It’s been a long year, and you’ve waited so long to hop into the pool. But before you start it up again, there are things you should know about pool care.
Here are some pool maintenance tips to keep your pool running well all summer long!
Table of Contents
Run Your Pump Daily
Your swimming pool’s pump helps keep the water circulating throughout the pool. It creates movement and flow in the water and carries water to the appropriate pool components for cleaning and sanitizing.
To keep your pool clean and running well, you should run your pump every day.
For warmer weather, run your pump up to twelve hours a day and at least eight hours a day. For colder weather, run your pump for at least four hours a day.
A pool pump is essential to keeping the balance and condition of your pool and your pool parts. Learn how to replace your pool pump motor to keep your pump working effectively.
Empty the Debris
If your pool is under or near trees, you might find a lot of pollen, leaves, and branches in your water.
To keep the water in your pool circulating, be sure to clear up the debris in and on the water, filter, and pump.
You can use a leaf skimmer net and run that across the surface of the water to catch large debris. Use a long pool brush to brush the surfaces in your pool, including the walls, floor, and ladder. Also, vacuum corners and nooks you cannot reach.
You should do pool maintenance every day or at least every week to keep your pool in tip-top shape.
Keep It Leveled
The right pH level for your swimming pool should fall in the range of 7.2 and 7.8. 7.4 is ideal, but it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Your pool’s pH level contributes to a number of factors, including:
- effectiveness of chlorine disinfection
- maintenance of pool mechanical components
- clarity of water
- comfort for swimmers, especially for the skin and eyes
A high pH level decreases the effectiveness of chlorine in sanitizing your pool. Avoid adding more free chlorine (chlorine that has not been combined with chlorinated water and is ready to sanitize) to the water to kill the germs.
The CDC recommends a concentration of 1 ppm for free chlorine to sanitize your pool. If you are using other sanitizers, be sure to look up the appropriate sanitizer levels.
Disinfect Weekly
Part of pool maintenance requires disinfecting the pool on a regular basis. Preferably, you should disinfect your pool every week of use.
In the pool maintenance lexicon, this process is called “shocking.” Shocking a pool introduces highly concentrated amounts of sanitizer (whichever one you are using) to kill all the germs and bacteria in the water.
It takes less than two hours to complete the shocking process. However, proceed with caution as there should be a balanced ratio of sanitizer to water.
As a measure of safety, do not use the pool right away after shocking. Let chlorine levels fall to a safe amount of one to three ppm before use.
Hire Out Your Pool Maintenance
Your pool requires regular pool maintenance to keep it clean and working well. On a daily basis, pool care can take a lot of time.
Luckily, you can hire out your pool maintenance and pool repairs to companies that know how to fix a pool and keep them running. Be sure to vet pool maintenance companies for expertise and experience before you decide on them.
If you found this helpful, check out more ideas from our home improvement and cleaning sections!