Essential Tips for First-Time Pool Owners
Essential Tips for First-Time Pool Owners
Owning a pool not only helps you enjoy quality time with your friends, family, and loved ones, but it also adds value to your home. While the benefits of pool ownership are numerous, taking care of a pool can feel overwhelming if it’s your first time. Throughout this blog, SPS PoolCare will share useful tips to help first-time pool owners.
Understanding the Basics of Pool Ownership
The Importance of Regular Pool Maintenance
Your pool requires several parts working together to keep everything running smoothly. If just one part breaks, like your pump or your filter, your pool could become unsafe for swimming or damaged. Preventive maintenance can help you stay on top of any possible problems your pool may have. It’s also important to recruit a professional pool company, like SPS PoolCare, for repair services when something breaks.
Investing in Quality Pool Equipment
Investing in quality pool equipment is essential for the long-term sustainability and enjoyment of your swimming pool. High-quality equipment, such as efficient pumps, reliable filtration systems, and durable pool cleaners, not only ensure the cleanliness and safety of your pool but also reduce the need for frequent replacements and repairs, generating considerable savings over time. It’s a worthwhile investment that enhances your pool ownership experience.
How To Balance Pool Chemicals
The chemicals in your pool water help to keep it clean and safe for swimming. It’s important to regularly check your pool water, at least once a week, and adjust the chemicals as needed. You can buy a test kit online or in a pool supply store. Target chemical levels are:
- Alkalinity. 80 to 150 ppm
- pH level. 7.2 to 7.6
- Calcium hardness. 175 to 275 ppm
- TDS. 500 to 1500 ppm
- Bromine. 3 to 5 ppm
- Chlorine. 1.0 to 3.0 ppm free chlorine
- Cyanuric acid. 25 to 50 ppm
Pool Cleaning and Maintenance Tips
How Often To Clean Your Pool
Regularly cleaning your pool will ensure a pleasant swimming experience and prevent damage. At a minimum, we recommend cleaning your pool once or twice a week. However, during peak swimming season, it’s often beneficial to skim leaves and debris every day to keep things clean. Whatever time frame works best for you, decide on a pool cleaning and maintenance schedule and stick to it. If you don’t want to go through the rigorous cleaning process, hire a pool cleaning professional to do it for you.
How To Clean a Pool
Follow these steps to clean your pool:
- Remove large debris.
- Clean the strainer baskets.
- Vacuum the pool and brush the walls and tiles.
- Clean the pool filter.
- Test the water.
- Shock your pool.
- Add algaecide.
- Check the pool water level.
- Check and maintain the pool circulation system.
- Schedule regular maintenance and repairs.
Pool Cleaning Equipment
By investing in pool cleaning equipment, you can save time and get a better clean. Use a skimmer net to scoop up leaves and other items that float on your pool’s surface and a pool vacuum to suck up any debris that falls to the bottom of your pool. Invest in a pool brush to scrub your pool walls and floor to prevent algae buildup.
Pool Safety Measures Every Owner Should Know
Safety Equipment Essentials
Installing proper equipment is an essential part of keeping your pool safe. If you don’t have one already, install a five-foot-high pool fence with a locking gate around your pool to prevent children from entering the pool unsupervised. While a five-foot fence complies with most state laws, be sure to research your state’s laws to ensure your pool fence complies with the minimum requirement.
Pool Rules for Preventing Accidents
Set pool rules, such as no running on the sun deck, no swimming alone, and no diving in the shallow end, to keep everyone safe. Setting concrete pool rules is especially important if you have children swimming in the pool. If you regularly have guests in your pool, print and post these rules.
Pool Safety Tips for Children and Families
Pool safety is vital for every pool owner, but it’s especially important for families with young children. When kids are swimming, ensure an adult with good swimming skills is supervising at all times. Have kids wear safety equipment, such as a life jacket or water wings, to aid them as they learn how to swim. Consider having the adults in your family receive CPR training in case of an emergency. For more safety tips, check out our blog post: Pool Safety: Essential Tips for Keeping Your Family Safe.
Let SPS PoolCare Guide You Through First-Time Pool Ownership
Keeping up with regular cleaning, maintaining balanced chemical levels, and ensuring your equipment is working properly may be hard to take care of on your own. That’s where SPS PoolCare comes in. Our friendly pool professionals are here to help you with cleaning, maintenance, repairs, and remodeling.
Whether you want to schedule regular cleaning and maintenance or need a repair, you can count on SPS PoolCare. Get started today by selecting one of our many pool care locations, which you’ll find in Arizona, Florida, Nevada, and Texas. For more helpful pool care tips, check out our other blog posts.
