Every pool owner wants to take good care of their pool. Unfortunately, many will also wither underneath the mountain of pool maintenance tasks they feel they must constantly take care of. There’s also a lot of misinformation out there, so it can get confusing to determine what type of pool maintenance you should be doing and how often you should do it.
It’s normal to make a few maintenance missteps, regardless of how long you’ve owned your pool. But the better you understand how to care for your pool, the cleaner and safer it is to swim in. Here are some common mistakes every pool owner should avoid to keep their pool healthy.
Ignoring the Chemistry Balance During Winter
The idea of breaking out the beakers and goggles doesn’t excite everyone, so it’s understandable that some pool owners get high school chemistry homework flashbacks once they start learning about pool chemistry. But this is an element of pool maintenance you can’t ignore, even if you aren’t using your pool in colder weather. Luckily for you, maintaining the pH balance of your pool is probably easier than you think.
The first thing to do is to test your pool water often. It’s easy for your levels to get thrown out of whack — anything from a heavy rainstorm to increased use can change the balance of the water. This is even more true in winter when you aren’t using your pool as often, as there can be a lot lurking beneath the surface of your pool cover.
Once you know your numbers, you can use chemicals like sodium bicarbonate or pH increasers to rebalance the level. It could take some trial and error, but since an imbalanced pool pH could damage every part of your pool, it’s preventive maintenance you won’t want to forego.
Shocking Your Pool During the Day
Speaking of chemicals, pool shock, or a chemical mixture that resets your pool’s chlorine levels, is another brew you’ll need to have on hand. But you can’t just toss shock into your pool whenever you feel like it and hope for the best.
Yes, you still should be shocking your pool in the winter. However, shocking your pool during the day means it’s more susceptible to the sun, even if there’s less of it. The sun can evaporate the chemicals, making them less effective.
The solution is simple: shock your pool at night instead. You can usually get away with shocking your pool once a week, and it’s best to do this on the same day for consistency. When testing your pool’s chemistry, you should aim for three parts per million chlorine levels.
Skipping Pre-Winter Brushing
Brushing your pool is another maintenance task that can get pushed further down a homeowner’s priority list. But skipping the pre-winter brushing will become an obvious and potentially expensive problem if you need to have someone perform professional pool maintenance.
Vacuuming isn’t enough — you’ll want to use a brush to get those hard-to-reach spots like the steps, stairs, and ladders. Brushing helps dislodge algae and gunk and keeps your pool healthy. Realistically, it would be best to brush your pool once a week, but it’s vital to at least do it before closing your pool for the year.
The algae can run rampant without brushing and grow on your pool’s surface, taking it from a pristine, crystal-clear water to a murky, green mess.
Tossing Shock Directly Into Your Pool
You forgot to shock your pool before you closed it down for the season! You can just toss some shock into your pool and take off without worrying, right?
Not exactly. While you can’t over shock your pool, adding intense chemicals without pre-dissolving them first isn’t great for your liner. Pre-dissolving the solution allows it to disperse through your pool more evenly. You can use warm water to dissolve the shock faster (which might be good, seeing as you have a plane to catch), and don’t forget to use protective equipment when mixing chemicals.
Call the Pros for the Best Pool Maintenance
Another common pool mistake many owners make is thinking they must do it alone. Maintaining a pool takes a lot of time and effort. And while it’s worth every minute, hiring maintenance professionals can simplify your pool maintenance routine.
Don’t hesitate to ask questions and get tips during your maintenance visit. The technician will gladly give you some pointers and guide you in the right direction to make your maintenance list a little easier.
Do you need help with your pool maintenance? Call Calm Waters Pool
Services today to learn about our services and schedule a visit from one of our professionals!
