15 Pool Maintenance Tips: How to Keep Your Pool Clean
If you are lucky enough to live in the Valley of the Sun and own a swimming pool, here are some maintenance tips for keeping your pool sparkling clean, always inviting, refreshing, and ready for use every day. The key is just staying on top of it. This will save you from making mistakes that could cost you a great deal of money down the road. Routine pool maintenance may also prevent frustration and will minimize the need to make emergency runs to the pool store for chemicals or other additives.
Preventative maintenance, just like you would do on your automobile or home, will go a long way in reducing lifecycle cost on your swimming pool. Heed the advice below and save time, money and hassle. None of this is difficult; it is just a matter of making it a habit. Here, are 15 tips for keeping your swimming pool sparkling clean.
Check Pool Chemistry
You should check your pool chemistry once or twice a week during the summer and once every week or two in the winter. The pH should be kept between 7.2 and 7.8, the lower the pH on this scale the less chlorine your pool will need. As pH rises, chlorine starts becoming less and less active therefor many consumers just keep adding it. Chlorine at 7.0 pH id about 50 percent active and at 8.0 is about 10 percent active. Control pH properly and you will need and use much less chlorine.
Preventative maintenance, just like you would do on your automobile or home, will go a long way in reducing lifecycle cost on your swimming pool. Heed the advice below and save time, money and hassle. None of this is difficult; it is just a matter of making it a habit. Here, are 15 tips for keeping your swimming pool sparkling clean.
Check Pool Chemistry
You should check your pool chemistry once or twice a week during the summer and once every week or two in the winter. The pH should be kept between 7.2 and 7.8, the lower the pH on this scale the less chlorine your pool will need. As pH rises, chlorine starts becoming less and less active therefor many consumers just keep adding it. Chlorine at 7.0 pH id about 50 percent active and at 8.0 is about 10 percent active. Control pH properly and you will need and use much less chlorine.
Clean Out Skimmer Basket(s) Weekly
The skimmer is installed in the side of the pool, and its primary job is to skim the surface of the pool before debris and contaminants become saturated and float down to the bottom of the pool. Everything in your pool enters at the surface of the water, the effective the skimmer is, the more stuff it can skim off the pool the better. There is a round access panel on your deck; open it up and dump the contents of the basket as needed. Keep it cleaned out at all times.
Clean the Lint Pot Located on the Front of the Pool Pump
You should do this every couple of weeks or as needed. Turn off the pump to do this and release pressure on the system. This is the basket installed just inside the clear glass of your swimming pool pump. Or, you can clean out the debris catcher or leaf basket. A leaf trapper and a debris removal system is recommended. Get a variable speed or 2-speed pump sooner than later if you have not upgraded already. Multi-speed pumps are worth the initial expense.
Check Your Water Level
Is it too high or too low? Your water needs to be right at the center level of your pool skimmer or pool tile for optimal results and performance. If it is low, it can run the pump dry and burn it up, or if too high, the skimmer door will not work properly. That door keeps the debris in the skimmer.
Check Chlorinator
If you have a deck chlor or inline chlorinator these need to be regularly checked for proper chlorine tablet levels, loading, or possible clogging. (In Arizona, use quality Tri-Chlor Tablets). This unit depending on style and features has the ability to add a constant residual of needed chlorine.
Check Ozonator
If you have an Ozonator, make sure the light is on and it is actually working. Ozone, as well as UV or a combination thereof, can reduce the amount of chlorine your pool uses. There are different types, and many have different installation and use instructions. Make a point to be familiar with the one installed on yours.
Check the Chlorine Generator
If you have a salt system, salt pool, or what some call a no-chlorine pool, then heed these tips. All a chlorine generator does is produce chlorine for you, so you do not have to buy it, store it, or handle it. This convenience comes at a cost and has some inherent risks. The cell must be kept clean and your pool chemistry becomes even more critical for its proper function. Do not add to much salt—if you can taste it, your pool is likely over salted. Salt systems artificially push pH up. You will use more acid as a result. This unit is great when used and understood properly. It can be costly to buy and maintain but provides a wonderful experience in the water.
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