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10 Common Pool Maintenance Mistakes to Avoid
LayorCare Blogger • Jul 10, 2019
Great pool maintenance keeps your pool clean, fresh, and ready. Avoid these common pool maintenance mistakes so that you can make a splash this summer!
From the fact that America has won 224 Gold Olympic medals
in swimming, it’s evident that we’re a country that loves swimming. This is especially true for people living in hot areas like Phoenix, Arizona.
If you own a pool or you’re planning to get one, you need to know the proper pool maintenance tips. This will help you maintain your pool so that it remains sparkling clean and ready for everyday use especially with family around.
Pool maintenance doesn't have to be difficult. Avoid these common pool maintenance mistakes so that you can make a splash this summer.
1. Not Cleaning After Your Pets Use the Pool
It’s important to note that an average-sized dog can introduce 3 times more contaminants to your pool compared to humans. Leaving pet hairs in your pool will change your pool’s chemical levels and also clog its filters.
Treat your pool with water clarifiers
after your dog is done swimming in your pool. This breaks down oils and other pollutants in the water.
2. Ignoring Your Pool’s Chemistry
Allowing the pH of your pool to get above 8.0 makes chlorine less active. This is because at 7.0 pH chlorine is 73% active, while at 8.5 pH chlorine is 10% or less active.
Ensure that you maintain your pool’s pH between 7.2 and 7.8. Check your pool’s chemistry at least twice every week during the summer and at least once during the winter.
3. Not Cleaning Pool Filters
If your filter isn't clean, you risk of having algae growing and building up in your pool. This might lead to improper filtration or even damage your pool’s pump motor.
Soak dirty filters in a mild solution of muriatic acid. After a few minutes of soaking, rinse and let them dry in an open place. It’s important to protect yourself during this process by wearing protective gear.
4. Backwashing Your DE Pool Filter Daily for No Reason
Backwash your Diatomaceous Earth (DE) filter
only when needed. Doing this daily hinders your filter from attaining its pool cleaning potential.
Backwash only when your filter’s pressure gauge rises to 8 or 10 PSI from the clean.
5. Adding Chemicals During Hot Weather
Adding chemicals such as chlorine during a hot day will make it less effective. This is because chlorine forms hypochlorite ions which when exposed to ultraviolet light from the sun, convert to gas and released to the atmosphere.
Also, during a hot day, the temperature of your pool rises hence you’ll need twice as much chlorine to treat your pool.
Add chemicals to your pool at night or during the evening. Doing this when temperatures are cool helps the chlorine work more effectively.
6. Wearing Non-Swimsuits to Your Pool
Though most people ignore this pool maintenance tip, it’s important to ensure that everybody swimming in your pool wears the appropriate swimming costume.
Wearing clothes made of cotton isn’t recommended since cotton holds pollutants such as oils, detergents, and germs. All these contaminate your pool. Swimming in cotton clothes can also be life-threatening since they absorb a lot of the water which can weigh drown in the pool.
Swim in swimsuits made out of spandex or nylon. These materials are lightweight, absorb little water, and dry very fast.
7. Neglecting Your Pool’s Water Level
Although the task seems easy and straight forward, it’s actually very complicated. If you overfill a pool, backwash will push dirt and debris back into the pool while drenching your deck with water. On the other hand, if you don’t fill your pool to the appropriate level, your pool’s pump might start filtering air instead of water and damage your pump.
Maintain your pool’s water level in relation to the day’s evaporative impact and swimmer load.
8. Running Your Pool Filter and Pump System for Less Than 8 Hours Daily
Your pool’s filter and pump clears dirt from the water and also keeps pool chemicals mixed when it pushes water in and out of the filtration system.
Running it for fewer hours a day might seem like a cost-saving routine, but it'll just cost you more. For instance; when algae grow on your pool because of this "cost-cutting" practice, you’ll have to run the filter and pump 24/7 until the pool is well maintained again.
Run your pool filter and pump for at least 8 hours a day so that the water of your pool can be effectively cleaned.
9. Ignoring Your Pool’s Calcium Hardness
Calcium hardness is the sum of all calcium that dissolves in your pool’s water. High levels of calcium are unstable and become worse if your pool’s pH rises above normal levels. The end result is cloudy water in your pool.
You can add chemicals such as Neutral Seal
to keep your calcium hardness at a range of 200-275 ppm for plaster and concrete pools.
10. Not Treating Your Pool after Having Visitors Use It
If you just hosted a house party and there was more than one person using your pool, you ought to treat your pool as soon as possible. Contaminants such as germs and bacteria pollute your pool when many people use it at the same time. All this contamination can cause algae to bloom if left untreated.
Filter your pool for several hours after hosting a bunch of people in it.
Avoid These Common Pool Maintenance Mistakes This Summer
Preventative maintenance goes a long way in reducing lifecycle costs on your swimming pool. Avoiding the above pool maintenance mistakes will help you achieve this goal.
If you’re in search of the best pool and patio cleaning chemicals, look no further than Layor Care Pool & Patio Protection. For more inquiries, contact us today.
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