Swimming Pool Summer Maintenance checklist
As the weather heats up, storms become more frequent and the pool gets a lot more use. Here are our top tips to help your pool survive Summer!
Hot weather
Keep an eye on your water level. Especially if it's a little more windy than normal. This will cause the pool water to evaporate more quickly. Once the water level goes below the skimmer box, your pump won't work and your filtration system will also stop, which is the quickest way to get a green pool!
Storms & Heavy rain
When heavy rain is expected, lower the water level of your pool to avoid overflowing as this can pull dirt and debris from around your pool back into the water. You may need to drain the excess water from the pool using the waste setting on the multi-port valve on your filter.
Turn off the pump,
Change the valve handle from FILTER onto WASTE (not backwash!),
Open any valves on the waste line,
Disconnect any suction cleaners & vacuum plates,
Then turn the pump back on to lower the water level,
Once the water level is halfway up the skimmer box,
Turn the pump off,
Return the multiport valve to FILTER,
Reconnect the cleaner and
Turn the pump back on (or set the timer to auto).
If however, dirt has already entered the water, the use of a floccing agent to clear the pool water may be required. We strongly suggest coming into the shop to get the best technical assistance or book a service to ensure the best results.
After a storm, remove larger debris, empty your baskets and then allow your filtration system to run a little extra or even overnight to help clear the pool until you're able to give it a really good clean and correctly balance the water again.
Sometimes, power surges or outages will require you to reset older pool timers. Most newer chlorinators are the timer for your pool pump and have battery backups so they’ll continue to keep time until the main power returns.
If however, it does require adjustment, analogue timers are easy to reset, just spin the timer clockwise until the time is correct. Digital timers will require going into the settings and updating through the display, please refer to your user manual (most can be found online with a quick Google search).
If you need further assistance, contact us for help over the phone or come in-store.
High Usage
When you know the pool is going to get used a lot it's always best to ensure your pool water is chemically balanced.
Shock your pool with 5lts of chlorine or 500gms granular chlorine for a 50,000lt pool. During heavy use we recommend running the pool without the automatic cleaner attached, this will increase water flow and also prevent swimmers from being tangled in the hose.
Once everyone has finished swimming for the day, remove all debris from the pool such as toys, dirt, streamers, paper, bottle caps etc. Clean out all the baskets (both skimmer and pump baskets) and leave the filter to run for 24 hours as well as bring us a water sample to be tested and balanced.
Use an oxidiser such as Oxysheen or Burn out Extreme to quickly destroy organic material and clarify the water without excessive chlorine required.
Pool Safety
Every pool must have a CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) sign prominently displayed, ideally in eye-sight of the step area as this is the most obvious place assistance would take place.
The addition of knowing how to perform CPR by taking a First Aid course (or getting a regular refresher) is vital in an emergency situation.
We hope these quick tips help you this Summer, we look forward to seeing you in store soon!