Clean your swimming pool before jumping in this summer!
Installing a swimming pool so that your family and friends have a place to relax and enjoy themselves is one of the greatest joys of being a homeowner. Keep in mind, though, that learning how to clean your pool is an essential part of owning and maintaining a swimming pool.
As any Tampa pool builder will tell you, this is especially true as the Florida summer season approaches because that’s when your pool is likely to get the most use. To help ensure that your pool is always safe and clean, we’d like to give you some tips on how to clean your pool before summer begins.
Pick Up the Necessary Tools
You can’t perform proper pool cleaning if you don’t have the necessary tools to complete the job. The three primary accessories you want to pick up are a telescopic pole, leaf net, and pool brush. If you don’t have an automatic pool cleaner, then you’ll also want to purchase a vac head and hose.
Start with the Leaf Net and Brush
You can’t learn how to clean your pool without two basic items, the leaf net, and brush. The leaf net will allow you to scoop things out of the pool, such as leaves, insects, toys, and other debris. As for the brush, this will attach to the telescopic pole and should be used to scrub the walls and floor of the pool once per week.
Use the Proper Vac Head or Auto Cleaner
The next step in the process is to either run your automatic pool cleaner or pull out your trusty telescopic pole and attach the vac head to it. Either way, this is how you will collect debris from the pool. For both of these items, you want to choose the correct one for your swimming pool based on its particular surfaces, such as vinyl liner, fiberglass, or concrete. Also, for any tight areas or angles, use a brush because these areas might be missed.
Clean the Pool Filter Regularly
The filter keeps your swimming pool clean by collecting tiny bits of debris and microscopic particles. It will need to be cleaned periodically to ensure optimal performance. If it’s a cartridge filter, remove the cartridge and pressure-wash it with a hose. For either sand or D. E. filter, these must be backwashed, where water flow is reversed through the filter and directed toward the bottom of the tank through the filter media. This should be done whenever the filter’s pressure surpasses the start-up pressure by 10 psi.
Test the pH Every Few Days
If the pH level of your swimming pool gets too high or too low, this can cause a variety of problems from cloudy water and equipment damage to skin rashes and an increase of pathogens in the water. Test the pool every few days and add either a pH reducer or pH increaser, as needed. The ideal range that you want to hit is between 7.2 and 7.6.
Sanitize the Pool with Chlorine
The most efficient way to sanitize your pool is with the use of stabilized chlorine tablets, which will dissolve at a steady rate and keep your water free of bacteria and other pollutants. The chlorine tablets will fight against contaminants in the water such as suntan lotion, hair spray, urine, and perspiration as well, all of which can cause eye and skin irritation.
Contact Larsen’s Pool & Spa for Swimming Pool Design
The first step to owning a beautiful pool is to have one either constructed or remodeled by a quality pool contractor. Larsen’s Pool & Spa is one of the best custom pool builders in Tampa to ensure the highest quality at all times. If you’d like to learn more about how we can help improve your backyard with the installation or redesign of a swimming pool or spa, please give us a call at (727) 786-7665 today.
