Pool Maintenance Tips for Homeowners
May 1st is known as New Homeowners Day! If you bought a new home with a pool, you’re probably extremely excited, but also a little nervous. How do you maintain a whole home plus a pool?
The key is regular maintenance! Regular, preventative maintenance care, including cleaning and balancing chemical levels, is essential for keeping your pool healthy for a long time.
It's easy to lounge around a pool, work on your tan, and throw weekend pool parties. What pool owners often forget about, however, is a proper maintenance routine. You don't expect to have all the joys of a swimming pool without any work, do you?
The good news is that the best and easiest thing you can do is hire a professional pool service company to do the work for you. If you choose to maintain your pool yourself, however, always use your manufacturer manuals for your specific pool system and follow our advice:
1. Check Chemical and pH Balance 2-3 times a week in summer and once a week in winter
Improper pool chemistry is bad for skin, eyes, and overall health. Your swimming pool can quickly become a cesspool if you aren't careful.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the proper pH level should be between 7.2-7.8.
Here are the six chemical levels you should watch out for, provided by freshome.com:
Cyanuric Acid – Protects chlorine from sunlight and determines the required Free Chlorine level. An ideal reading for outdoor pools is 30- 50.
Free Chlorine – A sanitizer which keeps your pool water safe and free of germs.
Acidity/Alkalinity – Also known as the PH level, acidity needs to be kept between 7.5 and 7.8 to prevent irritation and protect the pool equipment from eroding.
Total Alkalinity – Helps keep the PH in balance. Levels should be within range of 60-120.
Calcium Hardness – Appropriate levels help prevent plaster damage. Aim for 220-350, but lower for pools with vinyl siding.
Checking chemical and pH levels is fairly easy. Check out the variety of pool testing kits available on the market. In under half an hour you can determine current chemical levels.
2. Your Water Levels are Important Too
Chemical levels aren't the only levels you should keep an eye on. We all know that water levels in your pool fluctuate, but it is important to keep the water level halfway up the skimmer line.
If your water level completely fills the skimmer, it won't be able to skim debris. If the water level is too low, no water will be able to enter the skimmer, forcing the skimmer intake to start drawing in air instead. This could lead to unfiltered pool water and algae growth as well as pool pump motor problems.
You can add water to your pool by simply filling it with a garden hose. Once you readjust the pool level, you will want to recheck the chemical levels, as the balance could have been upset in the process.
3. Skim Daily, Vacuum Weekly, and Scrub Every Other Week
Every pool owner knows that they should skim and vacuum their pools to keep them clean, but this should really be emphasized more. Too often, homeowners forget to skim and scrub their pool, which leads up to expensive repairs and maintenance costs.
Consider having a robot vacuum do the dirty work for you. Here is a list of 10 of the best.
On top of skimming the top of the pool and vacuuming the bottom, it is important to scrub the sides of your pool to get rid of and prevent algae buildup. This, however, doesn't have to happen as often.
By skimming every day, vacuuming weekly, and scrubbing every other week, you will have a beautiful pool free of debris, algae, and other contaminants.
If you feel like you are already doing too much home maintenance, leave your pool cleaning to a professional technician at Texan Blue Pool Service.
4. Clean and Maintain Your Pool Filter
Many pool owners have no idea that you are supposed to periodically clean your pool filter. Your filter works to remove impurities and debris from your pool, including leaves, small toys, and dirt.
To clean out your pool's filter, simply unscrew the filter cap on your pool deck, lift out the filter basket, and remove the collected debris. This should be done weekly.
There is, however, a more complicated task that needs to be done in order to properly maintain your filter system: backwashing your pool filter.
Here is a good video that shows you how to do it:
This will essentially clean out the pipes used by your filtration system.
For professional pool maintenance, contact Texan Blue Pool Service.
5. Schedule a Yearly Service Visit -- at the very least
Although we understand the desire to clean and maintain your own pool, sometimes you just need an expert to make sure everything is running properly. The mechanical parts of a pool - lights, pumps, filters, and heating systems - require technical expertise for proper care.
Unless you are a jack of all trades expert, it is a good idea to have a professional pool technician take a thorough look at your pool at least once a year to ensure proper safety and maintenance.
Remember, detecting and fixing problems before they turn into bigger ones will save you money in the long run. Even if you are a pool expert, it is still a good idea to have an expert assess your pool's mechanical equipment. You may have missed something that could cause a huge crises later on.
Keeping an eye on your pool's cleanliness, chemical balance, and mechanical equipment is essential. A well-maintained pool will look clean and clear all the way to the bottom. There should not be strong odors emanating from the pool and pH and chlorine levels should be consistently maintained.
Happy New Homeowners Day!
Call the professional pool service technicians at Texan Blue Pool Services (877-730-7665) for a properly maintained pool today! 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
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