Having a pool is one of the greatest things ever; you can swim whenever you want and cool off or relax anytime you like. Even though it’s an amazing addition to your home, you still need to take care of your pool and keep it well maintained. Many people don’t understand how to carry out proper pool care or how to check on different things for maintenance, so if hiring someone to do it for you isn’t an option, then you need to learn everything to keep your pool clean and running properly.
Understanding the Chemistry Behind It
What you’re swimming in is more than just water; you need to understand how the water works and what it needs, which is why you need to test the water once or twice a week. You can test it with test strips, or a home test kit would be fine; the test will tell you the chemical levels of the water and where it has a proper balance of Alkalinity and pH levels.
You should have a pH level between 7.2 – 7.6 and alkalinity between 100 – 150 ppm; this is important no matter what kind of sanitizer you’re using. Most pools have chlorine, which should 1 – 3 ppm, but some people like to use a mineral system and it uses chlorine as a backup which should be 0.5 ppm. Other sanitizers available are Bromine, which should be 3 – 5 ppm and Biguanide, which should be 30 – 50 ppm.
Choosing which one depends on your preference, if you keep the levels balanced then you’re safe. Remember to shock your water weekly by getting a concentrated dose of your sanitizer and just throwing it in the pool to shock it; this is like a safety step to make sure your pool stays clean and free of algae, bacteria, or cloudy water.
Cleaning Your Pool
Now it’s time to talk to about how to clean your pool and there are three ways to do it, vacuuming, skimming, and brushing. Doing all three is crucial for keeping your pool healthy and clean. When it comes to vacuuming, you need to get rid of all the debris, like leaves or dirt from the bottom and you can do that in two ways. The pool care guru at https://poolcareguy.com/ believes that investing in a jet automatic pool cleaner can save you a lot of hassle by saving you so much time and effort. But if that’s not possible for budget reasons, then you can use a manual vacuum and go through every part of the pool floor. You should vacuum once every week for optimum results.
You may also want to check this pool cleaning equipment which is convenient and pool-friendly.
Another way to clean your pool is through skimming the top by using a leaf net to pick up all the floating debris before it sinks to the bottom, whether it’s leaves, flower petals, twigs, dirt, or anything else. You should do this daily or every two days depending on your schedule. And lastly, you need to brush your pool walls, ladders, at least every two days as well. This is perfect for reaching all the hard-to-reach areas and can prevent any bacteria from forming; anything you brush off will be up by your leaf net or your vacuum. So, if you follow all these important steps, your pool will stay fresh and clean every day.
The Mechanics and Circulation
This is an extremely important part of maintaining your pool; you should check your filter system and make sure it’s running 8 to 12 hours a day, especially on hot summer days. This is important because it keeps the circulation going and helps the chemicals you add to spread and dissolve properly. Make sure to consider intex sand filter and the reviews of the best ones.
Also, you need to check, empty, and clean your pump and skimmer baskets to make sure the water gets through your filter system. And your filter needs to be maintained and backwashed to avoid any pressure buildup, this means it should be around 10 to 15 psi, which is normal and safe; anything above that means it’s clogged and needs to be back washed thoroughly. Some filters have cartridges, so you need to pull those out of the system and clean them well occasionally when it gets too dirty.
Your pool can possibly increase your home’s worth and resale value, so having a nice clean and well-maintained one is crucial. It might be difficult for some people to do everything, but it’s not entirely impossible. Get some help from your family and you can make the process go faster, but overall, proper pool care is important so you can keep enjoying all the perks of owning one.
I’m a 20-something stay-at-home mother and wife. I have an amazing husband, a beautiful daughter, two loving dogs, and a lazy cat. I wouldn’t change my life for anything! I love to read, listen to music, cook and blog!
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