Regardless if you are a new or experienced pool owner, everyone has questions on how to properly maintain swimming pools. The topics and tips discussed throughout this blog, if followed correctly, can make you a proactive pool expert at home and will help you get the most out of your pool this season!
Let's break down basic pool maintenance into 5 simple steps:
Proper Filter Maintenance
Brushing Your Pool
Emptying Skimmer and Pump Baskets
Vacuuming Your Pool
Water Balance
All pools need to have a properly working filtration system. The pool filter helps remove debris and dirt that accumulate in your water and it prevents these unwanted particles from being recirculated through your pool. Filter maintenance is very important for many reasons; to help with circulation and overall flow of pool water, allowing for adequate suction when vacuuming, ensuring your equipment is working at its best capacity, improving the effectiveness of water treatment products and much much more! Let's look at the two most common types of filters.
Sand Filters: The first and most important thing when we are performing any maintenance on a sand filter, is to turn off the pump. Anytime we are moving the dial valve on the sand filter we need to ensure the pump is turned off in order to prevent possible leaks and damage to the top mount and internal components of the filter. It is also very important to have a properly working pressure gauge on your sand filter. Most gauges need to be replaced annually and play a pivotal role in diagnosing when your sand filter should be backwashed. Once your pressure gauge reaches 8-10 PSI higher than your normal start up pressure, your filter needs to be backwashed. Depending on use, bather load and environmental factors, some filters may need to be backwashed every week and some filters may not. It is important to know what your normal filter pressure is so you can determine when you need to backwash.
Steps for backwashing:
Step 1: Turn off your pump and set the filter to the backwash setting. Roll out your backwash hose making sure it lays flat.
Step 2: Turn your pump back on to start backwashing. Depending on the size of your filter, a proper backwash will take 3-5 minutes.
Step 3: After the 3-5 minute backwash, turn the pump off and switch the dail valve to rinse. This allows any leftover debris inside the filter to be rinsed out and will resettle the sand to get it ready for filtration. A rinse cycle should be done for 30 seconds to 1 minute.
Step 4: Turn the pump off after the rinse cycle is complete and set the dial valve back to filter. Turn the pump on and if needed, add water until the water line covers ⅔ of the skimmer opening.
Cartridge filters: Once again, a working pressure gauge is an important tool to help you determine when further inspection of your filter is needed. Once your pressure gauge reaches 8-10 PSI higher than your normal start up pressure, your filters need to be rinsed.
The pump must be turned off and the filter housing opened. Remove the cartridge filters from the housing and lightly rinse them using a garden hose. NEVER pressure wash your cartridge filters. Pressure washing will rip the fibers and cause irreversible damage. When you are finished rinsing the filters, place them back in the filter housing, tighten the filter clamp or lock ring and turn the pump back on.
All filter media should be chemically cleaned at least once a season.
Brushing should be done weekly yet is the most overlooked step when it comes to maintaining pools. Algae is invisible in its first stages of life. It likes to stick onto surfaces to protect itself. Bacteria also likes to adhere to the pool surface and can quickly reproduce if it is not removed. Brushing everywhere around your pool will not only help your filter collect more debris, but it also helps get rid of bacteria and other microorganisms hiding in areas of the pool with poor circulation such as stairs, behind ladders and in corners of pool walls. When brushing we want to make sure we touch everywhere in the pool, especially these low circulation points.
Emptying your skimmer and pump baskets should be part of your weekly routine. Full baskets can cause flow issues, damage baskets and rapidly consume sanitizer levels. Checking your skimmer and pump baskets may need to be done more frequently in the spring or fall.
There are many different vacuums to choose from, but having at least one, is very important to keep small dirt and debris from accumulating on the pool floor. When using a manual vacuum or an automatic suction vacuum it is important to fully prime the vacuum hose to prevent air from getting into your pool system. Once the vacuum hose is secured on the vacuum head, put the vacuum head in the pool. Take the other end of the hose and place it against a return jet. The water coming out of the return jet will fill the hose. The vacuum head will lift to the surface of the water and release any air. The head will fall back to the pool floor when all the air has been removed from the hose line. You can now place the hose in the skimmer and begin vacuuming.
If you are using a manual vacuum, you should ALWAYS attach the hose to a vacuum plate instead of putting it directly into the skimmer hole. The vacuum plate is designed to crack if there is too much suction. If there is no vacuum plate, it will be the skimmer housing that will crack if there is too much suction when vacuuming. An automatic suction cleaner will come with a regulator valve so you can regulate the suction through the skimmer. Make sure that this is used so there is no damage to the skimmer housing.
Other vacuum options include robotic cleaners which run independently. This is a great option if you like a clean pool without the hassle of having to set up or manually vacuum the pool yourself.
The most common way of testing is with a test strip. Get a fresh test strip, make sure it is not expired (date is on the bottle) and submerge it in the water about elbow deep. For the most accurate results, you should never test near the skimmer or return jets. Ensuring that there is an adequate amount of sanitizer should be your main concern. Bathers should NEVER be in water that has no chlorine or bromine residual.
Once a month, you should bring a water sample into DPSW for a full professional review. At this time we will give you a prescription to adjust the balance if necessary. We can also test other factors for you such as stabilizer, phosphate and metal levels to ensure your water is safe and healthy.
Have any questions? Feel free to reach out to us online or visit any of our locations so that our Spa Experts can assist.
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