1. Store your vacuum head, brush and pool cleaner properly

The main reason you need to replace your accessories is because the brush bristles and the vacuum head have fallen out or dried out.

Store your accessories upside down and out of the sun. During the winter, make sure it is chlorine free (rinse it with fresh water). If you do this, you double the life of your maintenance equipment, which can be expensive to replace.

2. Make sure to clean your pool daily

It’s easy to remove leaves and debris from the surface of the water, but it bears repeating. If you have some money to spend, consider purchasing an automatic cleaner that will clean the bottom of the pool for you. Pentair’s Prowler ranks high in price and consistently receives five-star performance reviews.

You need to scrub the sides of the pool to prevent algae build-up. Fortunately, this doesn’t have to be done as often. You can get away with scrubbing once every two weeks. You just need to examine and clean them with a brush to keep your liner clean. This will save you an impressive amount of pool chemicals.

3. Use a solar cover with your pool heater

Solar covers, also known as sun covers, keep the heat in the pool, they keep debris out, and it keeps the heat out of your pool.

If you have a heater, you can turn it on until the temperature is reached and install the solar cover at night. The heat will be maintained more easily and you will save a lot in energy costs. However, don’t forget to remove the solar cover every day to avoid algae formation in your pool.

Bonus: If you don’t feel like putting on and taking off the solar cover every night, consider liquid solar covers (Cover Free). They are easier to use and cost much less in the short term.

4. Think of the filter as your pool’s kidney

 Just as your kidneys are constantly working to remove impurities from your body, your pool filter is responsible for removing impurities from the water. Think of dirt, leaves and even toys in the pool.

It is best to clean the baskets (skimmer and pump) at least once a week. You should also clean the filtration system once a month, which you can do by doing a backwash (sand filtration system) or taking out your cartridges and cleaning them (cartridge filtration system).

Bonus: The better your filtration system performs, the lower your chemical consumption and maintenance.

5. Run your pump less during colder climates

During the hottest part of the summer, run your pump 24 hours a day. You need to keep that water clean and moving so you don’t run into problems, like algae growth.

Algae like warm water. That’s why your system should be maximized during this time of year.

You can reduce the RPM of your pump during the period when your water is cold (beginning and end of the season) either run your pump at low speed (2 speed pump) or reduce the RPM if you have a variable speed pool pump.

Bonus: investing in a variable speed pump, which uses less energy, is mathematically one of the best purchases for a pool.

6. Buy chemicals on sale during early season promotions.

Some pool stores usually have spring start-up specials to entice you to start the pool early. This is a good thing! Often product prices spike later in the season or are out of stock.

Tip: Don’t hesitate to choose larger volumes of product, they are often very inexpensive!

7. You need to monitor the water level

As important as the chemical composition of the water is, the physical level of the water is equally important. Levels naturally fluctuate after a heavy rain or on an afternoon when kids and adults are bombing in the pool. You want to maintain a level that is within 75% of your skimmer opening.

If the water level is too low, simply use a garden hose to put the necessary amount of water back in. For those who have vinyl liner, keep it in water at all costs, this will increase longevity and decrease fading. If the water level is too high, the skimmer will not work and the consumption of sanitizer (chlorine and bromine) will increase drastically.

8. Use an automatic cleaner

These self-contained electric units can clean an entire pool faster than you can. Automatic pool cleaners move around the pool on their own, climbing walls and stairs and collecting all kinds of debris in their filters.

These cartridges also filter the water, so if you run the robot, you are helping your filter and pump while keeping your pool clean. Even if the pool is out of service, this automatic cleaner can be used!

9. Conserve your pool water

Water is not free, and the world’s water supply is not infinite, especially as droughts are becoming more frequent and severe. It is worth saving water.

The average pool wastes water in four ways:

• Evaporation
• Leakage
• Splashing
• Backwash

While the water wasted at any one time may be small and seemingly insignificant, it can add up to thousands of wasted gallons, which can translate into hundreds of wasted dollars.

10. Learning to properly close your pool prevents damage

As important as it is to maintain your pool in the summer, it’s even more important to make sure you secure it properly for the winter.  After all, no one wants to remove a pool cover at the beginning of summer only to discover that their pool has a leak or that their water is full of bacteria.

By taking the right steps to properly winterize your pool, you can save a lot of time and money on repairs for the following season. Take the time to listen to your pool specialists, they like to see you with a smile on your face at the beginning of the season…!

Keeping a pool in good condition takes some work, but it doesn’t have to be a burden. Have a great summer!