How To Keep Your Pool Running Strong

Weekly Pool Maintenance

Thorough pool care will ensure clean and safe water throughout the swimming season. Below are some important steps to include in your weekly pool maintenance routine.

Skim Off Leaves and Debris

A task that should be done daily, skimming is the first step of your weekly maintenance routine.

Use a long-handled leaf skimmer to gather up leaves, insects and any other debris floating on the surface of the pool.

Try to remove debris before it sinks to the bottom of your pool where it becomes difficult to remove and may create stains.

Have trees surrounding your pool? Consider trimming them back to reduce the amount of debris that lands on the water.

Skimming the surface of your pool takes just a few minutes and keeps water looking crystal clear. More importantly, the debris you skim off the top of the water never has a chance to dirty the bottom of your pool or clog up your filtration system.

Brush Sediment from Pool Walls

Algae and small bits of debris can gather on the walls of your pool, as well as pool fixture like ladders and slides.Brush the pool walls and fixtures each week to remove dirt and prevent the spread of algae.

Use a brush to remove dirt that has collected on the sides and bottom of your pool, as well as on ladders, slides and other accessories.

Brush sediment toward the main drain so it can be vacuumed up easily.

Vacuum the Pool

Once the algae and sediment have been brushed from the walls, they can be vacuumed up, along with any other debris that has floated to the bottom of the pool.

Automatic Suction Pool Cleaners

If you are using an automatic vacuum, you just need to plug in your cleaner, set it in the water and let it work for you! There are three types of automatic pool vacuums: robotic, pressure, and suction.

- Robotic vacuums are energy-efficient and work separate from your pool’s existing filtration system.

- Pressure vacuums utilize a pressure line from the filtration system to move around your pool. They require a pool pump and usually an extra booster pump to run.

Suction vacuums use the water flow from your filtration system and attach to either a dedicated suction port or skimmer. They are the most affordable option.

Pentairs Winter pool care 5 off-season maintenance tips

This winter has been a wild ride with Mother Nature and after last weekend’s deep freeze, we’re all ready for summer! If you didn’t close your pool this winter, you’re not alone. For many pool owners in areas that winter temperatures don’t typically dip below freezing (and if they do, it doesn’t last long) closing your pool is optional. So if you’re one of those lucky pool owners, don’t forget the off-season or winter maintenance!

Don’t leave out these 5 tips for off-season pool maintenance:

1. Set Alerts for Freezing Temperature

When the temperature drops below freezing, your pump should be running to avoid damage. If you don’t have automation for your pool that will notify you and turn on the pump during freezing conditions, then you should set up weather alerts so you’ll know when freezing temperatures or other severe weather conditions are expected.

Weather alerts can be set up on most mobile devices and desktop computers. When an alert is received, you’ll need to go out and start your pump.

2. Winterize Water Features

Even if you don’t winterize your pool, you should always winterize your water features. These include deck jets, wall fountains, and cascades or waterfalls since the pump and pipes that feed them are more prone to freezing and damages.

3. Keep All Valves Open

It’s important to keep the water in your pool circulating and ensure that all the valves are open, especially if you have a pool with a complex plumbing system and/or an attached spa. Keeping the water flowing through these pipes will help protect against freezing.

So when you’re preparing your pool for winter, don’t forget to check ALL the vacuum lines, cleaner lines and waterfall lines, as well as the skimmers, drains and returns to ensure that all the valves are open.

4. Run the Pool Pump

Running your pool pump isn’t just for freeze protection! It’s for filtration too.

Even though you can reduce filtration to lower energy consumption during the winter months, be cautious not to run the pump too infrequently since circulation is important to keep the pipes and equipment functioning properly.

To reduce energy consumption and maintain your pool properly during the winter, you can use a seasonal timer that automatically reduces run-time during winter months. However, if debris tends to collect in your pool, you should run the pump longer OR if the temperature drops below 35 degrees, you should run the pump for 24 hours to prevent freezing.

5. Maintain Proper Pool Chemistry

Periodically test the water chemistry to make sure your pool has the proper pH, alkalinity, calcium, and cyanuric acid levels. Maintaining proper water chemistry can prevent pool surface staining or scaling, and reduce the amount of work required when you reopen your pool.

Selecting the Proper Pump for Your Pool

Buying and installing a pool is easy; keeping it properly maintained is the difficult part. This is because a pool needs to be treated with care if you want to make sure that it stays with you for longer, and while you may filter the pool cleaners, adjust the pool heaters and replace the pool lights; your pool can still give up on you if you don’t pay attention to the pool pump.

If you want to keep your pool clean, you need to make sure that the filtration of your pool water is done by the best quality pump you can find. A pool pump is responsible for performing the necessary task of circulating the pool’s water through a proper sanitation system so that the water remains clean, free of dirt and without the presence of bacteria and insects.

The pool’s water obviously cannot be replaced every month or so; so you need to make sure that the water in the pool is pristine and germ-free at all times. If a pool isn’t filtered and clean properly, it can clog the pipes and make the water harmful for your health. Your pool water thus, needs to be balanced with the proper chemicals or right salt content if you have a saltwater pool, and then, by using a pump, you can maintain it adequately.

Deciding on the right pump system for your pool relies on several factors. Many quality supplies from companies, such as Hayward, Jandy, Pentair, Polaris and Starite, produce systems which are according to the pool you have. When choosing a pool pump, brush up on your knowledge. Find out how big your pool actually is and select a pump which will work according to it. However, that does not mean that the pool pump needs to be as big as the pool. In addition to wasting energy, a pool pump which is bigger than needed will only cloud the water and damage the filter.

Select a pump which is according to your pool’s capacity, flow rate, resistance and turnover. Getting the right pump will give you cleaner water. Many companies nowadays, have the service of delivering pool accessories to your doorstep when you need them, so if you’ve just become the proud owner of a pool, it is probably best to get in touch with us at PoolSupply4Less.

Also, when you get a pump, remember that you will also need to take care of it. A pump might clean your water and make it stay fresh, but you will have to maintain the pump itself so that it works for a longer time. When buying a pool pump, remember the necessary pool pump accessories and parts, so that if there is ever a time when your pool pump stops working effectively, you can have it fixed right away with the parts you had bought in advance, instead of worrying about a pump part which may take days to arrive.

Having the right pool pump for your pool is highly beneficial. By doing so, not only will you be saving money on any future damages that your pool might incur without the pump, but you will also be extending the longevity of all the other equipment which your pool is using to stay clean and safe for your use.

Vinyl? Concrete? Fiberglass?

An inground swimming pool can instantly make any backyard more aesthetically pleasing. For those interested in purchasing an inground swimming pool, soon-to-be pool owners can choose from a selection of three types: vinyl, concrete, and fiberglass. Depending on your location, prices for each kind of inground swimming pool vary though. When it comes to choosing the right inground swimming pool for your backyard it’s best to get professional advice from your local swimming pool store.

The cheapest inground swimming pool available, vinyl pools can be purchased in several pre-manufactured shapes. They also require less labor than a concrete pool and customizable options exists, including vinyl liners that come in several colors or patterns. Construction can be done in a shorter amount of time because of the pre-fabricated materials as well with 3 weeks usually being the norm.

Concrete or gunite pools offer more flexibility when it comes to the design of your inground swimming pool. The adaptable nature of concrete pools, makes it possible for pool owners to fit them in irregular places. With the ability to be the most customizable pool comes the downside of an expensive and lengthy construction estimated at about 12 weeks. In addition to this the surface can discolor, attract algae and prove to be uncomfortable.

Lastly, fiberglass pools are the fastest to install as they arrive in one pre-finished piece. Construction can last from 1 to 3 weeks. Their smooth surface is a benefit in itself, as it makes it harder for algae to stick to and easier for you took maintain your inground swimming pool with less chemicals. Negatives for fiberglass pools are that it cost a lot and extreme weather conditions can cause shifting in the ground.