With warm weather approaching, nothing beats the refreshing feeling of diving into a sparkling swimming pool in your own backyard. A well-maintained swimming pool can provide endless hours of fun, relaxation, and even health benefits for friends and family throughout the summer months. However, ensuring your pool stays clean, safe, and inviting requires regular maintenance and upkeep, with attention placed on water chemistry, filtration, and seasonal cleaning. To help you navigate the ins and outs of pool maintenance, we’ve compiled a comprehensive list of five essential pool maintenance tips that will help you maintain crystal-clear water all summer long while prolonging the life of your pool components.

Routine swimming pool maintenance serves several purposes. It not only preserves the aesthetic appeal of your pool but also helps avoid potential health hazards posed by unbalanced water chemistry and bacteria build-up. By committing to a regular maintenance schedule, you can prevent costly damage to pool equipment and reduce the risk of lengthy and expensive repairs down the line. Whether you’re a new pool owner or a swimming pool veteran, these expert tips will ensure your pool remains in stellar condition and your backyard oasis remains inviting to everyone who visits.

In this article, we’ll cover the key aspects of pool maintenance, including balancing water chemistry, managing and maintaining your pool’s filtration system, cleaning and vacuuming your pool, addressing seasonal changes, and consulting with professionals when necessary. We’ll also touch upon choosing the right pool chemicals and equipment, as well as debunking common pool maintenance myths.

Balancing Water Chemistry for a Safe and Healthy Swim

One of the most critical aspects of pool maintenance is ensuring proper water chemistry. Unbalanced water can lead to algae growth, bacteria buildup, and damage to pool equipment. To maintain safe swimming conditions and avoid potential health hazards, follow these essential steps:

1. Test Pool Water Regularly: It’s essential to test your pool water at least two to three times a week using test strips or a liquid test kit. This will allow you to measure critical water balance components, including pH levels, alkalinity, and sanitizer levels, such as chlorine or bromine.

2. Adjust Water Chemistry as Needed: Once you’ve tested your pool water, you might need to add chemicals to maintain optimal water balance. The ideal pH level for a swimming pool should be between 7.4 and 7.6. To raise or lower your pH levels, add sodium bicarbonate or muriatic acid, respectively. Additionally, ensure your total alkalinity remains between 80 and 120 ppm to stabilize your pool’s pH levels. Sanitizer levels are crucial for preventing bacteria growth and maintaining safe swimming conditions. Maintain a chlorine concentration between 1 and 3 ppm, while bromine should be between 3 and 5 ppm.

Maintaining Your Pool’s Filtration System for Optimal Performance

Your pool’s filtration system is responsible for removing contaminants and debris to ensure clean and clear water. To maintain your pool’s filtration performance, follow these crucial steps:

1. Inspect and Clean Your Pool Filter Regularly: Whether you have a cartridge, sand, or diatomaceous earth (DE) filter, periodic cleaning and maintenance are necessary. Follow your filter manufacturer’s guidelines for cleaning and backwashing intervals. Typically, cartridge filters require monthly cleaning, while sand and DE filters benefit from backwashing when the pressure gauge shows a 5 to 10 psi increase over the baseline.

2. Replace Damaged or Worn Filter Components: Inspect your pool filter’s components for signs of wear or damage. If you notice any, replace these parts immediately to avoid reduced filtration efficiency and potential damage to your pool’s water quality.

Clean and Vacuum Your Pool for a Spotless Swim

Regular pool cleaning is essential for removing debris, stains, and algae growth that can compromise your pool’s water quality. To maintain a sparkling swimming pool, follow these essential pool cleaning tips:

1. Remove Leaves and Debris: Use a pool skimmer to remove leaves, insects, and other debris from your pool’s surface daily. Not only does this improve your pool’s appearance, but it also prevents the items from sinking and accumulating at the bottom, resulting in potential issues with your pool’s circulation and filtration systems.

2. Vacuum and Brush Your Pool: Vacuum and brush your pool walls and floor at least once a week to remove algae, stains, and built-up dirt. Choose a pool vacuum that best suits your pool type, such as a manual vacuum for smaller pools or an automatic/robotic vacuum for larger pools requiring more frequent cleaning.

3. Clean Pool Tiles and Waterline: Algae and scum can accumulate around your pool’s waterline, negatively affecting your pool’s appearance and water chemistry. Use a gentle pool tile cleaner and soft brush to clean your pool tiles and waterline at least once a week.

Addressing Seasonal Changes for Year-Round Pool Enjoyment

As the seasons change, so do the maintenance requirements for your pool. Be prepared to adjust your maintenance routine to account for these seasonal factors:

1. Summer: During peak swimming season, expect to increase your pool maintenance schedule due to increased bather loads and warmer temperatures, which can expedite algae growth. Monitor and adjust sanitizer levels more frequently, and consider installing a pool solar cover to reduce water evaporation and maintain optimal water temperature.

2. Winter: Closing your pool for the winter season is crucial to protect it from freezing temperatures and potential damage. Properly winterize your pool by balancing water chemistry, lowering the water level, and adding a winterizing algaecide. Ensure to drain and store pool equipment like filters, pumps, and heaters appropriately.

Seeking Professional Help for Pool Maintenance

While many aspects of pool maintenance can be managed by pool owners, occasionally, professional help is necessary for more complex tasks and to ensure your pool remains in top condition. Consult pool experts for assistance with installing new equipment, addressing significant water balance issues, or detecting and repairing leaks, or if you require assistance or advice about your pool’s proper maintenance.

Conclusion

By adhering to these essential pool maintenance tips covering water chemistry, filtration, cleaning, and seasonal changes, you can enjoy a crystal-clear and well-maintained swimming pool all summer long. Ultimately, your backyard oasis should be a source of joy, relaxation, and entertainment for you and your loved ones, and with consistent care, you can ensure it remains that way.

Want to have the best swimming pool experience in town? Visit Cincinnati Pool & Patio today to explore our extensive range of pool chemicals, equipment, and accessories and receive expert advice on efficient pool maintenance to keep your pool sparkling clean all summer long.

The chlorine shortage is still affecting pool owners. How can you reduce chlorine usage to make your supply last longer?

The summer season is almost here! Warmer weather is just on the horizon, which also means it’s almost swimming season! You’re likely dreaming of the day when you can open your pool and take a nice, refreshing dip. However, three years after a catastrophic chlorine plant fire, and two years after the COVID-19 pandemic began, the pool maintenance landscape looks quite different this year.

Chlorine is still hard to find these days, thanks to the plant fire and increased pool construction during the pandemic. Because of this shortage, chlorine prices have also risen in the last few years. As with other products facing similar shortages, the future of chlorine prices looks bleak. In fact, the price of chlorine has increased two to three times over the last two seasons. And it will continue to rise for the foreseeable future.

So, what can pool owners do to combat this shortage? If there’s not enough chlorine to go around, how can you make your supply last? How do you stretch your money to get the most bang for your buck? You want your pool to stay clean so you can swim all summer long, but you aren’t sure what to do next.

Fear not, swimmers. There are several ways you can reduce chlorine usage to make your limited supply last longer. With the following alternative sanitation methods, you can reduce the amount of chlorine your pool needs to stay clean. Read on for our top suggestions by our very own pool professionals.

Mineral Cartridges

The first way you can reduce chlorine usage in your pool is by supplementing with mineral cartridges. Drop-in mineral cartridges contain minerals, such as copper and silver, that sanitize pool water. These minerals prevent bacteria and algae from forming in the water. Some mineral products can also maintain a stable pH level in the water. It just depends on which minerals are present in the kit.

Using a mineral cartridge can drastically reduce the amount of chlorine your pool needs to stay clean. For under $100, you can reduce the chlorine in your pool up to 50%. Most pools require 2-3ppm (parts-per-million) of chlorine. With an added mineral system, your pool will only need 1ppm of chlorine to adequately sanitize the water.

There are a few products available that you can use to dispense minerals into your pool. There are in-skimmer mineral systems, which use a dispenser that is placed into your skimmer basket. Another option is floating dispensers. These dispensers disperse minerals and chlorine as it floats freely in the pool water. The third option is to use an inline mineral system that connects to your pool plumbing system. This option is a little more involved with the installation, but it can be used with most existing plumbing systems.

Algae Preventative

The less algae in your pool, the less chlorine you will have to use. Keeping on top of algae prevention is the second way to reduce chlorine usage. There are a few different methods to prevent algae growth in your pool. You can use algaecide regularly when your pool is clean to prevent algae spores from becoming full-on blooms. Algae spores are carried by the wind and can easily make their home in your pool, so preventing them from growing is the best way to reduce their effects.

You can also use a pool balancer or conditioner to help reduce algae growth and keep your existing chlorine at maximum effectiveness. Pool conditioner helps prevent chlorine from dissipating in the sun’s UV rays. The more effective your chlorine is, the less algae will grow. And the less algae you have, the less you must add chlorine back into your pool to sanitize it. Conditioning your pool is a once-a-year treatment method, so it is cost-effective too.

Test Balance Frequently

The final method to reduce your chlorine consumption is to stay on top of the balance of chemicals in your water. The better your water balance, the less chlorine you will need. Use testing strips regularly to test the pH and other chemical levels in your pool. Based on your results, add other chemical treatments as needed to keep the pH at an optimal balance.

Your pool’s pH level measures how acidic or alkaline your pool water is. pH is measured on a scale from 1 to 14, with lower numbers being more acidic, and higher numbers being more alkaline. If your water is too far to either end, it can cause problems. Keeping your pH at an optimal level can reduce your chlorine needs. For example, a pool with a pH of 8.5 requires 100% more chlorine than a pool balanced to a pH of 7.5.

Benefits of Reduced Chlorine

In addition to saving money and preserving your chlorine supplies, there are several other benefits to reducing your chlorine usage.

Chlorine is an irritant. It dries out the moisture in your skin after swimming and can dull the fabric of your swimsuit. It causes red, irritated eyes if you open your eyes underwater for too long. Chlorine is also harsh, making water harder and less pleasant to swim in if the concentration is too high.

Using the above methods to reduce chlorine usage in your pool helps alleviate these symptoms. Your water will be softer, and skin and eye irritation will be reduced. Overall, using less chlorine will improve the swimming experience.

Bottom Line

The chlorine shortage of the last few years has greatly affected how pool owners maintain their swimming pools. In general, what it takes to own a pool has changed over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our expert service team is always available to answer questions and to help find the right products for your pool. If you’re unsure of how to best maintain your pool, give us a call.

Cincinnati Pool and Patio has been serving Cincinnati homeowners since 1966. Our expert service team is always available to answer questions and help you find the right products for your pool. We can navigate this chlorine shortage and these uncertain times together. Visit our store or get in touch with us today if you have questions or need recommendations.