7 Summer Pool Care Tips for Homeowners
Caring for your pool can be a daunting task, whether you’re a newbie or a veteran. Doing this job as quickly as you can is your top priority.
Question is, what do you need to do to get the job done?
Relax, we’ve got you covered.
7 Tips to Fix Your Pool Care Problems
These 7 tips of advice will get you on the fast track to a clean, summer-ready pool. Follow them and you’ll go from cleaning to cannon-balling in no time.
-
Keep the Area Around the Pool Clean
The very first thing you need to do for your pool is to clean up the area around it.
Having trash and natural debris around your pool is bound to happen, especially if you haven’t cleaned your pool since last Summer.
Make sure to clean up the deck (if you have one) and any other areas directly surrounding the pool before working on the pool itself.
- Must Read – Top 10 Best Tools for Home Projects
-
Skim the Debris and Clean Out the Baskets
You think that you shouldn’t need to clean the pool by hand if you have a filter, right?
Well, although filters do help out a good bit, you’re still going to some good ol’ fashion man (or woman) power to touch things up. You’ll definitely want to take care of any debris floating at the top of the pool first.
Floating trash, like dead tree leaves, tends to be pretty big and could clog your filter, and if left alone it could drift to the bottom of your pool – making it even harder to clean.
To clean up the trash, a pool skimmer will do the trick. They’re inexpensive and can be bought just about anywhere.
All you have to do is skim through the water, and it will collect the trash for you. Just remember to remove the trash from the skimmer with each pass.
Equally as important is to clean out the strainer baskets (if your pool has any). The baskets are easy to clean; simply remove them and shake out the collected trash. For more stubborn objects, a simple hosing down will do the trick.
-
Vacuum the Pool and Brush the Walls
Remember what I said about trash at the bottom of the pool is harder to clean?
That hasn’t changed.
But at least having a pool vacuum makes the job a lot more bearable. There are many types of pool vacuums, but the most popular one is the manual design.
It basically works like any regular vacuum that you’ve used before; simply work it back and forth across the pool’s surfaces (that includes the walls and the bottom), slightly overlapping each stroke as you go.
If you want to take it a step further, you can brush the pool’s surfaces with pool brushes.
Each pool requires a specific type of a brush, depending on what it’s made of. for plaster lined pools, you can use a stiff brush, while vinyl, tile, and fiberglass pools need a softer brush to keep them from being damaged.
-
Check the Chemicals
Making sure that the chemicals are balanced in your pool is pretty important – and also really easy to do.
The pH level of the water should stay around 7.2 and 7.8, which is basically a neutral state.
This is not only a safe point for you; it also allows the chlorine to work at its best. If the pH level changes, then the chlorine becomes significantly weaker and can’t do its job.
Altering the pH level of your pool is simple: if the pH level is too high, add some sodium bisulfate or muriatic acid to bring it down, and if it’s too low, you can fix it by adding sodium carbonate.
Most pH altering products will tell you how much you should add to your water depending on the pH level, so doing the job becomes a breeze.
-
Shock and Algaecide
Algae is a tricky little booger, and it can be really hard to keep it out of your pool. This is when you need to shock your pool.
No, we don’t mean zapping it with electricity. When you shock your pool, you add chemicals that kill off any bacteria and algae living in the water.
How much shock you add to your pool depends on the size of it, and most of the containers tell you what to add.
If the algae are stubborn to leave, buying a container of algaecide should do the trick. This works great on the walls of the pool, where they tend to cling to the most.
-
Check and Maintain Your Water Level
Checking the water level in your swimming pool may not sound too important, but it’s actually a really smart move.
Water will be lost from your pool over time due to things like evaporation or from the effects of normal use (i.e. swimming and splashing around). If it falls below the waterline, it could actually damage the pump, since there’s no water flow.
Make sure to check the water level at least once or twice a week (while you’re skimming your pool would be the best time) so your pool – and your pump – will be in top working condition.
-
Find and Repair the Leaks
Obviously, this one is important since you can’t really swim if your pool has a leak.
Leaks can be hard to detect depending on its size and the type of pool you have. You might even believe the lower water level is from the effects of evaporation or normal use.
Above Ground pools or pools made out of vinyl are easier to spot leaks in than others, but no matter what type of pool you have, you should call an expert the moment you spot a leak to fix the problem and get you back in the water.
Check Us Out
At Get That Right, giving the best advice is our top priority.
We don’t just talk about pool care; our list of topics is almost limitless. We cover everything from money, to pets, to romance and travel, just to name a few.
Feel free to check out our site and see what we have to offer. We know you’ll find an article worth your while.
