Having a pool as part of your home is a great luxury. And, if you’re a new pool owner, an extra exciting luxury at that. It provides so many opportunities for entertaining, relaxing, and cooling off in the summertime. Of course, you want your pool to stay beautiful, clean, and functioning at its best. Like any part of your home, this requires the right upkeep.
By knowing the best maintenance tips from the start, you’re setting up your pool for maximum enjoyment for years to come. Read on for a helpful checklist of preventative pool maintenance.
Daily and Weekly Pool Preventative Maintenance Checklist
Now that you’re a pool owner, there are daily and weekly maintenance tasks to do yourself and/or with professionals.
Water Circulation
To avoid algae and prevent buildup, run the pool pump for 10 to 12 hours a day.
Skim the Surface
This is a maintenance task that should be done daily, or at least a few times a week. Skimming the surface with a skimmer allows you to get rid of leaves, bugs, pollen, and any other debris. Completing this task daily means that you can catch this debris before it sinks to the bottom of your pool.
Check the Skimmer and Pump Baskets
On a weekly basis, check if the skimmer and pump basket(s) have any debris and empty them.
Test the Pool Water
Once a week, test the pool water’s chemistry. This means that you will check the PH balance, alkalinity, chlorine levels, and bromine levels.
The pH should be between 7.2 and 7.6; 7.5 is ideal. If it’s not within this range, use a pH increaser or decreaser chemical to adjust accordingly. This number is important to test because unbalanced pH can cause algae growth. The alkalinity should be between 80 and 120 ppm, and chlorine should be 1 to 4 ppm.
As a beginner, you’re naturally not going to be an expert in pool chemicals yet. Getting a monthly professional analysis from a sample of your pool water can keep things in check. Or you can have a pro do it every week.
Add the Right Chemicals
Part of keeping your pool water clean and clear of bacteria is to add chemicals like chlorine, algaecide, bromine, stain preventer, calcium adjusters, and so on. If you add the chemicals yourself, take extra precautions. Protect yourself with gloves and eyewear and keep kids or pets away.
With things like chemicals, it is extremely important to know that you have the right ones and are using them properly. Since you are a new pool owner, you should consult with a professional pool maintenance service. They’ll guide you on the exact sanitization chemicals to use for your pool’s particular needs and even perform the work for you.
Water Level Maintenance
The water level in your pool should not be too high or too low. In many inground pools, the right level would be halfway up the skimmer plate. Keeping it at an optimal level ensures that your skimmer keeps functioning, and the water level of your pool can even affect things like water chemistry.
One thing that may affect your water level is if it rains when the pool isn’t covered. If that’s the case, and the water level is too high, you can drain or pump it out a bit. Just pay close attention so that you don’t overcorrect and make the water level too low. Angi has a helpful guide for how to drain your pool just right.
Brush the Sides and the Pool Floor
Use a pool brush for the sides and the bottom of your pool once a week. This prevents algae growth as well as the buildup of calcium deposits.
Vacuum Your Pool
Consider vacuuming part of your weekly maintenance checklist, along with the brushing and other cleaning tasks. Vacuuming the pool gets rid of any dirt, debris, and algae that has stuck to the floor, sides, steps, and so on. Vacuuming can also help prevent you and those who use your pools from getting certain infections.
Monthly Pool Preventative Maintenance
There are other preventative maintenance tasks that you don’t have to perform as often. A major one is to clean the filter. The frequency with which you need to do this task depends on your pool and the type of filter itself. Typically, it is every one to six months.
Annual Pool Preventative Maintenance
One annual task especially important for maintenance is to prepare your pool for the winter. For at least your first pool winterization, you should turn to an expert pool service to make sure this job is done to the highest satisfaction.
It’s hard to emphasize enough how essential it is to secure the pool for winter. Especially in an area like the Pacific Northwest. You don’t want to risk the very serious and ruinous damage that would come with not protecting your pool properly. A professional pool preventative maintenance company will take care of that and ensure that everything is in tip-top shape once it’s warm enough to go swimming again.
Make Sure to Get Regular Pool Preventative Maintenance From Professionals
Winterization isn’t the only thing that makes this an important item on the checklist. While there is plenty pool owners can do on their own, you’ll also want to get regular maintenance from the experts. Especially if you’re a new pool owner. Naturally, someone who has maintained pools for years will have more expertise than a newcomer. Take the opportunity to learn the best methods from them and ask any questions.
Even if you think you have it down once you’ve had a pool for a while, there are things only the experts will know to look for. And with an investment like a pool, the highest-quality maintenance work is a no-brainer.
For the best results, turn to the most experienced companies that also provide the most excellent customer service. These companies can also sell the highest-quality pool maintenance chemicals and tools. For new pool owners in the Pacific Northwest, there’s Strong Refuge Pool.
When you follow the above checklist for preventative pool maintenance, you can continue to enjoy this luxury for years and years to come. And if you sell your home down the line, a well-kept pool can increase the market value.
