Common Pool Maintenance Mistakes
Having a swimming pool is an exciting privilege! With a pool on your property, you’ll be able to take a swim anytime you want. It’s perfect for birthdays, anniversaries, and family get-togethers. It’s exceptionally inviting when it’s summer and you need a way to beat the heat. However, with pool ownership comes the need for pool maintenance. And if you’ve never done this work before, you’re prone to making the same age-old common pool maintenance mistakes. The best way to prevent this from happening is learning about them ahead of time!
We are Epic Home Pro, and we are proud to be Hillsborough County’s first choice for pool maintenance services. In this blog, we’ll show you many common pitfalls that new pool owners encounter when attempting maintenance. That way, you can steer clear of these mistakes and have a successful maintenance experience.
Mistake #1: Having an Inconsistent Cleaning Schedule
One of the most basic yet important parts of pool maintenance is pool cleaning. And yes, there are a lot of pool cleaning tasks to complete! Debris needs to be skimmed off the water’s surface so it doesn’t float around aimlessly. Pool walls and decks have to be scrubbed clean, and pool floors even require vacuuming to stay in the best possible condition. However, keeping track of all these tasks is no easy feat. And if you don’t do this work consistently enough, you’ll wind up with a filthy pool that no one will want to swim in.
How often should these cleaning tasks be done? We have included a bulleted list for your convenience.
- Skimming surface debris – Daily or every 2–3 days
- Scrubbing pool walls – Once per week
- Scrubbing pool decks – Once per week
- Vacuuming the pool floor – Once per week
If you are having trouble keeping track of how often you’ve done this work, why not make a cleaning chart? Using a calendar or a spreadsheet is a great way to record what you got done and when you did it. You can even set alarms on your phone to act as reminders.
Mistake #2: Not Balancing Pool Water Chemistry
If you can keep your pool clean, then everything else will take care of itself, right? Unfortunately, this assumption is another one of those common pool maintenance mistakes. You’ll need to make sure that pool water chemistry is balanced, too. And we don’t mean to alarm you when we say this, but it’s really quite the balancing act. If your pool’s water chemistry isn’t where it’s supposed to be, it can lead to algae blooms, and it can cause your eyes and skin to become irritated.
So, what parameters do you need to consider when balancing pool water chemistry? There are actually quite a few, which we’ve included in a list below alongside the levels you should aim for.
- pH – 7.4 to 7.6
- Chlorine – 1 to 3 ppm (parts per million)
- Total Alkalinity – 80 to 120 ppm
- Calcium Hardness – 200 to 400 ppm
Adjusting water chemistry requires the addition of chemical tablets and solutions. It’s a whole process that would require a blog of its own. (You can actually find that blog here if you are interested.) Of course, you can always skip this demanding process by scheduling maintenance services with Epic Home Pro.
Mistake #3: Ignoring Early Signs of Algae
Algae can spread across your pool with alarming speed if you aren’t on guard. If you don’t know what warning signs to look out for, you could be setting yourself up for an algae bloom and not even realize it. Don’t worry, though. We’ll outline these red flags for you so you know when it’s time to take action.
- Green tinge to water – No, that green color isn’t an illusion. It’s the beginning of algae floating through your pool, and it’s hiding right underneath your nose.
- Slippery pool walls or floor – Algae is slick to the touch, so if your pool walls or floor are slippery, it’s a sure sign that it’s already growing.
- Cloudy or hazy water – When your water loses clarity, it’s possible that the root cause is algae microorganisms beginning to reproduce.
So, what should you do when you find yourself in this situation? Ensuring that your pool’s water chemistry is in the right place is a good first step. We also recommend “shocking” the pool. This has nothing to do with electricity but actually refers to the process of adding extra chlorine to the pool to kill algae before it causes a huge problem.
Mistake #4: Not Inspecting Pool Equipment/Components
One of the most common pool maintenance mistakes is not inspecting important pool components. When your pool starts acting in strange ways, it’s almost always a sign that something is malfunctioning or broken. Are you hearing unusual sounds from your pool? Is water constantly cloudy despite your best efforts? Is water failing to circulate at all? If so, it’s time to take a deeper look at your pool’s pipes, filters, pump, etc.
Replacing pool components can be considerably difficult even if you are experienced in DIY pool maintenance. It also goes without saying that a faulty installation could make a bad problem worse. To avoid potential risks—and sidestep common pool maintenance mistakes altogether—consider scheduling an appointment with a professional business.
Contact Epic Home Pro Today!
To avoid the struggles of DIY pool maintenance, consider reaching out to Epic Home Pro. We are a locally owned and operated business, and we are Hillsborough County’s first choice for all pool-related services. We only hire highly experienced workers, and we always treat our customers’ pools as if they were our own. The best part is that we do the work for a fair price, too! Contact us online and let us know that you’re interested in our pool maintenance services. We’ll tell you more during our conversation and give you a cost estimate, too.