Owning a swimming pool can be a dream come true, especially as the summer heat is swiftly on its way. If you’ve recently invested in one for your own home, having a clean and properly maintained pool is essential for the health and safety of swimmers, but several common maintenance mistakes can turn your backyard oasis into a short-lived luxury.
Whether you’re a new or seasoned pool owner, it’s wise to refresh yourself with the latest insight into keeping your pool a safe and enjoyable environment. From the pool cleaning professionals at Captain’s Pool Care, here are the top six pool maintenance mistakes every homeowner should avoid.
Maintaining your swimming pool can have a significant effect on the overall hygiene, safety, and enjoyment of your pool area. It’s simple: a clean pool is a healthy pool, and regular maintenance is the single most important factor for cleanliness. There are several advantages to having routine pool maintenance, including:
Pools are like a well-oiled machine. Between the chemical balance, filtration, circulation, skimming, and cleaning tools, there are several parts that build towards the successful whole that you get to enjoy. Without proper maintenance, certain parts of the pool that help it run effectively will inevitably diminish in their capabilities, leading the pool to lose its luster and its cleanliness. However, with proper maintenance, your pool can maintain its value as an investment and increase its longevity by preventing algae growth and other dangerous impurities from forming.
Well-maintained pools are safe to use, whereas poorly-maintained pools can lead to health issues. Chemicals used to disinfect the pool, for example, can be harmful to your skin, hair, eyes, and nails, when incorrectly balanced. Furthermore, headaches, dizziness, and respiratory issues can occur after swimming in an unclean pool. To avoid these health risks, it’s wise to invest in regular maintenance.
Regular maintenance will ensure that your pool performs correctly. Parts of the pool, like filtration and circulation systems, can lose their efficiency over time leading to uncleanliness and further damage as time goes on. In order to keep your pool performing correctly and avoid high repair costs down the road, be sure to regularly maintain your pool.
Pool maintenance is certainly an important responsibility as an owner, but many individuals make mistakes while attempting to stay on top of the maintenance themselves. This is not a task worth cutting corners on, so before you make them yourself, here are the top 6 pool maintenance mistakes you should look out for.
The first common pool mistake we often notice is that individuals do not keep the correct chemical balance. Maintaining proper chemical balance is essential: incorrect pH levels can lead to health problems (skin and eye irritation) and damage to the pool’s equipment and surfaces, and incorrect chlorine levels can result in bacterial and algae growth (when there’s not enough chlorine) and skin and eye irritation (when there’s too much chlorine). The pH balance and chlorine levels tend to work in tandem and can affect each other if one is at an incorrect amount, therefore it is critical that chemical balance is consistently monitored.
Regular inspections and tests are helpful, primarily, to get confirmation from a professional that the pool is in good condition and safe to be used. They will check the balance of chemicals and test for impurities so that you can keep peace of mind about the condition of the pool. Furthermore, inspections are also useful when buying or selling a home. Certified pool operators can assess the condition of a pool and provide both the buyer and the seller confidence in the asset.
An extremely common maintenance mistake that homeowners must avoid is irregular brushing and vacuuming. Brushing, vacuuming, and skimming are essential tasks that prevent algae growth and maintain a beautiful, clean pool surface. By not undertaking these tasks routinely, your pool is likely to develop stains and slippery surfaces along with a generally lower aesthetic quality. This maintenance demand is not always easy for people with busy schedules, but it is also non-negotiable if you want your pool to look pristine and in good condition for safe usage.
Maintenance requirements can change as the seasons switch between warmer and colder months. Winterization maintenance ensures that the pool is ready for use when spring comes around and properly closed and protected throughout winter. Off-season maintenance is important because, due to less pool usage in the colder months. Incorrect water levels, algae, and chemical imbalances can lead to problems before the swimming season returns. Don’t make the mistake of ignoring off-season maintenance with your pool!
On the other hand, it’s worth considering keeping your pool open all year long! By keeping your pool open and the equipment operating, you can enjoy its calm and peace regardless of the season. Furthermore, if you have a professional keep it maintained and cleaned you will likely spend the same amount that would be required to open, close, and repair it anyways.
As we mentioned earlier, several components contribute to the proper performance of a pool. Parts such as the pool’s filtration and circulation system are absolutely vital to be in good working condition, and if they ever become damaged or less efficient, the health and safety of your pool can suffer as a result. The major mistake homeowners can make is to delay the repair and/or regular cleaning of these important components. Not only will the quality and integrity of the pool decrease almost immediately, but the pool equipment is likely to degrade faster as a result. The outcome, unfortunately, is continually escalating costs of repairs. With a damaged or inefficient filtration system, for example, you can expect worse and worse water circulation, cloudy water, and the build-up of debris, contaminants, and bacteria.
We understand that it’s tempting to try to handle pool maintenance on your own in order to save some of your hard-earned cash. Unfortunately, as the demands of life such as work, family responsibilities, and other activities take hold, it’s easy for something like pool maintenance to fall by the wayside now and again. The downside is that your pool will eventually build up impurities and even degrade in quality and performance when you’re unable to perform maintenance. The result is not cost savings but increased costs.
One of the biggest mistakes we see, therefore, is homeowners not knowing when to contact professional help. Oftentimes, we are contacted after maintenance has been neglected for a long time and damage has already left its mark. We recommend reaching out to a pool maintenance professional in order to schedule a comprehensive maintenance solution that includes all cleaning, maintenance, and water balancing needs - that way, you don’t have to spend your precious time constantly worrying about your pool, and instead keep peace of mind that your pool is cleaned and maintained to the highest professional standards.
If you’re a new or seasoned pool owner and thinking about hiring the help of a professional pool servicer, don’t hesitate to contact Captain’s Pool Care today!
