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How Often Should You Clean a Swimming Pool?
Your swimming pool can be an incredible luxury, great for exercise, relaxation and socialising. To ensure your swimming pool is enjoyable all summer, and potentially all year round, a thorough and regular swimming pool maintenance routine that involves sanitisers such as chlorine or bromine is necessary.
Here at 1st Direct Pools, we’ve created a lot of guides to help owners keep their pools fit and healthy. However, there is one question we frequently get asked by both new and experienced owners alike.
“How often should I clean my swimming pool?”
This simple question has a simple answer. However, for pool owners, the reality is often quite complicated. Here, we look at this question in-depth, to help you care for your swimming pool.
The crux of the swimming pool cleaning question comes down to what you actually mean by ‘cleaning the pool’. The cleaning process will change depending on what you’re trying to remove.
If you’re trying to clean the water itself, the issue is likely to be with the chemicals in your swimming pool. Well-balanced water will prevent algae and other substances from forming in the water. Therefore, if you see these things beginning to build, you need to test your pool water and re-balance it with the right chemicals.
During heavy use, it’s common for dirt marks to begin appearing along the waterline along the outskirts of your swimming pool. These lines are often a result of oils and conditioners carried into the water by swimmers. If these marks are appearing on your pool, a simple pool-friendly cleaner should help to remove them.
Note that a rust-coloured mark could indicate a more severe problem and should be investigated further with the help of a professional.
Many pools will accumulate small amounts of debris on their floor over time. Usually, this is totally normal, so long as your pump and filter are working normally. If this occurs, you should vacuum your pool. Of course, if your filter is not collecting any debris, this could indicate a more serious issue.
Manunal swimming pool vacuums are inexpensive and easy to use. They're good pieces of kit to have on hand as they'll help remove larger bits of debris without overburdening your filters or chemcials.
As mentioned above, a clean swimming pool depends heavily on having a fully working pump and filter. However, even the best filters need cleaning themselves. This process is known as backwashing your pool filter and should form part of your regular cleaning routine.
As a general rule of thumb, cleaning your swimming pool should be part of a weekly routine. Of course, this changes depending on the nature of the dirt and how frequently the pool is in use.
If you see algae form in the water, for example, you should rectify that immediately. Maintaining the water balance of your pool is also a task that should be part of a daily routine, especially during regular use. Other tasks, such as cleaning the waterline and using a pool hoover, can take place once a week.
Of course, there’s no point in taking the time to clean your pool if you don’t care for it properly in the meantime! There are many things that you can do to help your pool stay cleaner for longer.
If you notice your water losing its shine regularly, then you may need to make more of an effort to ensure the chemicals remain balanced. Remember that there’s more to the pool than just its chlorine level – things such as alkalinity and calcium hardness make a big difference to a pool’s shine. You can learn more in our guide on what chemicals you need for a swimming pool.
Your swimming pool pump and filter are what make sure the water stays clear of dirt. Make sure that you have the right setup for your pool and that everything is working as it should whenever the pool is in use.
If you find that a lot of debris falls into your pool overnight, then having a pool cover can make a world of difference. A swimming pool solar cover can help to retain heat, while all pool covers will reduce how much debris falls into the pool while it’s out of use.
Hopefully, this guide answers your questions on how and when you should be cleaning your pool. Remember, if you have any more queries, check out our extensive guides or feel free to contact us directly!
