Regular maintenance and upkeep are a crucial part of pool ownership, ensuring the longevity of your investment and protecting everyone from potential hazards that can lurk below the surface. Fortunately, committing to routine maintenance and inspections can keep most pools in prime condition, giving you more time to dive into the more enjoyable parts of ownership.
The Benefits Of Pool Maintenance
Our Gold Medal Pools Team recommends performing cleaning and water tests on your pool on a weekly basis, as well as booking in scheduled servicing, electrical inspections, and filter replacements as per your operations manual.
A quick scan of equipment and regular cleanings of designated areas can be an easy solution to maintaining the condition of your pool and checking the performance of essential systems. Diligent owners will not only benefit from sparkling clean pool water, but they will also be able to spot critical issues early on, saving costly expenses, health issues, and further repair work later down the line.
Start With Weekly Pool Cleaning
So, how often should you really be cleaning your pool? This can depend on several factors, such as the time of year, the environment around your pool, and its usage. Our team recommends committing to one weekly pool cleaning at a minimum to ensure the removal of harmful bacteria and algae, which can wreak havoc to essential pumps and filters. Weekly cleanings can also help to prolong your pool’s life, improve water quality and clear out these other microbes, known to cause health issues such as gastroenteritis, ear, nose, and throat infections. Our team recommends weekly cleanings for all pool users, even those with automatic pool cleaners.
Your Weekly Pool Cleaning Schedule
- Skim the surface of your pool. If you don’t own a pool net, invest in one, as this should be your first step in maintaining your swimming pool. As many owners will learn over years of upkeep, your prized backyard feature will attract almost every leaf, creature, and piece of dirt you can imagine, especially with the changing seasons. Swirling a net across the surface is a basic cleaning task to remove debris and dirt from the water of your pool before it begins to break down and release chemicals into the water.
- Brush the entirety of the pool to remove stubborn algae and bacteria.
The warmer months of the year can be a breeding ground for algae and bacteria, but with the right conditions, a pool can transform into a biohazard in any season. Brushing down walls, tiles, and general surface areas can remove any algae and bacteria before it begins to flourish. Pay attention to hard-to-reach areas, which may be easily missed; these are a playground for harmful and more stubborn microbes. - Clean Skimmers And Pump Baskets To Enhance Water Quality
The pumping system is an essential part of your pool’s cleaning system yet can often be overlooked in cleaning regimes. Allocate time to clean skimmer and pump baskets to ensure your pumping system is dirt-free and able to filter water effectively. A clogged basket can not only reduce your water quality over time but also cause stress to your pool’s vital pumping seals.
Weekly Inspections
Check For Circulation
Pool water should circulate for at least 6 hours a day, allowing the movement of debris and dirt into your filter systems. This water is then sanitized through the cleaning system and pumped back in. A strong circulation indicates a healthy functioning system, whereas an intermittent and weak current may suggest equipment issues. Regular inspections of your pool can help educate you on your circulation system’s functions and how to spot patterns and changes in cycles, which may require servicing or repair work.
Determine Filter Function
The filter is one of the most important elements to your pool’s system, removing invisible contaminants, distributing freshly sanitized water, and maintaining temperature to keep the pool safe for all the family. Owners can check their filter’s efficiency by performing pressure gauge checks frequently, ensuring it remains at a suitable water weight. Once water pressure reaches 8 to 10 pounds, the filter will need to be back washed to remove any blockage or trapped debris. Filters will also require additional cleaning according to manufacture time frames to remove any chemicals which cannot be cleaned during backwashing.
Test Your Chemicals
Your pool water is a finely balanced cocktail of chemicals, working together in harmony to provide a safe and welcoming environment for the whole family. An imbalance of these components can result in damage to your equipment, as well as skin and health issues for swimmers, so it’s important to perform regular tests on your water chemistry. Ensure recommended levels are correct for the pH and the active sanitizer, testing these two components frequently to maintain a proper water balance and reduce exposure to harmful chemicals.
Consider Winterizing Your Pool
Although we are blessed with warmer weather longer than many other states across the country, winter forecasts may leave you considering closing up your pool for the upcoming season. If you aren’t planning a polar plunge this year, our team recommends “winterizing” your pool for the colder months as an essential part of pool maintenance. With rotting leaves, bugs, and debris washing into the pool with every windy day or heavy rainstorm, many of your pool’s crucial systems, such as filters and drainage equipment, can risk damage when left unattended too. We’ve explored the easy steps of winterization in a previous blog, check that out for more information on winterization.
Choose Gold Medal Pools For Your Pool Servicing
Although ongoing pool maintenance falls to the responsibility of the owner, once development or repair work is complete, routine cleaning and servicing tasks do not have to be carried out by the owner. Outsourcing can be an effective solution to keeping up with essential pool maintenance, with services ranging from regular cleanings to routine equipment inspections. Gold Medal Pools offer a full range of services that cover pool equipment such as pumps, motors, filters, and lights. Maintaining this equipment allows your pool equipment to operate at peak efficiency, and weekly cleaning and water testing will keep your new pool sparkling like new. Contact one of our experts today!
