Summertime Pool School 101

Here are six easy ways to keep your pool party-ready this summer:

1. Know Your Chemicals

An under-maintained pool doesn’t just look gross, additionally, it can contain E. coli and other dangerous bacteria. On the other hand, over-chlorinating could potentially cause swimming pool rash and eye irritation.

Fortunately, you don’t have to be a chemist to take care of proper chemical levels in your pool. Using chlorine and pH testing strips to clean your pool is not hard with modern testing kits.

The colors on a testing kit chart represent your pH level, which tells you if you mixed in too much or perhaps not enough chlorine. The optimal level of chlorine and pH is:

a free chlorine concentration of at least 1 ppm and
pH 7.2-7.8

In the event your pool doesn’t match these standards, simply adjust the chemicals or water levels.

Test your pool’s chemical levels at least one time a week to keep maintenance work low as well as the water ready for swimming.

2. Practice Quick, Daily Pool Cleaning

Pool cleaning is the same as house cleaning-doing little chores everyday can prevent a cleaning disaster at the end of the week.

One of the easiest (but most important) pool maintenance chores is skimming the top of the pool every day for leaves, bugs, and dirt. This will help to your water circulate correctly and keeps you from having to add chlorine too often, improving pool feel and aesthetics.

Ensure that you clean out the strainer basket and scrub the sides of the pool using a brush or pumice stone about once a week to prevent algae buildup. These tiny chores go a long way in keeping your pool clear and bacteria free.

3. Learn to Use Your Pool Vacuum

How often you will need to vacuum depends on how vigilant you are about daily skimming, since dirt and leaves left on the surface eventually sink to the bottom.

Pool vacuums come in numerous types of styles and prices, from largely automated robotic cleaners to handheld systems with telescopic poles.

Vacuuming the pool can require a little bit of work to set up, but it is a key ingredient to a healthy pool. And, the process may be about as fast and straightforward as vacuuming a carpet indoors once you’re accustomed to the equipment.

4. Shock Your Pool Twice A Season

Shocking your pool can sound scary, but all it means is adding an increased amount of chemicals at the same time so that you can “shock” the system and kill bacteria. You only have to shock your pool about twice a per season to counteract contamination.

For safety, make sure to wear protective eye goggles and rubber gloves when shocking the pool. Below are a few suggestions to help get you started:

Use one pound of shock per 10,000 gallons of water.
Dissolve 1 lb of shock solution in a five-gallon bucket of warm water before adding it to the pool.
Once the shock is dissolved, slowly pour the solution around the pool.
Shocking the pool is most effective at evenings or night. Even though sunlight dissolve some chemicals and make them less effective, however the chlorine levels can stabilize while you’re sleeping.

Just be sure to wait until chlorine levels are back to normal (anywhere from 15 minutes to 8 hours depending on the type of shock you used) prior to going for a swim or you risk serious skin irritation.

5. Check Your Water Level

Everyday summer play can result in major fluctuations in your pool’s water level. The best water level is halfway up the skimmer line.

In the event your water level gets too low it could reduce safety and ruin your pool’s pump. Adding water is easy: just grab a hose and fill it up. Try not to overfill your pool, though. Renting a pump to lower the water level is often labor intensive and expensive.

6. Call in the Pros

With the above tips, you’ll be able to take care of most summer pool maintenance on your own. But, a pool is still a complicated system-chemicals, heaters, filters, pipes-and sometimes even the savviest pool owners require an expert opinion.

Getting a yearly checkup by an expert to ensure all your equipment is working could help you save money and keep your pool operating for the entire summer.