There’s something about a gleaming pool that gives you a satisfying feeling when looking at it. That pure blue color soothes your soul and makes you want to jump right in on a hot day.
If swimming pool maintenance feels more like a headache than a vacation, here are some top tips that the experts agree are important for achieving a perfect looking pool.
1. Make It A Habit
The more you skim the surface of the pool for debris and dead leaves, the better. It may seem like a horrible chore but we like to think of it as a meditative practice. It makes approaching the steps for cleaning your pool a little easier, don’t you think?
It’s good for the arm muscles too, so you get a workout while completing your chore! As well as skimming, scrubbing is important too. This doesn’t have to be done as regularly as skimming. We suggest every other week for
2. Keep It Clean
Pool filters in particular need to be kept as clean as possible to ensure they do the best job. If they are blocked, then it will prevent water from circulating around the pool efficiently and make swimming pool maintenance harder than it needs to be. Clogged or dirty filters obviously isn’t good for keeping the pool clean and can leave dead patches in the water which aren’t cleaned by the skimmer or vacuum. These areas end up being mainly around the skimmer, ladder and in the corners. That brings us to our next point…
3. Invest In A Good Quality Vacuum
A quality vacuum will probably not come at the most affordable price you can find but it is better to spend a bit of extra money on a decent system and save yourself headaches on swimming pool maintenance down the line.
You can purchase a vacuum from all great vacuums. Remember these systems are exposed to water and sunshine all the time so they need to be reliable and durable, probably the more you pay the better materials they will be made of.
4. Regularly Check Chemical Levels
There are a variety of chemicals that you need to keep in check when you are doing your swimming pool maintenance. We won’t go into all of it here as with some online research you can find out most of what you need to know. Otherwise, speak to your local pool shop for advice as dealing with chemicals can be tricky and is quite an exact science. The basic thing to keep in mind is that if the pool looks cloudy/murky there’s probably a chemical imbalance in the water.
5. Run A Backwash
If you don’t backwash your filter it can become a problem and block up completely. It’s a simple process to follow so don’t worry. It is an important part of swimming pool maintenance though so don’t forget to set the filter to backwash once a week and clean out the filter basket weekly too.
6. Top Up The Water
An often overlooked aspect of swimming pool maintenance is adding water. Ideally, fresh water should be added to your pool a few times a year. This can help to reduce metals and salts in the water. High concentrations of metals can cause brown stains. Topping up the water helps to disinfect the water so it’s a good idea to keep these concentrations in check throughout the year.
The suggested guide volume to add to the pool is 3 to 5% of the total water volume of the swimming pool. Do this at least 3 times per year. Also, be sure not to use well water as this can aggravate the problem.
7. Maintain The Acidity Levels (or pH)
To be able to swim in your beautiful sparkling pool you need to ensure the pH levels are correct. The suggested pH levels are between 7.0 and 7.6 with an ideal value of 7.2. To get this right invest in a test kit, and if needed, add the relevant products to the water to balance the pH.
If you’re in doubt about what to do speak to your local pool shop, they will be able to assist you with swimming pool maintenance and advise which products are needed to make sure your pool is the best on the block!
8. Don’t Forget To Enjoy It!
The purpose of the pool is to swim in it
