Common Pool Maintenance Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Swimming pool maintenance is essential for maintaining the pristineness of the water and preventing pathogens, algae, debris, and dirt from contaminating your water. While many pool owners regularly maintain their pools, there are certain mistakes they make that worsen the job instead of solving it. It’s important to address these mistakes to ensure your pool is properly cleaned and rendered safe for use.

Mistake 1: Adding Shock Agents Directly to Pool Water

The first mistake many pool owners make is adding an excessive amount of the pool shock agent directly into the water. This is a big no, as the pool shock agent is made of concentrated chlorine, which can bleach the vinyl liner or any pool finish. This may cause leaks and damage your pool.

So, what’s the solution? You should dissolve the pool shock agent in a bucket of water to allow fair dispersion of chlorine throughout your pool. This way, your pool’s finish will be safe from bleach. Also, you must first fill up the bucket of water and then add the shock agent to prevent splash back.

Mistake 2: Inconsistent Pool Cleaning

The second mistake pool owners make is not cleaning their pools consistently. They may clean their pool once and then completely forget to clean it again. The algae may not be completely removed in the first place, so avoiding cleaning the pool again may cause it to grow back again, making your pool turn green.

Hence, it’s important to thoroughly clean your pool using a pool cleaner like the Aiper Scuba S1 Pro, which automatically cleans the pool by following the waterline and ensures your pool is free of debris, dirt, and other contaminants.

Mistake 3: Ignoring pH and Alkalinity Levels

Maintaining the proper pH and alkalinity balance of the pool is essential to sustaining a healthy ecosystem. A low pH indicates acidity, while a high pH means alkalinity. The extremes of both are dangerous, as low pH levels are dangerous for the pool pump, filter, vinyl liner, and automatic robotic cleaner.

You should ensure a proper pH and alkalinity balance by testing your water regularly. Use pH and alkalinity increasers to adjust your water levels accordingly.

Mistake 4: Overdoing Backwashing of Pool Filters

Being a pool owner, you may have the urge to clean your pool filter regularly but overdoing it may prove to be harmful. Backwashing pool filters daily is not recommended, as some amount of accumulation in the filter actually improves its function. For instance, the accumulated debris in the filter captures other small pollutants, which increases filter efficiency. The ideal time to backwash the pool filter is when it is 10 PSI above the average of its fresh clean, indicating there’s a lot of residue.

Mistake 5: Shocking the Pool During Daylight Hours

While shocking your pool is a great way to maintain your pool, you must avoid doing so during the daytime. This is because the pool shock agent is made of unstabilized chlorine, which may be burned due to exposure to direct sunlight, reducing its efficiency. Hence, it is important to shock your pool during the night and avoid daytime pool shocks to maximize its efficiency.

Mistake 6: Neglecting Calcium Hardness in Pool Water

Like water pH levels and alkalinity, you should also balance calcium hardness in the pool to ensure a safe and clean swimming pool. While excessive calcium is dangerous, a little bit of it is beneficial as it extends the lifespan of vinyl liners and filters.

You may add a calcium hardness increaser to keep the calcium hardness in the pool at the recommended level of 175 ppm to 225 ppm.

Mistake 7: Skipping Weekly Pool Water Tests

Another mistake pool owners make in their swimming pool maintenance routine is skipping weekly pool water testing. Testing your pool water weekly is recommended, as this helps you detect small issues before they turn into mega-disasters.

• Use test strips or a liquid water test for regular checks.
• For detailed analysis, take samples to your local laboratory.
• Test for pH and alkalinity levels, calcium hardness, and TDS levels weekly.

Conclusion

Swimming pool maintenance is not just about cleaning your pool occasionally. In fact, it is about thoroughly cleaning and maintaining your pool at least once a week to ensure its pristineness. When maintaining pools, many homeowners make the mistake of not testing their water for pH and alkalinity levels, ignoring calcium hardness levels, and skipping weekly water tests. It is important to address these issues immediately to stay safe from major issues damaging your pool. Explore Aiper’s swimming pool maintenance products to give your pool the best care.