Home Pool Maintenance

A cool swim in the pool is just what you need on a hot summer afternoon. Crystal clear water in the pool is a great sight as no one would want to get into a pool filled with algae and muddy water. If you have a swimming pool at home, it's always advised to keep it clean and fresh. Not only is it used when it is clean, but it also keeps the spread of disease away from your family. An unhygienic swimming pool is simply an invitation to disease producing vectors. Thus to make sure your home and neighborhood is safe, you need to clean your pool on a regular basis. Home pool maintenance is thus the easiest when your chemical treatment program and filtration system work together. It's not a very difficult task and specially with the steps mentioned below you will definitely find it a good deal.

Maintaining Your Home Pool

There are a few basic steps on home pool maintenance which you have to keep in mind. Since maintenance is an essential task for every pool owner, it needs to be done throughout the year whether or not the pool is being used. Take a look at how it needs to be done in very short and simple ways mentioned below just for your convenience.

Pool Cleaning
This is the first and most important task for home pool maintenance. The pool needs to be free from debris like leaves, paper, plastic and other non degradable objects. This cleaning can be done by using;

• Pressure cleaners: They use a separate pump and push some high pressure water around the pool, where the debris is collected either in a bag or inside the cleaner itself.
• Suction cleaners: Commonly known as crawlers, these are placed in the bottom of the pool where they work by sucking the debris through a tube into the pool's skimmer box.
• In-floor cleaners: These too work through tiny nozzles that are built in the pool's floor and they pop up and direct the water across the floor. This directs the debris towards the filer openings.
• Electric cleaners: They are self propelled crawler units which collect the debris in their body and clean the pool.

Filters
Pool filters too are a very essential part of home pool maintenance, which should be run for at least eight hours every day. Mostly, it should run continuously but to save energy, keep them on during the day. It's also advised that the filter be kept on a timer so you don't need to remember when to put it on and off. These filters also should be cleaned on a regular basis, some commonly used filters are;

• Diatomaceous earth filters (DE): The DE is a fine powder made from fossilized algae and this is placed on a plastic filter gird to separate small pieces of debris when the water flows through it.
• Cartridge filters: These use polyester cloth, with the filter being folded in the center so as to let as much debris to be filtered out.
• Sand filters: They use sand to filter out the debris from the water and need to be replaced every eight hours. But they are the cheapest to buy.

Water Quality
It is very important for maintaining the swimming pool water quality and balance. You should test for its pH every time you clean the pool, which should be 7.2 to 7.6. this is where the chlorine in the water is at its most effective level and is also safe for our skin. If the pH is incorrect, it damages our bodies as well as the pool equipment. Thus make sure you have a proper balance between the alkalinity and acidity of the pool water. The calcium levels in the water also should be taken care of by taking a calcium inorganic test. To keep the pool water clean and sanitized, use chlorine as it keeps the water away from bacteria and algae. It is said that you shouldn't super chlorinate your pool but you can at night and stay out of the pool for the whole night. Fresh water is always advised for a clear pool, so keep cleaning and refilling it.

Covers
Pool covers are also needed to keep the water from evaporating and convection heat loss. Your pool will also be kept at an even temperature and will also save refilling of the water. They also keep the water clean and prevent at least 90% of the debris from entering. Home swimming pool maintenance cost is also saved as the equipment is used at a lesser extent. In winters, you do not have to invest more in getting pool heaters, as these covers increase the pool temperature by 6 to 8 degrees if the pool is sunny all day.

Thus, with these tips on home pool maintenance, I am sure you will find cleaning and maintaining your pool easy. So, go ahead and have a clean and safe swim!