Basics of Owning a Pool

     Let's face it, owning a swimming pool takes a lot of time and money to maintain. However, having your own pool can be very rewarding and provides you and your family with a lot of fun. In order to reap the benefits of pool ownership, you must follow a few steps to maintain it. We break this into 4 topics. Pool Safety, General Maintenance, Water Balance, and the Filtration system.

Filtration and Circulation

     Basically, your pool pump draws water from the pool to filter out containments and evenly disperse chemicals. This water passes through some sort of filtration system; DE Filter, Sand, or a Cartridge Filter. This process takes a lot of containments out of the water before the water is pumped back into your pool. In order for your filters to work properly, you need to maintain them. You may need to add more sand or diatomaceous earth if you have either type of these, and clean or change out your cartridge filter. Know and follow the manufacturers guidelines for your specific type.

Water Balance also called Water Chemistry

     To be safe to swim in, the water has to be sanitary. You have to use the right amount of chemicals to clean the water, kill bacteria, etc., but not too much or you will damage the pool and equipment or irritate swimmers. Use a test kit or strips to monitor things such as the pH, free chlorine, bromine, total alkalinity, total dissolved solids, calcium or total hardness, and Cyanuric acid. Understand why each is important and what you need to do to keep these levels correct. Know how the chemicals interact and correct dosage rates. Keep your eyes open for other signs like cloudy or hazy water, smells, eye irritation, algae, water color, stains, rust, scaling, and deterioration of plastic or metal parts. These are all common problems associated with incorrect water balance.

General Maintenance

At least once a week, you need to manually clean your swimming pool. Use a telepole with wall brush, hand vacuum, skimmer, or other tool to clean the walls, floor, steps, corners. Invest in an automatic pool cleaner. Various companies make cleaners for all budgets. Some require an additional booster pump and some just run off the suction or pressure side jets. Know all the maintenance products on the market like skimmer socks, scum absorbers, leaf baggers, etc.

Safety

The dangers are obvious with pool ownership, so please think about any one or anything that can come into contact with the water. Know all the products on the market like fences, safety covers, gate alarms, wrist alarms, ropes, flotation devices, swimmer training, swim aids, animal ramps, etc.

General Swimming Pool Maintenance or How to Take Care of Your Swimming Pool

* The most important step, which should be done several times a week, is to use a test kit or test strips to determine water quality and adjust chemical usage as needed.

* Sweep or hose off deck area and look over the entire pool area for anything unusual.

* Scoop out any large items like balls, toys, sticks, etc.

* Use a pole brush to clean walls, steps, and other surfaces of the pool. You may need to put some tile soap on the brush to clean dirty areas.

* Run a skimmer net over the surface to remove debris.

* Then, with the pool pump on, we'll use the filtration/circulation system to vacuum the pool. Turn the suction valves so that only 1 valve is open and attach a vacuum head with hose to that port. Run the vacuum along the bottom to pick up dirt and debris. If you have a lot of leaves, you may want to use a leaf bagger.

* Check the water level. Most likely, water has evaporated so you will need to add water to the pool with your garden hose. If you have too much water in the pool, use a sump pump with a hose to pump water out of the pool, or run the filtration/circulation system and turn the valves to "waste" until the water level is back to normal.

* Now we will inspect the filtration system by first emptying skimmer baskets.

* Clean the pool pump strainer basket and inspect the pump for leaks or noises.

* Check the filter pressure to see if you need to clean the filter or backwash.

* If you have a heater, inspect that as well for leaves and debris.

* Check timer clocks and the rest of the circulation system for any obstructions.

* Look for stains like algae, metal stains, and scale and treat as necessary.

* Add "Shock" then go sit in the hammock with some iced tea.

* Use an automatic cleaner between cleanings.

Shock Treatment

A weekly "Shock"or "Superchlorination" will quickly raise the chlorine level to clean contaminants like waste, lotions, and oils that have started to build up. It is recommended to "Shock" your pool at night and run the filtrations system so levels will be back down to normal the next day.

Algaecide

Algae is an unsightly plant growth that can bred bacteria and damage the filtration system. An algaecide is an effective way to kill or prevent the growth and allows you to use less chlorine to combat this plant.

Mineral Control

Copper, iron, and manganese are common minerals found in water and can damage and stain your pool. Test and treat as necessary.

Sanitize

The dosage of chlorine varies from pool to pool depending on many factors such as swim load, temperature, rainfall, pH, etc. Chlorine is primarily sold in tablets, sticks, and granular form and dispensed via a floating feeder or inline feeder.