Whether you've recently purchased a home with a swimming pool or you are looking to have one installed on your property, keeping your pool properly maintained is a must. There's a lot involved with day-to-day pool maintenance, which is why many homeowners opt to hire professional pool care services as a time-saving measure. Even with a pool care professional handling the more complex aspects of maintaining your pool, however, there are some common mistakes you'll want to avoid.
Forgoing Water Testing
One of the most important aspects of caring for your pool is keeping its chemical levels balanced. This will require you to test the chemical levels of your pool at least a couple times per week. You can use inexpensive test strips to get a reading of your pool's levels of the following:
- free chlorine
- calcium
- pH
- alkalinity
From there, you can determine if you need to add more chemicals to your pool to help balance things out. Unfortunately, skipping testing your pool water can result in drastically imbalanced chemical levels, which will be more difficult (and more expensive) to remedy.
Running on a Dirty Filter
Your pool's filter does an important job of removing dirt and other debris from your pool, but filters aren't designed to last forever. Ideally, you should be cleaning your cartridge pool filter at least once every few months to keep it performing its best, depending on the kind you have. You should also generally expect to replace it entirely about once every few years.
Adding Chemicals at the Wrong Time
When it comes time to add chemicals (such as chlorine) to your pool, try to get into the habit of adding them either first thing in the morning or towards the end of the day, as the sun is setting. Adding chemicals in the middle of the day when the sun is at its peak may result in the sun actually evaporating some of those chemicals before they even get a chance to work their magic.
Running Your Pool Pump 24/7
There's no reason to run a pool pump 24 hours a day. Give it a break! Shutting your pump off overnight will not only save on your energy bills but could also help to prolong the life of the pump itself.
The best way to avoid pool maintenance mistakes is to hire a pool care service; even with day-to-day maintenance, however, it's a good idea for homeowners to be aware of these common mistakes and how to steer clear of them!
To learn more, contact a pool care company.
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