There are people who use their pools year-round. These people should commit to using pool supplies that offer good quality water for swimming. Pool maintenance shouldn’t be a hassle, but can be thought about and invested in. When not maintained properly, a pools water can become a haven for bacteria, parasites, microorganisms and diseases.
This is true for in-ground pools as well as above-ground models. You need to keep your pool safe for you, your family and your friends. If you can’t do it, consider calling in pool services to do it.
Here are the top five tips to maintaining a healthy pool:
1. Keep Track of Your Pool’s Chemistry
Checking the pH level especially is important. Make this a weekly task by purchasing a testing kit and setting aside a day a week to test pH levels. The ideal balance for pH levels should be between 7.2 to 7.6. If within this range, then chemicals added to disinfect the water work best. If pH levels rise over 8.0 chlorine becomes less active, so work hard to keep those pH levels in check. Also add chlorine at night as chlorine is less effective during the day. There are new technologies such as controllers that can do this for you, but it helps to know the manual process if anything goes wrong.
2. Check the Calcium and Solids
Check for total dissolved solids twice a year and calcium hardness once a month. These levels should be controlled to keep the water safe for swimming.
3. Clean Your Generator
For salt water pools it’s important to clean chlorine generators to prevent calcium buildup and corrosion. If left unmaintained, these generators will give out insufficient chlorine which, over time, will affect water safety.
4. Filter Cleaning is Important
Sand filters need to be washed to be cleaned effectively. Don’t back-wash too often as it’s a waste of water. Always check the pressure gauge first to see if it’s between 8 and 10 PSI. If it is, the filters need to be back-washed. Skimmer baskets should also be cleaned to get rid of detritus that could potentially clog the system. Clogged baskets can result in insufficient circulation.
5. Don’t Waste Water or Energy
It is very important for liquid to circulate for proper pool maintenance. Run the pumps depending on the liquid volume of your pool and the speed of the pump. For a 5000 gallon pool, which would most like be an above-ground pool and one of the larger in-ground pools, it can filter all of that water in just over 3 hours if the pump filters 25 gallons of water per minute. Running it less than 3 hours will lead to sub-par filtration, but running it longer than that will lead to energy waste.
Living With a Clean Pool
Follow these tips to see optimal performance in your pool and water. You will know something is wrong if the water burns your eyes or nose, water turns green or is cloudy, or water has a bleach-like smell to it. Then it’s probably time to call in pool services.
Take the time to do these things properly and on a schedule. Trying to fix a neglected pool is way more expensive than keeping up with a good one regularly.
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