Are you one of the 15% of American households with a pool?
If you are, you’re probably familiar with the time-costs of maintaining your pool.
While taking care of your pool is worth it for all the benefits it offers, it’s still something you want to be doing right.
Let’s take a look at 8 swimming pool maintenance mistakes and how you can avoid them.
1. Ignoring your Alkalinity and pH Levels
For ecosystems to be healthy and happy, a balanced pH is crucial. This goes for your pool, too.
If your pool has a low pH, this indicates acidity. On the other hand, a low pH indicates alkalinity. Simply put, to have too much of either is bad for your pool.
Having an imbalanced pH can do damage to your pool equipment. Things like the pump and filter, the heater, the vinyl liner, the chemical feeder, and much more can be harmed by improper pH levels.
The best way to avoid having alkalinity or acidity problems is to test your pool water regularly. If through testing you determine that your pH is out of balance, there are chemicals for pools you can use to correct this. Products such as pH increaser and alkalinity increaser can help you reach the perfect pH balance for your pool water.
2. Adding Pool Shock Through Your Skimmer
There are a lot of swimming pool maintenance mistakes you can make that are fairly minor. This, however, isn’t one of them.
Adding pool shock through your skimmer is dangerous. This is because combining pool shock and chlorine creates a deadly gas. If your filter system has an automatic chlorinator attached and you add shock to the skimmer, this means the chemicals are combining in a small, confined space.
Basically, this means that doing this could literally create an explosion in your pool’s filter system.
The way to avoid this major mistake is by following the manufacturer’s instructions when adding shock. You’ll also always want to wear the proper safety gear.
3. Shocking Your Swimming Pool During the Daytime
Shocking your pool helps get rid of chloramines that are irritating to the skin and eyes. It helps you obtain a well-balanced level of chlorine.
When you shock your pool during the daytime, though, you’re making the shock less effective. This is because the sun burns off the unstablized chlorine and you won’t achieve your desired goal. If you’re trying to stick to a pool maintenance budget, you’ll definitely want to make sure you’re only using as much shock as you need to.
The solution to this shock your pool at night. You’ll want to do this about once a week.
4. Running the Pool Filter System For Less Than Eight Hours Each Day
Neglecting to run your pool filter system for at least eight hours a day is a fairly minor pool maintenance mistake. That being said, it can’t do it’s job if you don’t let it run.
Critters and contaminants will be more prominent in your pool if you don’t run your pool filter enough.
To solve this problem, just be sure to run your pool filter and pump for at least eight hours every day. The size of your pool might alter the ideal amount of time you run your filter, but for the most part this should allow enough time for all of your pool’s water to be filtered.
5. Adding Shock Directly Into the Pool Water
When you add pool shock to your pool, you’re adding what is basically concentrated chlorine. At high concentrations, chlorine can bleach anything it comes in contact with.
The way to avoid this mistake is to always pre-dissolve the chemical in a bucket full of water. This makes it so the shock will be more evenly dispersed in the water. That protects your pool walls and floor. If you see cracks in your pool, it’s likely time to upgrade.
Remember that you should always put water in the bucket first before the chemicals. This is because adding chemicals first can lead to a dangerous splash-back.
6. Not Brushing Your Pool
After you vacuum your pool, you should follow up with a brushing.
To do this, use a pool brush and target the areas that are the hardest to reach. These are things like the waterline, the steps and stairs, behind ladders, corners, and crevices. When you do this, you keep algae and other unwanted substances under control.
Brush your pool every week or as often as it seems that it needs it.
7. Trying to Fix an Algae Problem With an Automatic Pool Cleaner
Having a pool algae problem is no fun. It’s incredibly tempting to start up your robotic cleaner when faced with an algae problem. Unfortunately, this is a bad idea.
An automatic cleaner will simply push debris and algae up through and clog a mesh bag. That means it’s not being removed from your pool.
To deal with algae, you’ll need to use the manual vacuum. Make sure that you either remove the drain plug or switch your filter to “waste” when doing this.
8. Backwashing Your Pool Filter Too Often
It’s important to backwash your pool, but you don’t want to do it too often.
To avoid over-backwashing, take notice of the pressure gauge on your filter tank. For optimal filter performance, the appropriate baseline is between 10 to 15 psi.
Swimming Pool Maintenance: Making Sure Your Pool Is Happy and Healthy!
Having a swimming pool is one of the great luxuries of life. It’s a great way to relax and spend time with family as well as get exercise. That being said, one of the costs of having a pool is that it takes time, energy, and money to maintain properly.
Is it time for you to finally install the pool of your dreams? Find a California Pools location today to transform your outdoor space!
