You’ve finally made the change and gotten your very own swimming pool. Congratulations! There’s nothing quite like taking a dip and doing a lap or two right before starting your day off. Clearly, the house will be pool party central, but the question now is, for how long? To maximize your pool’s potential and thoroughly extends its period of use, you will need to know how to properly clean your pool.
Like everything else, a pool will require your time and dedication to ensure it remains at its pitch-perfect condition all year round. This guide will give you an idea of how your pool works and educate you on how to clear away any debris floating around, basically making sure your pool doesn’t end up looking like the local bayou.
You can’t clean what you don’t understand
You don’t need to go to college to understand the basics of cleaning and keeping your pool in good condition. All you need to have is a working understanding of the pool and its constituent components. This will not only help you run everything smoothly; it will arm you with the necessary knowledge that will help you tackle problems as they arise.
It is well worth noting that the four main parts that need to be checked on include:
The pool’s water
You can’t have a clean pool without having clean pool water. It is imperative that you keep it clean, clean, and balanced to protect you, your family, and your friends from pollutants and contaminants. Furthermore, proper pool water cleaning will also help you with your finances as they reduce your hardware repair frequency due to reduced mineral build-up and corrosion. This will ultimately make your pool last longer.
The pool’s interior wall
Pools, whether made of concrete, rubber, fiberglass, vinyl, or plastic, will have their walls in constant contact with water. Correct chemical balance heavily comes into play here. This is because if this isn’t maintained, fungi and algae will grow and thrive along the walls. Not only will this make the water unhealthy, but it will also lead to issues with your pool walls.
The pool’s filtration system
The filter system is the foundation of your entire pool setting. It keeps the water circulating, ensuring it is clean. This circulation is heavily due to the pool pump that forces the water to the pool filter. Any dirt, debris, and contaminant are caught by the filter to make sure your water cleanliness levels remain proper.
Its system of returns and skimmers
These are the second most vital areas within your pool system. Skimmers are the holes through which your pool water is pulled towards the filters for cleaning. The returns are the parts responsible for directing your cleaned pool water back into the pool.
Cleaning your swimming pool
Cleaning your pool ever so often is a really big part of the maintenance. Skipping pool day is so easy, but this ease is directly proportional to how much effort or finances you will be required to fork out when it comes to replacing components. Basically, your keenness directly affects your components’ durability. Don’t fret, though; there are several ways of cleaning your pool, which we’ll take you through.
Skimming
This is a task that should be attended to daily and is the first step to doing your weekly maintenance. You can use a long-handled leaf skimmer for the sole purpose of gathering the leaves, insects, and all other debris that’s floating together. Also, consider removing the trash that’s stuck to the bottom of the pool. This prevents any staining from taking place.
Furthermore, if you have a lot of trees surrounding your pool, you should consider cutting or trimming wayward branches or excess foliage. It only takes a few minutes to clear away the scum and dirt off the top of your pool, but the crystal-clear ambiance can be forever.
Brushing
The danger here is that small bits of debris and algae can congregate on your pool’s walls as well as fixtures like pool slides and ladders. What you need to do is brush the fixtures and pools on a weekly basis to clear away dirt to hamper the continual spread of algae.
Vacuuming
This is done when all the debris and algae have been cleared away from the walls. These remains can be vacuumed up to the bottom of the pool. They can be categorized into either automatic or manual vacuuming.
- Automatic Vacuum
Whichever way or direction you’re cleaning, you need to first have plugged in your cleaner. After this, turn the water on and let it work for you. In short, there are three types of pool vacuums that are ready-made and there for you:
- Robotic vacuums
These machines are not only energy-efficient, but they also work independently away from your current filtration system.
- Pressure vacuums
These use a pressure line directly from the filtration system so that they can go around your pool. Usually, they require a pump and an additional booster pump to function.
- Suction vacuums
They use your filtration system’s water flow and connect it to a skimmer or a dedicated suction port. Of the three, they are the most affordable.
- Manual Vacuum
For this, you need to use the best manual pool vacuums. The following steps should be followed if you are to use a manual vacuum.
- Immerse your vacuum hose and head before linking the filter and the vacuum
- Connect your vacuum to the filter to ensure the hose doesn’t float
- Clear out and vacuum the bottom of your pool and move it in a movement you’d use when mowing the lawn
- Overlap your lines while moving it slowly making sure you’re collecting all the debris you can
Conclusion
Having read all this and getting a clue about how easy it is to clean your pool, you are a hundred percent ready to get started with your own cleaning regimen. Whether it is the pool vacuums or just good old fashioned brushing, your pool can look its very best today.
