe and clean water for your family and you to enjoy.

It seems like maintenance isn’t enough to obtain the crystal clear water that you see in pools in movies and on TV. However, if proper pool maintenance is done properly and regularly, you’ll see it’s not as impossible as it seems.

If you want to spend more time swimming and less time skimming and adding chemicals, follow these easy to follow steps to keep your water sparkling and refreshing!

Skim the Surface of Leaves and Debris and Clean the Filter

There are many different ways to go about this, but the objective is the same, just skim the surface of the water with a leaf skimmer or pool net. Over the season, leaves, bugs, dirt, and a whole bunch of gross things we want to avoid coming into contact with while we swim. Give the surface of your pool a good skimming every week to prevent any of the debris from touching the bottom of the pool, where it is about ten times harder to remove and can potentially stain the bottom.

Next, turn your filter on to backwash mode to redirect the water. Then, remove all the debris from the filter to ensure your pool’s water is the cleanest it can be. Depending on the filter you have, you might be required to add chemicals or cartridges to ensure a balanced ecosystem. By taking care of your filter, you save water, maintain clean, healthy pool water, and you’re saving yourself a lot of work by letting the filter do most of the cleaning for you.

 Vacuum the Pool

The next step in properly maintaining your pool is to set up your pool sweeper and get ready to sweep the surface. If you have jets, be sure to angle them downwards so you can clearly see the bottom of the pool.

Depending on which type of vacuum you have, you may be able just to toss a pool robot in and forget it, or it may require a personal touch, such as manually sweeping it yourself. Either way, it should require about 30 minutes of your time.

Give your pool one or two good passes and pack up your gear.

Adjust Your Chemicals Accordingly

It’s an excellent idea to get into the habit of adjusting your pools chemistry weekly. The first crucial step is to adjust your pools Ph with muriatic acid if the Ph is above 7.6. If your pools Ph is under 7.4, it’s a good idea to treat it with soda ash, to help increase the Ph balance.

If your pool’s chlorine levels are below one part per million, or ppm or the alkalinity is less than 90 parts per million, it may be necessary to shock the water with chemicals. The most efficient way to do this process is to get a bucket of water, dissolve the chlorine tablets/ alkalinity booster, baking soda works well too, into a bucket of water and add it to your swimming pool.

Repair any Leaks

A decreasing water level can mostly be attributed to evaporation. However, it won’t hurt to also check for leaks. 

How is this accomplished? A simple bucket test will do. Simply leave a bucket with water floating in the pool. Mark the water inside the bucket as well as the water level outside the bucket. Leave it for 2-3 days and then check the water levels. When decrease is proportional inside and outside the bucket, there is an equal level of evaporation and shouldn’t be any concern. However, if the outside water level gap is bigger than inside, that would mean the pool has a leak.

Contributing Author

The article was donated by Sam Socorro from Steam Shower Store. Sam’s been writing articles for over 10 years with a commanding voice in the health and fitness community. Her articles are always in High demand.