Why Is Regular Cleaning and Maintenance of a Pool Required?
Pools are a much sought-after amenity in both residential and commercial properties. However, owning one comes with some significant responsibilities if you want it to remain in good condition. If you’ve never had to care for a pool before, it may seem like a daunting task. To help, here’s an overview of why pool maintenance is important, along with a brief guide to swimming pool maintenance.
Why Pool Maintenance Is Important
First and foremost, pool maintenance is essential to ensure a safe, clean environment for those using your pool. With just a few minutes of effort daily and weekly, you can accomplish the following:
- Slow or prevent bacterial growth
- Clarify your pool water
- Prevent pump and filter damage
- Extend pool lifespan
- Reduce ongoing repair needs
As you can tell, regular pool maintenance yields some notable benefits. Now imagine what your pool would look like without maintenance. Its water would appear dirty or cloudy and could contain hazardous substances. Its structural elements may significantly deteriorate, making it visually unappealing and potentially unsafe. And, worst of all, your pool may need significant repairs to remain watertight and functional.
Regular Pool Maintenance Basics
Swimming pool maintenance isn’t as difficult as you might assume. There are only a few things you’ll need to do periodically to keep your pool in great shape. Few of the tasks are particularly labor-intensive, and you can even automate some of them. Here are the regular maintenance tasks you’ll need to complete:
Run Your Pool Pump Every Day
The most basic task you must perform to maintain your pool is to turn its pump on every day. Ideally, you want your pool’s pump running for between eight and ten hours every day. During periods of peak usage, you should run your pump even longer than that.
Every time your pool’s pump runs, it accomplishes several vital tasks. One is that it filters the water, removing debris and detritus. That reduces how often you’ll need to skim and vacuum, and how long those tasks take.
Another important thing a running pump accomplishes is thoroughly mixing pool chemicals. The chemicals you add to your pool keep the water safe for swimmers and prevent the buildup of biological contaminants. However, maintaining a uniform concentration of those chemicals in the pool water is critical. Your pool’s pump can ensure that, preventing chemical additives from settling so they function optimally. You can even use a timer to turn your pool’s pump on and off automatically as needed.
Skim Your Pool and Empty Pump Baskets
Another regular pool maintenance task you must perform is to skim your pool water. Typically, you’ll only need to do so every two to three days. However, if your property has any trees near your pool, you may need to skim your water more often. The good news is that the whole process should only take about five minutes. And the more often you carry it out, the less time you’ll spend getting it done.
After skimming debris from the surface of your pool water, take a moment to empty your pool pump’s intake baskets. Those function like skimmers, keeping large debris out of your pool filter and pump while they run. If you neglect to clean them out, they may hamper water flow rates through your filter. That will not only affect the cleanliness of your pool water but also place unnecessary strain on your pump.
Test Your Water's pH And Chlorine Levels
Test your pool water at least once per week to ensure proper pH and chlorine levels. Those levels must remain within acceptable limits to keep the water safe for swimmers. The correct pH for your pool depends on its materials. However, aiming for a pH of 7.5 should be perfect in most scenarios. That’s safe for all major pool finish types, as well as for swimmers.
Your pool’s chlorine level should be between 1 and 3 parts per million. In practice, you should try to keep it as close to 2 parts per million as possible. Low chlorine levels can allow bacteria, viruses, and other dangerous microorganisms to flourish in your pool. High chlorine levels, meanwhile, make swimming uncomfortable by stinging swimmers’ eyes and irritating their skin.
Brush Pool Walls and Vacuum Pool Floor
You should also know that your pool needs its walls brushed and its floor vacuumed at least once a week. Brushing your pool’s walls removes any hard-to-see algae buildup and dirt. It’s essential to keep your pool’s filter running during and after brushing to capture those substances. If your pool has vinyl or fiberglass walls, a soft nylon brush should suffice for cleaning without risking damage. If your pool has a concrete finish, a stiffer bristle type is a better option.
After brushing the walls of your pool, you must vacuum its floor. All manner of debris can settle onto your pool’s floor, even with its filtration system running. Vacuuming will remove that debris without stirring anything back up into the water. To minimize the work involved, it’s advisable to purchase a robotic pool vacuum. Most models can complete a thorough cleaning of the average pool in 1.5 to 3 hours. The time savings alone make them worth their cost. Additionally, robotic vacuums clean better than you can manually.
Clean Your Pool Filter
Finally, your pool’s filter requires periodic cleaning to keep working well. Unfortunately, there’s no exact cleaning interval you can follow. On average, most pool filters need cleaning every 4 to 6 weeks. However, there is a way to judge when yours needs cleaning. To do this, you must note the filter’s starting operating pressure. That gives you a baseline to judge your filter’s cleaning needs. If your pressure gauge reads in PSI, your filter needs cleaning when pressure rises 5-10 PSI from a clean operating state. If your pressure gauge reads in Bar, look for an increase between .3 and .6, which indicates a need for cleaning.
Enjoy Your Clean, Safe Pool
If you stick to a regular maintenance routine for your pool, you’ll get maximum enjoyment and longevity from it. As you can now see, your pool’s maintenance needs aren’t onerous and are well within the capabilities of a single individual. With that said, enjoy your clean, safe pool!