5 Minutes a Week
It doesn’t take very long to look after your pool if you take a few minutes to do some minor chores. It’s easy and hey — don’t the kids use the pool too?
1. Skim Off Leaves and Debris
Use your leaf skimmer to remove any physical debris from the pool surface.
2. Brush Walls
Brush the walls in a downward motion to push sediment toward the center of floor so it can be easily vacuumed. Brushing also helps break up any algae that may be starting to form.
3. Vacuum
Attach your manual vacuum head to your vacuum pole and hose. Submerge the vacuum head and hose and let it fill with water, at which point it should sink below the surface. The most common hook up method is through the skimmer, but you can also use a dedicated vacuum line if you have one.
4. Clean Skimmer(s)
You should clean out your skimmer(s) weekly or more often if necessary. Removing debris allows the skimmer to operate at maximum efficiency.
5. Check Water Circulation
The circulation system includes the skimmer, pump, drains and filter, with their main purpose being to distribute chemicals throughout the pool and filter out debris. As a general rule, it takes 8-12 hours for all the water in your pool to filter, and you want to filter all the water in the pool at least 2 times per day.
6. Check Filter
The three most popular types of filters – sand, cartridge, and vertical grid DE – screen out debris and particles from you pool water. Check your pressure gauge and clean the filter as needed.
7. Check Chemicals & Shock
Test your pool water frequently (daily or weekly depending on weather and usage) and add chemicals if necessary, following manufacturers’ directions. A regular shock treatment cleanses the water of algae, bacteria, swimmer waste and any other organic matter that may have entered the pool. It also prevents bacteria and algae growth, cloudy water, chlorine odor and eye irritation. You should also top up your pucks and weekly preventative algaecide.
Automatic Pools Cleaners
Step 1: Preparing Your Vacuum
Your pool may have it’s own dedicated vacuum line, but if not you can hook up your vacuum through your skimmer.
Put the vacuum in the water with all of the hose attached. Let the unit fill up with water. Ensure that the vacuum hose is filled with water as well, which can be done one of two ways. Either put the end of the hose up against a return jet and wait for it to push air out and sink below the surface, or force water through by alternately sinking and lifting the hose.
Step 2: Vacuum Hook-Up
Through Skimmer
Once the line is full of water, send the hose through the skimmer weir and attach the end of the hose to the hole that leads to your pool equipment. If you see two holes in the skimmer, the one furthest from the pool generally leads to your equipment while the other is for the main drain.
OR
Dedicated Vacuum Line
If your pool has a dedicated vacuum line, simply follow the steps to fill the vacuum and hose with water, and then put the hose in the dedicated slot. If there is no suction coming from the dedicated line, you will need to head over to your pump and adjust your diverter valves. If the diverter to the dedicated line is shut off, turn the handle so that it is in line with the pipe to open it up completely. You will know if it has been opened by the sound of water gushing through it. You can then proceed to close off the diverters going to the skimmer(s) by turning the handle perpendicular to the pipe (forming a T). You may only need to close these diverters partway to get the suction you are looking for, so try closing it halfway first and seeing how well the vacuum works. You can proceed to adjust it from there. If the suction is too high, the vacuum hose will become flattened. If it is too low the vacuum will not move or will only move very slowly.
Step 3: Clean Up and Storage
In a system with a vacuum line, make sure you close off the diverter to the line before removing the hose and re-open the diverter valves to the skimmers. You can then remove the vacuum and hose from the pool. Clean any debris from the vacuum head before storing it and the hose out of the elements.
Note: Do not coil or roll up sectioned vacuum hose. The sections should be separated and laid flat so that they do not become permanently bent, which can affect the performance of your cleaner.
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