Every pool owner has the desire to ensure that their pool is perfectly balance and clean, so having a consistent maintenance schedule is a must. We're going to teach you some tips and tricks that should help you during the pool season. Keeping these tips in mind, you can keep a completely clear pool effortlessly. With regards to pool care, remember the three C's of pool care: Circulation, Cleaning, and Chemistry.
Circulation
1. Your pool pump should be running on average 8-12 hours per day.
2. Always make sure the skimmers and pump baskets are clear of debris and rinsed out. Skimmer socks are a big help in keeping debris out of the system if you have a lot of organic matter surrounding your property.
3. Backwash or clean filter if pressure is above 10-15 psi
4. When it comes to the positioning of the jets, keeping them pointed downwards all in a circle formation. This helps to either push the debris to the skimmer or push it to the floor, then it is easily vacuumed or skimmed out of the pool.
Cleaning
1. Brush walls, stairs/steps, low flow zones every other day.
2. Skim the surface everyday.
3. Vacuum one time each week or utilize an automatic robot cleaner daily for an extra crystal clean pool.
Chemistry:
1. Test water 1-2 times each week
2. Balance pH and alkalinity
3. Keep up with sanitizer levels
4. Shock every other week to keep your pool looking perfect, you'll have to keep your water moving and appropriately filtered, keep debris and "dead zones" cleaned, and balance your water chemistry.
The initial step to keeping your pool perfect and clear is to ensure your water is circulating appropriately.
Circulation
Pool upkeep begins with pool circulation. If your pool isn't circulating then none of equipment are doing their job. The water is staying stagnant, which is perfect for breeding algae growth and hosting bacteria.
There are a several pieces of equipment that make up your pool's circulatory system. The skimmer, the pump, the filter, and the jets . In the event that any of these pieces are significantly hindered, your water quality will be poor. Here's is a quick run down of how a pool system keeps your water spotless and circulating.
The pump sucks water from the pool through the skimmers. The water then travels through the pump into the filter.
Once the water enters the filter, the tiny particles that are making your water grimy are removed. The clean water is cycled back into your pool through the jets.
This means, the more you run your system, the cleaner your water will be - and the less time you'll need to spend scrubbing your walls or adjusting your pool chemistry. If you live in a warmer climate or are going through a heat wave, you should run your pump a little longer than the suggested 12 hour hour period.
Backwash Or Clean The Filter When Necessary
In the event that your pump gauge reads about 10 lbs or more over the typical range (normally 10-15 psi for a clean filter), this may be a sign its time to backwash your filter. If you have a cartridge filter, you should clean your cartridge.
Clean the Skimmer Container
Cleaning the skimmer and pump baskets routinely is important to the overall health of your pool water. Baskets full of debris will make your pump work harder to attempt to cycle the water. This can diminish the life and stress the seals in your pump. In addition to debris, little critters like frogs and mice can get trapped in the skimmer so its important to check them frequently.
To clean the skimmer basket, make sure to switch off your pool pump and pull out the removable baskets under the skimmer lid. A quick empty and hose down (new socks if you use them) and then back in the skimmer they go.
Positioning the Jets.
One more simple adjustment to make is to ensure your pool jets are pointing away from your skimmer so your water cycles in a circular motion. This will allow the pool water to rotate and make it easier for the skimmer to dispose of debris. Aiming the jets downwards as well helps to circulate the deeper parts of the pool. Assuming there are dead zones, most regularly around ladders, steps, and corners of the pool, make sure the angle a jet that direction.
Pool Vacuuming, Pool Cleaning
The next stage in the trifecta of pool upkeep is cleaning which consists of brushing your pool, skimming the debris off the top, and vacuuming the pool. Doing these steps is part of the normal manual maintenance of owning a pool. If you want to get away from having to do this, investing into a robotic pool cleaner would eliminate the need for most manual cleaning.
Brush
Scouring the walls with a pool brush helps to prevent the growth of algae, staining, and scaling, particularly around dead zones that were mentioned earlier.
Skim
Skimming the surface of the water with a net eliminates large debris. Its important to get any leaves or other organic matter out of the pool before it sinks to the bottom of the pool, which can stain the pool floor.
Vacuum
Vacuuming your pool is one more fundamental piece of reducing debris that can wreck havoc and reduce your circulation. Vacuuming should be done weekly or on an as needed basis until the water chemistry is balanced.
Pool Chemistry
Recurrence: Test 1-2 times each week. Shock Every other week.
Chemistry plays a large roll in keeping your pool clean, At the point when your water is appropriately balanced, you're less inclined to battle with issues like cloudy water, algae blooms, or development of other unsafe microbes. That is the reason a decent testing unit is key for your pool maintenance routine.
Water Testing and Balancing
For best outcomes, test your water once a week. The testing kits are readily available and are comprised of simple to use test strips to test your water for key chemical levels. Below are the essential ranges:
pH: In a perfect world, you need your pool water to have a pH of around 7.5. This is significant on the grounds that if the pH levels are too high or too low, this can prompt an assortment of pool maintenance, from hardware and equipment erosion to algae growth.
Calcium hardness:Once more, everything revolves around balance here: Go for 200 - 400 ppm in a pool. At the point when calcium hardness levels are excessively low, you risk harm to your pool's mortar finish or vinyl liner. However, if your pool's calcium hardness is excessively high, you'll develop hard to remove calcium deposits.
Alkalinity: Aiming for around 120 to 150 ppm total alkalinity is the goal. Now, if the alkalinity is below this range, the pool's pH can be impacted, and your pool's walls and floor can be more prone to stains. If your alkalinity is on the higher side, your water can become cloudy.
Sanitization: Chlorine is accessible in sticks, granules, and tablets, chlorine separates and breakdowns hurtful microbes and cleans your pool water. Salt is readily available in large bags that is added directly to your pool water. You'll need to keep the salt or chlorine levels stable to guarantee that your pool remains clean.
Phosphates: If you struggle with a cloudy or green pool, it is possible that the phosphate levels in your pool are high. Having an excessive number of phosphates in your pool can make algae development more probable and makes it more challenging to keep up with and maintain proper pool chemistry.
As well as keeping your pool chemistry balanced, it's still good practice to shock your pool every week or two. Shocking your pool means you are overloading your water with sanitizer to kill off any bacteria, organic matter and any other contaminants.
However having said that, the general rule is, the more you use your pool the more often you should shock it. You should also consider shocking it after the following:
Periods of heavy use/after a pool party
After an intense storm
After an algae outbreak
If you follow this basic guideline to maintaining your pool, it should be crystal clear waters ahead. If you have any signs of trouble or are having complications with maintaining you pool properly, Pool Doctors offers Weekly maintenance packages that covers you from open to close!
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