How To Clean And Maintain Your Pool: A Helpful Guide

Everyone who owns a pool knows how much fun it can be. Chilling by the pool in your backyard is one of the greatest solutions for spending your long summer days with your family and friends. However, without proper maintenance,  your pool can quickly become the most undesirable place on the planet Earth. Regardless of the size and type of the pool you have, you must keep it in good shape.

To help you maintain the wonderful convenience of your summer-fun pool, we’ve outlined some helpful tips that can be easily adopted into any weekly cleaning schedule for maintaining your pool and thus making it look beautiful year-round.

Hire A Professional Pool Maintenance Company

This is an optional step, but if you’re not exactly the most “handy” person in the world when it comes to pools, or if you don’t know what you’re doing, it is highly recommended that you hire a professional pool maintenance company to come by and handle everything, or at least some of these tasks, for you. If you are living in Perth, finding a pool maintenance company is not a complicated task as there are usually numerous companies around who offer various services and prices. However, if your pool has some bigger issue, like a crack on the surface, you might want to find an expert pool repair company in Perth, to get the job done right. Just make sure to do a bit of research before committing to any particular service, to ensure you’re going with the best possible choice.

Monitor Your Water’s pH Levels

This is by far the most important thing to keep in mind if you want to maintain a clean pool. Maintaining proper pH levels can be done easily, all it requires is some simple math. The ideal pH level that indicates the high-quality water for swimming pools is 7.5-8.0, but more often than not, due to the water source and its mineral composition, it will differ from that number. If you’re unsure about what your numbers are supposed to be, consult the information sheets provided by your pool supply store or simply use one of the various free online calculators. It can be difficult sometimes with all these numbers flying around but all you need to do is keep them in the recommended range (7.2 -7.8) and you will be fine.

Test Your Pool Water Regularly

You should always have a test kit around the house to help you with this process, but if you don’t have one already, it is not a big deal. Just head down to a nearby store that sells pool supplies and purchase a simple test kit for less than $15 – they’re very easy to use and there are instructions on the back of them as well. Regularly testing your pool is one of the most important pool maintenance steps that is going to save you time in the long run by allowing you to identify bigger problems before they become serious issues (and potentially expensive). Simply by doing this step each week, you can reduce the need for chemicals (i.e., chlorine) by up to 30% which can save you hundreds of dollars over a year.

Brush Your Pool Floors And Walls Weekly

This might seem like an incredibly boring chore but it is very important for your pool’s health. Not only will brushing help remove any dirt, debris, or other unidentifiable gunk that has accumulated around your pool, it will also ensure that your surfaces are free from stains and marks. This includes things like iron staining which can be difficult to remove otherwise. Without proper removal, this staining could lead to a variety of potential problems such as cloudy water or even pitting on the surface itself that could lead to cracking and expensive repairs down the line. You can get a pool-specific brush, or just go over to your local store and pick up a regular nylon kitchen scrubby. Both will do the job just fine. You should also make sure you brush your water surface at least once a month. It is quite simple, all you need to do is grab an old broom or mop that has soft bristles and simply brush the dirt or debris that may have fallen into the water.

Keep Your Pool’s Filter Clean

Keeping your filter clean is extremely important for two reasons: it ensures the efficiency of the filter itself, and it also keeps your pool’s water sparkling. All you will need to do is open up the lid of the filter (usually located on top of a raised portion of ground at one end of your pool) and remove any dirt or debris that has accumulated over time. This can be done with a simple garden hose that is set to high pressure. You can then replace all parts in their original position before turning on the pump again. Just be careful with this step as it is very easy to damage your pool’s filter if you inadvertently apply too much water pressure.

Backwash Your Filter Once A Month

Here is another important step that tends to get overlooked by beginning pool owners. Cleaning out the filter isn’t enough – you also need to backwash it once per month (if you haven’t changed the media already). To do this, simply remove the lid and use a garden hose on high-pressure to push all of the gunk out from every nook and cranny available. This ensures proper water flow through your system and assists in removing any potential debris or “stuff” that could hinder its performance/effectiveness later down the road. If you want to be even more thorough, you can go ahead and replace your media once per year as well.

As you can see, cleaning and maintaining your pool is a pretty simple task. It doesn’t have to involve hiring a professional to get the job done, however it certainly does help. If you’re not a fan of getting a bit wet or interacting with dirty water in any way, shape, or form, then hiring an expert company will probably be best for you. Otherwise, if you prefer to save a few bucks and have a go at it yourself, then that’s perfectly fine as well. Just be prepared for some hard work, some sore muscles, and potentially a few headache-inducing moments but you’ll be rewarded with a beautiful, clean pool in the end.