Lessons Learned from Years with Pools
November 20, 2017
Learning about Swimming Pool Care Basics
If you have decided to have a swimming pool built in your yard, this means that you are prepared to have this huge structure be well maintained and be kept to good use for as long as possible with well-cleaned and well-maintained internal and external pool parts and, at the same time, the pool water is safe and well-balanced. Generally, the first thing that must be considered when a swimming pool is subject to a scheduled maintenance check is finding out on the pool’s water balance, for many valid reasons, the main one is the general safety of pool users, as a rule, a balanced pool water should register a reading of 100 parts per million (ppm) alkalinity reading or a pH value between 7.4 to 7.6 level, otherwise, the water is imbalanced and may introduce the following results in the swimming pool: the chlorine content is not enough to kill the germs and bacteria existing in the pool; the water may affect skin and eyes irritation; the imbalanced water can cause corrosion to the pool’s internal and external parts, such as liners, handrails, ladders, pump; the calcium content may either be too high or low causing for cloudy water if calcium is high and if it is low could erode the pool’s plaster finish.
Most outside swimming pools are covered during the setting in of other seasons, like autumn and winter, and officially opens at the start of spring break until summer, therefore, such seasonal occurrences must have always a scheduled maintenance service done before the pool’s usual opening use, to put into a maintenance perspective how pools should be cared for, such as the following three aspects: removal of plant debris found on the pool’s deck or patio or even on top of the pool cover and afterwards a cleanup drive of all areas surrounding the pool; checking on pool supplies including its expiration dates; removing and draining of water stagnating on top of the pool cover before finally removing the entire cover, seeing to it that the stagnant water does not mix with the pool water, followed by thorough cleaning of the pool cover.
Things to consider about maintaining the swimming pool’s water level: it is important that swimming pool skimmers, which are used to filter or catch any floating pool debris work best when the water level is found either one-third or one-half going way up the opening of the skimmer, otherwise, add water to maintain the pool’s standard water level because if the water is too low there is likely a chance that air can be sucked into the system thus burning up the pool’s filter pump motor. You actually have a choice of either hiring a professional pool cleaner to automatically clean the pool ground or do the manual task of vacuuming the pool on your own, by simply following the right procedures and doing so can be like vacuuming your own rug, just be sure that you do this cleaning task above ground, as well as in-ground of the pool and if the in-ground is unusually dirty, it’s high time to empty the pump strainer so it will be kept clean for the next round of pool use.
