Pool Maintenance: Little Steps You Can Take on Your Own

Having your own pool is a lot of fun, and no one can deny that. It’s a must-have for families with kids, as long as you have the space, of course, especially if you know where to get it, for example, somewhere like this Shop @ Bonnie & Clydes Pools And Spas. However, maintaining a pool is no easy task, especially if it happens to be a big one. If you neglect pool maintenance for even just a few days, the water may start to go green with algae floating on top. Not to mention the smell the pool will begin to emit if a filter breaks. It might be interesting to look into the water filter systems when they break.

So, is it a task that you can do all on your own? Well the answer would have to be a no, if it’s a full-sized pool and you have a fulltime job! Nevertheless, here are a few DIY tips for pool maintenance that will let you take care of your own pool on a regular basis.

Skim Every Day

Depending on where you live, which time of the year it is, and the kind of backyard you have, the amount of debris, leaves, branches and dead insects will vary, but they will always be there floating on the surface of every pool, making the skimming process something that you will have to do on a regular basis. Ignoring this little duty for even two or three days will make the next skimming session a lot longer and tiring.

Scrub to Prevent Algae

Unless you are scrubbing the sides of your entire pool on a fairly regular basis and using chlorine to help you, algae buildup in those parts is unavoidable. By regular, we don’t mean every day or even every week, for that matter. In most climates, it is okay if you scrub down the sides of your pool just two to three times a month.

Clean Your Filter Basket

The filter of your swimming pool is largely responsible for keeping the water in there clean enough to get into. Therefore, to keep the pool in top condition, clean out the filter basket at least once a week, and preferably twice.

Be prepared to find everything from insects, leaves, dirt and grime, right up to pool toys that were suspiciously missing in action.

Clean Your Filter Pipes

Thankfully, this is a monthly process, rather than being a weekly one. As your pool filtration system most likely comes with a backwash functionality, follow the steps as below to get the filtrations pipes clean.

• Set the filter to its Backwash setting first, but don’t turn the pumps on yet
• Remove the filter basket and clean it if necessary
• Turn the pumps on and keep watching the pipe which lets out the waste
• When the water from the waste pipe appears to flow out clean and clear, you are done

Maintain your water pump.

Along with cleaning your filter pumps, this is more of a monthly/bi-monthly task to complete. With any pool, your water pump is vital to ensure you have a continuous flow of water running through your pool and within the filter. You need to ensure that it constantly has water flowing to ensure it does not run dry and overheat. Check and clean the impeller for any debris or silt build-up, as this will decrease the pressure and flow rate of the water. Although these are only small tasks, they are vital to ensure your pool remains clean.

Maintain Your Pool’s Chemical Levels

To have water in the pool that doesn’t end up infecting nicks and cuts, or giving your children a rash due to the harshness of the chemicals in it, maintaining the right chemical balance is critical.

If the pool doesn’t have all the right chemicals in sufficient amounts, it will look murky like swamp water and infection from coming into contact with the microbe-filled water is not unlikely.

On the other hand, if the chemicals are in improper balance, you will be able to smell them and they may end up irritating your skin badly, especially if you are prone to skin allergies.

The following is a CDC approved guide to maintaining chemical balance in a private pool and while it should be enough to give you an idea, consulting with an expert is still advised. If you do manage to get everything right though, the water will be clear and won’t have any strong chemical odor to it.

• Chlorine: 0.00013 ounces per gallon of water
• Cyanuric Acid: 30 – 50 on a testing kit
• Calcium Hardness: 220-350
• Acidity: 7.5 – 7.8
• Total alkalinity: 60 – 120

The Water Level Will Need to be Maintained and Regulated

So, your pool is overflowing after a night of rain, which is both common and indicative at the same time. It indicates that your pool’s chemical balance has been thrown out of whack and you will now need to test the water again with a pool testing kit and adjust the chemicals accordingly, until that right balance is reached once again.

Shock the Pool with Chlorine After a Party

Parties can be harsh on backyard pools or any waterbody for that matter, which is the reason why a chlorine shock is advised right after a night of partying.

The need to do so will become even more apparent during any time of the year if the pool begins to look murky with bacteria. Even if you do not have a single pool party in the whole year, shock the pool with chlorine to disinfect it at least two to three times a year anyway to prevent any unseen germ buildup.

Will You Need Help to Do All This?

As mentioned in the beginning, unless you have a lot of time on your hands, and the will to do all this and much more, you would most likely need the help of professional pool cleaners. Pro assistance could also be necessary if something breaks or your pool filter starts to malfunction, which are just some of the various other serious possible issues.

Sahara Pools come highly recommended for taking care of all your pool cleaning, maintaining and repairing needs, provided the property is located in Katy, or any of the other nearby regions which the company have been serving for years now. Unlike the poor customer service for which many of the pool cleaning and maintaining services are infamous in Katy, Sahara Pools is an old name in the business that just doesn’t have that kind of reputation.

When you put them all together, they don’t feel like little steps anymore unfortunately. Therefore, don’t let the experience of having a swimming pool of your own turn into a bitter one that reminds you more of the chores than the fun you were supposed to have in there. Handle some of the responsibilities and day-to-day maintenance on your own, but leave it to the professionals when it comes to actually maintaining the more demanding aspects of a large backyard pool.