Common Pool Maintenance Mistakes

It’s very common that pool owner’s make some bad choices when trying to tackle pool maintenance on their own. However, mistakes are the best way to learn. Owning a swimming pool provides numerous chances to make pool maintenance mistakes, big or small. So as soon as you discover you made a mistake, it’s best to call a professional or do some research and study how to fix the issue. Educating yourself on common pool maintenance mistakes will help keep your pool safer, cleaner and running well without the high cost of some mistakes. Below, we provide some of the most common mistakes made in hopes to help prevent you from doing the same.

Ignoring Your pH and Alkalinity Levels

Testing your pool water is done for a reason. The results need to be acknowledged and action taken behind it. Low pH in your water test indicates acidity which can seem to be a good thing at first, however we learned that many negative things can happen if this were to be ignored. While a high pH level indicates alkalinity, your water probably looks and appears pristine and clear, however ignoring high or low pH is not good for your pool.

For example, a low pH can damage your pool pump and filter, vinyl liner, heater, automatic pool cleaner, chemical feeder, your solar blanket and maintenance equipment. This can become costly very quick.

Not Brushing Your Pool

You run a vacuum on a regular basis and think it’s enough, but we don’t agree. To really have a clean pool, you need to brush and scrub your walls, behind the ladders, the steps, corners and even the water line. These areas build up a level of scum that can only be brushed off and keeps algae at bay. Just like brushing your teeth, they need to be brushed to be fully cleaned and be at their cleanest. Do this once a week for the best result.

Adding Shock Directly to Your Pool

Pool shock is better known as concentrated chlorine. It’s a very strong chemical that needs ot be treated gently and with caution. If you have a vinyl liner in your pool, shocking directly to your pool will reek havoc. The shock granules will sink the bottom of your pool and bleach out your liner. This causes the area to become brittle, fall apart and cause leaks.

Be sure to mix the shock with water in a bucket first before adding it to your pool. However, please fill the bucket with warm water FIRST, then add the shock. This way is safest route.

Using An Automatic Pool Cleaner When You Have An Algae Problem

Dealing with pool algae can be challenging to say the least and unfortunately, using your automatic pool cleaner won’t help the issue. They only push the algae and debris through a mesh bag and causes the algae to simply move around in the pool, NOT remove it. Use an older

To resolve this issue, you will have to bring out your manual vacuum. Yes, it’s more work but does the job needed to make sure your water is clear again. Make sure you switch your filter to “waste” or remove the drain plug.

Shocking Your Swimming Pool During the Day

The sun is not welcomed by pool shock. It burns off 1 ppm each hour, reducing the efficiency of your chemicals, and wasting your money. Best advice is to simply shock your pool at night, then it will have plenty of time to do its job throughout the nighttime.