The Three C’s of Pool Maintenance

pool maintenance rising sun pools and spas

The Three C’s of Pool Maintenance

There are three important concepts when it comes to caring for your pool: circulation, cleaning, and chemistry. 

Circulation

Stagnant, still water is never a good sign. Moving water is much cleaner and safer, which is why proper pool circulation is so important. Pools with good circulation are less likely to experience issues like cloudy water or pool algae. It is ideal to run your pool pump at all times, but this is not feasible for most. It is recommended to run your filter at least 10 to 12 hours a day to turn the water over a few times. You should also backwash your filter frequently, which consists of reversing the flow of water through your filter and shunting the contaminants and dirty water to the waste port.

Cleaning

Skim, brush, and vacuum your pool weekly, at the least. Baking soda paste works well as a basic cleaner and will not damage delicate tile or a vinyl liner when you brush. Consider purchasing an automatic pool cleaner to cut your cleaning time. You can even try throwing a few tennis balls into the skimmer basket or directly into the water, which will absorb surface oils in your pool that were left behind by sunscreen and cosmetics. Another easy hack is to wrap your skimmer baskets with pantyhose, which creates an extra-fine filter that will catch even more contaminants than your skimmer does.

Chemistry

Do some pool water testing before adding any chemicals to the water. The three most important parts of pool water chemistry are pH levels, alkalinity, and sanitizer levels. pH levels measure how acidic or basic your pool water is. The ideal range for your pool is 7.4 to 7.6. Alkalinity helps avoid spikes in basicity or acidity, with an ideal range of 100 to 150 parts per million (ppm). Your pool’s sanitizer levels include the amount of chlorine, bromine, etc. in your water. Proper levels vary based on which type of sanitizer you use. After you have found your pool’s pH, alkalinity, and sanitizer levels, you may begin adding chemicals to adjust your water balance.

Rising Sun Pools & Spas

For over 46 years, we’ve been the pool builders of choice for home and business owners in North Carolina. No pool company has more customers, more experience or more expertise than Rising Sun Pools. There’s no pool construction, design or renovation project that we haven’t encountered (and solved)! Contact us today!