How To Look After Your Swimming Pool!

This post is provided by Jorge Costilla.

We have always dreamed of having our own personal swimming pool in our very own backyard. Come on, who would really mind having such a luxury? You could host summer pool parties, invite all your friends, swim to relax or to work out or enjoy a good read whilst lounging by the pool. There are endless possibilities when you have a pool! Planning how to perfect that tan?

Well, we hate to bring you back down to earth. But remember – owning a pool comes with great responsibility. First of all, to install a nice pool is going to cost you quite a bit of your precious dollars. So, you will want to make sure that you look after it to the best of your ability!

If you are at a friend’s place and he has a pool, keep an eye out for certain signs whether he looks after his swimming pool or not. For instance, if the water in the pool is of a greenish color, then that means it has poor upkeep. If a comprehensive maintenance plan is not implemented, then your pool can suffer from algae build ups or broken filters. And trust us, nobody you know will want to enter a pool in such a condition! Remember, you want to make sure that your pool remains in the best possible condition. Whether resurfacing is needed, do not worry about it. There are plenty of entities who could do this for you, for example, Willsha Pools offers resurfacing.

To help you out, here are a few tips on how you can look after your swimming pool:

Fall in love with skimming and scrubbing

Removing leaves and other such debris from your pool will be part of your daily life. You will have to do it repeatedly to possess a clean, pristine pool. 

Got a bit of flexibility in your budget? If yes, consider investing in a robot vacuum cleaner that will descend to the pool floor and clean it thoroughly for you. There are plenty of options you can check out and decide based the importance of factors such as price differentials, reviews and performance requirements.

Now, why did we mention scrubbing? You will have to scrub the sides of your pool to evade algae build up. The good thing is that if you do this every other week, you are good to go. Take a scrub brush and scrub with all you have got! If you have trouble with any old spots, take an old sock and fill it up with chlorine. Let it rest on top of the spot for a few hours and then try scrubbing yet again. As the algae will be eaten by the chlorine, you should be able to clean the pool side easily now. 

Check your pool’s chemical levels

If the chemical levels in your pool are unbalanced, it could create murky water, cause irritation to your eyes and become a playground for bacteria growth. Disgusting, isn't it? We know you do not want this! You should check your pool water at least once a week.

Watch out for the water level

As much as the chemical levels are crucial, so is the actual volume of water flowing in your pool. If a bunch of kids spend the afternoon cannon balling or if there is heavy rain, then yes, the pool level may rise naturally. What you want to do is to maintain the pool level that is halfway up to the opening of the skimmer. If the water is too low, fill up a garden hose and add the required amount of water to the pool. On the other hand, if the water quantity is too much – try to get your hands on a submergible pump that will allow you to drain the excess. You can get these babies at any home improvement stores. Once you have managed to get the water levels back to a desirable level, do not forget to recheck the chemical balances. 

Utilize tennis balls to absorb oils

Apart for recreational usage, a tennis ball can be quite useful in the pool context. When a swimmer leaves the pool, specific oils are left behind in the water. It could be residue from your suntan lotion, your hair products or the natural oil that is produced by our skin. Just throw a tennis ball into your swimming pool and let its natural fibers absorb such oils.

Schedule a yearly appointment for pool servicing

Whether you think you need it or not, get a scheduled yearly appointment for your pool to be serviced professionally. Its mechanical equipment such as its heating systems, filters or pumps may require checks from experts in the field. This is knowledge you may not have. Do an appraisal of your pool before your pool service man comes in. Check for leaks, holes in the linear, or any loud sounds coming from the mechanism. Anything is possible, right? Guide the pool service individual towards these issues so he knows where to get started. 

Clean your pool’s filter

As the name denotes, your swimming pool’s filter plays a crucial role in its upkeep by removing any impurities. This includes but is not limited to leaves, dirt, and small toys even. Usually, you can clean your pool’s filter by turning it off, removing the filter cap, taking out the filter basket and throwing away any debris that have accumulated with the passage of time. How many times should you clean it? We recommend doing this at least once a week! What you can do once a month is to wash out the pipes used by your filter by backwashing. Just set your filter to backwash, remove the leaf basket and clean it out. After that, just switch your pump on and let it work till the waste pip releases clear and clean water. 

This may sound like extra work to you – especially on top of other normal chores that one has to do. If you have a family, take turns engaging in these pool maintenance activities.