As spring turns to summer, it’s helpful to know the basic pool maintenance steps to prep your pool for the season ahead. After a long winter, that water isn’t ready for diving into just yet. But it will be — after you run through these steps to get your pool primed and back into pristine condition.
Turn Everything On
If your pool equipment has been dormant all winter long, turn it on and see if it’s still quiet and free of leaks. Be sure to look at the concrete pad under the pump to see if it gets wet. Leaks are cheaper and easier to repair when they’re small and if you catch them early.
Do a Top-Level Clean Up
You can leave your pool cover on for this pool maintenance step. (You do have one, right? If not, here’s where to get pool covers in Dallas.) Your goal here is to clean out all the baskets, remove any plugs that are in place, and assemble the filtration system.
Clean Your Filter
There are three types of pool filters: sand, cartridge, and diatomaceous earth (DE). Each one needs periodic cleaning depending on how often it’s used and what kind it is. Just don’t clean it more often than recommended, as this can hamper the filtration process. Here’s a good article that details how to clean a pool filter.
Go To the Pros
Here’s a pool maintenance step that requires minimal work on your end: Bring a water sample to a pool store. They’ll test (often for free) the mineral content of the water, and the pH and chlorine levels. Then you’ll know what needs to be adjusted and by how much. See? Simple.
Get Your Tile in Tiptop Shape
Many pool owners remember to routinely vacuum as a way to keep the water clean, but they often overlook the tiles. It’s important to remember to brush the tiles and the walls to reduce the growth of algae and other calcium deposits. Stiff brushes work best on plaster-lined concrete pools, while you’ll want to opt for a softer brush if your pool has vinyl or fiberglass walls.
Do a Safety Check
Before opening your pool for the summer season, don’t forget to consider safety elements. Do you have all the standard pool safety equipment: a rescue hook, lifesaver ring, and first-aid kit? If your pool has a gate around it, be sure all the latches and locks are working properly. You’ll also need to install anti-entrapment covers in your pool.
If your DFW home has a pool in the backyard, follow the steps above to get it all set for summer. Do you have a pool maintenance tip to share? Leave a comment below!
Image Source: Flickr/Photo Monkey
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Great points. A swimming pool can sometimes seem like a huge time commitment thanks to the constant need for cleaning, but it’s true that allotting some time for basic maintenance and routine duties makes things much easier—and much safer in the long run. Thanks for raising awareness about the pool safety issue, since many people don’t always think about common safety points like making sure the rescue hook or lifesaver ring is within easy reach.
Thanks for the information! Regular pool maintenance is important, but so it knowing when to turn to a professional contractor for help when you have a problem with your pool It seems like contractors can do a lot of make it easier for your to maintain your pool. You wrote an interesting tip to make pool maintenance easier. It seems like a good idea to send a water sample to a pool store to have it tested. That seems like a really easy way to find out the mineral content, pH and chlorine levels in my water. I should start doing that since that would be a lot easier than checking on the mineral content of my water myself.
These are some great tips. There’s nothing more simple than just turning it on and seeing how everything runs. That can be a great way to check things around your pool after a long off season. Thanks for the reminders.
Thank you for your valuable tips.My pool builder in oakvile,Solda pools actually recommended some products for easy maintenance of pools .I have been using them for a year now. It makes the job ten times easier.
I know I’ve been guilty of overlooking the tile in my pool. Algae isn’t something that I want growing around there! I’ll be sure to brush that more often now. Thanks for sharing.
I’m so ready for the warm weather to hit so I can begin using my pool again!
I always dread when winter comes along and I have to get ready to winterize my pool. It usually means a lot of work for me and my family. This time I’ll take your advice and go to the pros like you said. That way it’ll save time and work for me. Thanks for the tips that you shared, I hope others find them helpful like I did.
Great essentials check list! Don’t forget your chemicals and PH testing. No matter what system you use, swimming pools can quickly become stained, discolored and corroded without proper maintenance. Remember that keeping the pH, calcium hardness and total alkalinity balanced and in optimal range is the best way to increase the life of your pool.
Very informative post for pool owners I look forward to reading more!
I really appreciate the insight here in this post and confident it’s going to be helpful to me and many others. Thanks for sharing all the tips with us.
Thanks for this such a great information.They are really useful.
I like that you suggested to turn everything on at the beginning of spring so that you can make sure that everything is working right. I think that it’s also important to find the right service company when your pool needs repair. To me, that could mean the difference between having to have more repairs or not.
This is some really good information about getting a swimming pool. I like that you talked about how the amount you use your pool will change when you need to clean your filter. I would want a professional to help me figure out when to change them.
Great post and very well explained. I believe in professionals so this is a very useful post for everyone. Many thanks for sharing.
Covers are super useful also, saves energy and cuts down the cleaning time a lot
That’s a good tip to turn everything on in your pool to make sure it all works. We will try that next spring before we start using it in the summer. Thanks for the great idea! We may need to call a maintenance service here soon, as well.
These are all great tips to help out with the pool maintenance! It is very important to make sure that the pool is clean, even the tiles. Thank you for the reminder! I should clean my pool before we start using it again. Thank you for the information!