Your pool requires regular maintenance, and the best strategy is hiring a company with a turnkey approach, which means the company handles all the details. Regardless of whether you hire pool maintenance professionals or take a DIY approach, Dolphin Pools is happy to offer this guide and checklist for doing the work yourself. The guide can prove invaluable for letting you know what’s involved, so you can work seamlessly around your pool maintenance technician.
Knowing What’s Involved in Pool Maintenance
Pool maintenance works best with daily maintenance by pool users. There are also weekly and monthly tasks better suited for professionals. Myriad items must be considered and scheduled if you don’t want your pool’s condition and safety to degenerate. Your pool maintenance routine also depends on environmental factors such as where you live, the ambient climate, the number of people who regularly use the pool and whether you have a pool cover.
Involving Family Members
You can certainly involve your whole family in routine maintenance. They can skim your pool regularly to remove trash and debris. Everyone appreciates a pool, and family members should be willing to involve themselves with routine maintenance and pool care. Even the youngest can police areas around the pool to remove unsightly trash and pool accessories not being used.
Checking with Local Regulatory Agencies
Before you begin pool maintenance, check with local government agencies to find out what regulations apply. Most cities have guidelines, policies and mandated regulations for pool safety and maintenance. Even if you’ve been maintaining your own pool for some time, you should check on whether new regulations have been passed or there have been changes. It’s also good to check with your local utility companies to find the best time to pump water. Usually, night hours work best when demand for water drops precipitously.
Daily Pool Maintenance
You should write down all pool maintenance tasks and consider making copies of the list to use for easy checkoffs. Daily tasks aren’t usually essential on days when the pool won’t be used but beware that someone in the family is likely to swim without providing advance notice. The daily tasks include:
- Adjusting water levels, which can be automated
- Inspecting skimmers and pump baskets for trash and debris
- Checking the pressure gauge
- Running the pool pump to circulate water and prevent algae growth
- Checking the pool’s pH status to ensure it falls between 7.2 and 7.6 and checking that chlorine levels register between 1 and 2 ppm
- Skim the pool of large debris and leaves to keep the pump and filtration system functioning properly
- Inspecting the pool’s perimeter for safety hazards
- Checking pool cleaners and emptying pump baskets
Weekly Pool Maintenance
Weekly pool maintenance can be performed by a professional technician, but you can do the job. It’s a bit involved, so expect a learning curve. Typical weekly pool maintenance asks include the following:
Shock the Pool Water
Once a week, you should shock your pool environment with super chlorination to retard microbial and organic growth.
Clean the Pool’s Sides and Bottom
Brush and vacuum the pool’s sides and bottom. This is a necessary step for you or your pool contractor to perform every week. That helps prevent buildup and damage to the pool’s surfaces.
Check Water Alkalinity
Regular pH testing makes it easier to keep your pool balanced and safe.
Backwash Pool Filters
Pools that use sand or DE filters need weekly backwashing to limit contaminants and debris.
Treat Algae
Treating and destroying algae on a weekly basis is necessary to control unchecked algae growth. Algae growth can damage your pool and destroy its appeal.
Monthly Pool Maintenance
The recommended monthly maintenance tasks include the following:
Deep Cleaning Filters
If your pool uses a cartridge filtering system, you should give the cartridge a chemical soaking once a month to remove debris. After soaking, rinse the cartridge with a hose and strong pressure to remove all contaminants and debris particles.
Arrange Professional Water Testing
You should take a sample of your pool water each month for professional testing. Professionals test water more thoroughly to detect contaminants like calcium and cyanuric acid.
Checking Your Pool’s Time Clock
Your pool needs at least monthly testing and adjusting of its time clock. Power outages are common through the summer because of increased AC use. Your automated systems get thrown off when a power outage affects the timing. Make sure you reset the clocks after a major outage and adjust the clocks once a month to cover minor discrepancies.
Annual Pool Maintenance
Some maintenance tasks are only required once a year, but that makes performing them properly especially critical. You might want to rely on professional assistance with the following annual maintenance tasks:
Inspect Pool Plumbing
It’s important to inspect each piece of pool equipment and the pipes that carry water to and from pool features. Look for leaks, excessive wear and potential problems that will arise within a year’s time or less. Replace any equipment showing signs of wear. Lubricate the chlorinator, pump lid, filter and valves.
Accessory Maintenance
Once each year, it’s important to check on your pool accessories. Check the pool lights, diving board slide and ladder for functionality and stability. Make sure that all accessories are firmly bolted in place.
Concluding Thoughts
It’s not possible to remove a pool cover after a week or month and swim safely. If you own a pool, you have a duty of care to provide a clean and safe environment for your family and guests. You must keep up with maintenance tasks, or you need to hire a pool contractor specializing in performing those tasks in a contractual arrangement.
At Dolphin Pools we provide professional maintenance services with a carefully vetted team of technicians. We also provide pool supplies, repair services and installations of pools and advanced water features. We also install automated systems using the latest pool technologies. We can handle all, or part of your pool maintenance needs.
Thanks to dolphinpools.com.au for consulting.
