How often must your pool be cleaned and maintained?

In short, the answer is ‘Everyday!”. There is always something you can watch for and clean up and maintain, it’s best to clean things and resolve issues as soon as possible, don’t wait until the weekend, if you want to maintain your pool at the highest level. Doing smaller tasks throughout the month help so you don’t have to do a ton of tasks and maintenance in a weekend. It’s best to spread them out and do a little bit regularly throughout the month, so al the things on your to do list don’t add up. Keeping your pool clean and maintained, you prevent problems from occurring and thus you are increasing the life and usability of your pool.

The most important thing you can do on a regular basis is to vacuum your pool. This should be done at least once a week, ideally twice. However, if you don’t have a lot of debris, such as leaves, bugs, etc. or if you have a screened in pool, once a week should be sufficient. Vacuuming helps control the pH level in your pool much easier, so it’s a great regular maintenance and cleaning task you can do to keep your pool clean and safe.

Another weekly task to keep your pool in tip-top shape is to test your pH levels. Generally, the pH level of your water should be between 7.4 and 7.6. Be sure to adjust your chemicals as needed to maintain the correct numbers. Remember: vacuuming your pool regularly will help keep your pH balanced easier and more controlled.

Skim your pool for debris, such as leaves, bugs, etc. and be sure to check your skimmer and empty that regularly as well.

Ensure to check your chlorine levels are between 1.0 and 3.0 PPM, by getting a free chlorine level test at your local pool store. Simply bring them a small amount of your pool water and they will test it at the store for you. Then if you need any more chemicals, you can grab them while at the pool store.

Basic cleaning of your pool tiles where your water surfaces. Along that line, if you keep those tiles clean it helps to keep it looking clean. A tile cleaner can be bought at your local pool store or there are many options you can buy online and shop for the best price. Some options can be found here.

Also be sure to brush your pool walls with your wider brush with long handle. A simple light brush over will do.

Weekly, you should also be sure to give your pool a routine shock treatment. You will need one bag of shock for every 10,000 gallons of water. Note: this is not the same major shock treatments most professionals will do, using large amounts of chlorine).

A weekly algae preventative will also help maintain your pool and keep algae at bay. A green pool isn’t safe to swim in or make a pretty pool. Keep on top of your algae before it forms so your pool can stay crystal clear blue.

In addition to weekly tasks that we suggested above, we also recommend you do the below task bi-monthly.

Close your pool for 2-3 days every 2 months. Then use filter cleaner and degreaser to clean your filters and remove built up grease and oil. Also dose your pool with metal remover or flock. Allow these to work for 2-3 days you don’t use your pool and then vacuum it afterwards.

Note: Please do not perform these tasks on rainy and/or windy days. You must do these tasks on ideal swimming days, BUT do not go swimming.

Pool maintenance is not a job to take lightly if you want to maintain the value of your pool and care for it, so it lasts a long time. It requires a certain amount of knowledge, skills and abilities to do it correctly. So, we do recommend hiring a pool professional and letting them tackle a lot of these tasks if not most. Throughout time you will learn more and can probably lessen the professional pool company’s tasks as you take them over.