Our guidebook for daily, weekly, bi-weekly, and monthly pool maintenance best practices
You worked hard getting your pool open for the season. It took a long time to get everything just right and now you just want to relax. “Can’t I just lay back and enjoy the pool with my family and deal with issues as they come up?” you ask. Of course you can, but those issues are going to happen on a much more frequent basis if you do not keep a regular maintenance routine. You can deal with little emergencies like an overheating pump, but that wouldn’t happen if you’re consistently checking your pool water levels. You can take care of a serious clog of buildup in the filter system, but that can be avoided if you empty your skimmer basket regularly. You can deal with the pool water turning a green mess since you don’t vacuum it regularly. The list could go on and on.
You can always ride it out and deal with issues as they come, but that is not the best practice when it comes to pool care. As contradictory as it sounds, regular maintenance checks keep your water and equipment in the best shape possible and prevent costly repairs so you really can spend more time swimming and less time maintaining your pool.
We know that keeping track of all the various maintenance tasks can seem daunting, so we have put together our guidebook for daily, weekly, bi-weekly, and monthly pool maintenance best practices. Like Spider-Man once said – with great power comes great responsibility – and by following this guide you too can be the pool maintenance SUPERHERO we know you are meant to be. So let’s get ready to kick some pool maintenance tail!
The Fundamentals for Pool Maintenance Superheroes
Before we SWING right in to FIGHT GRIME (see what we did there?), it might be good to cover a few fundamentals of swimming pool care. That way, you can see what areas you will be checking and why it is important. The main areas of care for a pool are the water, the walls (or liner), the pool’s filter system, and its skimmers and jets.
Keeping the water balanced will protect swimmers from potentially harmful contaminants, as well as helps to avoid corrosion and mineral buildup.
Making sure that your pool walls or liner are in good repair and clear of algae and other pollutants will keep your chemical balance from shifting dramatically and will protect your pool from any kind of major infestations.
Checking up on your pool’s filter system ensures that the chemicals you add to your water are circulated properly, keeps contaminants out of your water, and prevents clogging. Without regular maintenance to your pool’s filter system, your pool becomes unswimmable.
Your pool’s skimmers and jets are what push your water through the greater circulation system, and need to be monitored to prevent clogging—which, in turn, would cause a halt to the three other components mentioned previously.
Understanding these fundamentals will help you work to PROTECT your water, equipment, and swimmers, from any HARMFUL contaminants or damage. We know you’re up for the challenge.
POOL MAINTENANCE SUPERHERO CHECKLISTS
Now that you understand the fundamentals, the following are checklists for daily, weekly, bi-weekly, and monthly maintenance tasks for pool maintenance. Evil villains like clogs, algae, bacteria, low water level, dirty filter, ripped liner, and overheating pump lie within these lists ready to take your pool down with their evil plots, but we know with your Superhero abilities, you’ll follow these lists and fight off the villains with ease.
DAILY MAINTENANCE
1. Skim pool with a net
Use a skimmer net attached to a telescopic pole and sweep it across the pool’s surface to collect any leaves, insects or other debris in the water. Skimming the surface of the pool takes just a few minutes and prevents debris from sinking to the bottom of the pool where it becomes difficult to remove, can creates stains, or may clog up your filtration system.
2. Empty pool’s skimmer basket(s)
Clearing the baskets daily prevents strain on your pump since debris like twigs and leaves put strain on the circulation system and can cause clogging.
3. Run the pump
Run your pump long enough each day to make sure the water is properly filtered and each item in the circulation system is clean and in good condition. Typically, this is around eight hours each day. Many pool owners opt to install automatic pump timers to keep their pump running consistently each day and to automate this maintenance step, but just remember to reset the timer after power outages or if you ever need to reset the circuit breaker to the pool.
WEEKLY MAINTENANCE
1. Test pool water and adjust chemicals to balance water chemistry
It is essential to test your pool water frequently and add chemicals as necessary. These pool chemicals include various kinds of disinfectants and sanitizers which work to control the growth of certain kinds of algae and bacteria in the pool water. The frequency at which you do this may vary depending on your pool usage. Many pool owners will test water and add chemicals daily if their pool is used daily (so you may want to move this task to the daily checklist), but it can also be done a few times weekly if the pool is used less frequently.
2. Check water level
The water level of your pool should never be too high or too low. Water levels that are too high, may cause the skimmer to stop skimming. On the other hand, if the water is too low, the skimmers will also stop functioning because they will start sucking air in. The circulation system will no longer function properly if your pump sucks air into the system, so maintaining the proper water level is very important.
3. Shock the pool
If you know the basics of pool maintenance, you know that adding sanitizer is one of the most essential parts of running a clean, safe pool. Shocking the pool destroys bacteria and also puts sparkle back in the water.
4. Run automatic cleaner (or manually vacuum your pool)
Vacuuming your pool, whether that be manually or with an automatic cleaner, will suck up debris and prevent a strain on your circulation system, which could potentially lead to expensive repairs. Plus, an automatic cleaner will help with circulation.
5. Check Filter and Read Pool Filter Gauge
Cleaning your pool is useless if you neglect the filter. In fact, you’ll be cleaning a lot more often if your pool’s filter isn’t clean enough to circulate the water effectively. Your pool likely has one of three types of filters – sand, cartridge, or DE. Each type requires a different cleaning method. Your pool filter pressure gauge is the perfect check engine light for your filter. If it’s around 10 pounds per square inch (psi) higher than your normal operating pressure, it’s time for a backwash if you have a sand or D.E. filter, or a clean if you have a cartridge filter. Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions to clean your filter.
BI-WEEKLY MAINTENANCE
1. Clean the pool deck
Sweep the area surrounding your pool to remove leaves, grass clippings, and other debris that will potentially end up back in the pool. Spray the area with a high-pressure hose or pressure washer to remove algae growth and chemical residue. Occasionally, you may need to disinfect your pool’s deck to remove algae growth and bacteria. You can also occasionally use a specialized pool deck cleaner and a stiff brush to clean the area thoroughly.
2. Brush the walls, ladders, and corners of pool
Algae and small bits of debris can gather on the walls of your pool, as well as pool fixtures like ladders and slides. Brush the pool walls and fixtures each week or bi-weekly to remove dirt and prevent the spread of algae. Attach a pool brush to a telescopic pole and brush around the entire pool, making sure sediment is pushed toward the main drain so it can be vacuumed up easily.
3. Empty pump’s filter basket
Although your pool filter is meant to catch most of the debris from your circulating water, your pump also has a filter basket to catch larger pieces. With your pump off, open the lid and clean the basket out. This is also a great time to look for clogs, and of course will prevent clogs from happening in the future.
MONTHLY MAINTENANCE
1. Inspect for cracks, stains, or other issues
This is the time once a month that you check around the pool’s perimeter for any signs of leaking. You can also inspect the liner for any damage. You want to look over the pool carefully for any potential issues with the pool’s surfaces because the sooner issues are found and dealt with, typically the less expensive they are to handle.
2. Check your plumbing O-rings seals and fittings
Walk alongside your above-ground plumbing and check that they’re as sealed as ever. If you notice a crack in your pipes, you’ll want to get a replacement as soon as possible—with the high pressure of your pool’s water moving through your plumbing, any cracks might grow or burst in no time. Also check the rubber seals to make sure that they’re not warped, cracked, or missing pieces. Thankfully, these are easy (and inexpensive) to replace.
3. Make sure pump is in good shape
You’ve checked on the pool’s circulation system a bit throughout the month with some of your other tasks, but once a month it is always helpful to take a good once over the pump to make sure everything is in working order. With the pump turned off, open the housing lid and check that your O-rings, the rubber seals along the plumbing intake, are in good condition without any warping, cracking, or missing pieces. Go ahead and close the lid and turn your pump on. Is your pump noisy or is your pump too hot to touch? If so, it’s time to get troubleshooting. If not, you’re in the clear for another month.
4. Check on safety equipment
Responsible pool owners will want to have some safety equipment nearby the pool in case of emergencies. Some examples might include life preservers, pool safety hooks, or even a fully stocked first-aid kit. Each month check to make sure this equipment is easily accessible and is not damaged in any way should it need to be used in the event of an actual emergency.
Now that you made it through the checklists and defeated all those nasty villains, you should be feeling pretty proud of yourself. As you continue to use these lists and get into a routine throughout the swimming season, you’ll notice that the routine becomes easier every single time and being a pool maintenance superhero will just be second nature to you. In turn, we hope you will take some time to reap the rewards of your efforts: a clean, safe, and well-maintained pool only a superhero could truly enjoy!