Last Updated on November 21, 2019 by Shain Jorgensen
So you have a marvelous pool that is a stunning feature of your backyard. But if you want to enjoy your wonderful, at-home retreat, you need to keep your pool at in optimal condition – clean, healthy and ready for the summer fun! However, a pool cleaning and maintenance routine can easily become a source of frustration for those who lack the knowledge and experience of Gilbert pool companies.
Pool Chemistry
To keep your pool healthy, use water chemical testing kits to check pH, total alkalinity, and chlorine. You should test your pool water weekly in the summer and at least every other week in the winter. Keeping your pool chemically balanced means maintaining the pH level somewhere between 7.2 and 7.8. If the pH level falls below that, the pool water becomes acidic. Sodium carbonate is typically used to raise the pH level.
If your pH rises higher than 7.2-7.8, then your water is basic and you should use muriatic acid to lower it. Total alkalinity is a measure of how fast water can change from a high pH to a low pH level. The recommended values are between 80 and 120 ppm, otherwise known as parts per million. When the level of total alkalinity is within this range, the pH level becomes more stable. Circling back to ppm, chlorine values should remain between 1-3 ppm. Higher values will cause skin and eye irritation and lower values will result in cloudy pool water.
The Importance of the Skimmer Basket
The skimmer’s job is relatively self-explanatory, to skim the surface of the water, and prevent debris from floating to the bottom of the pool. Commonly, if not properly cleaned, your skimmers can become clogged with debris. To keep your skimmer’s performance consistent, empty the contents of the skimmer basket on at least a weekly basis, if not more often depending on the situation.
Filter Cleaning
A dirty filter can lower the efficiency of the pool pump by up to 80%. As the pool water passes through the filter, small amounts of debris cling to the filtration elements. Over time, they will accumulate and keep the water from passing through the filter consistently.
