Help! My pool is………

What is a homeowner to do when their pool goes from wow to oh no?!?!  Between your regularly weekly visits, a world of things could affect the operation of your pool. This may include environmental factors such as storms, rain, wind, and debris; human factors such as pool parties, and mistakenly touching something on the system; animal factors including allowing your dogs to swim to random animals getting in the pool; and endless other potential mishaps. If you take a few steps to care for your pool between those visits, you can stay in swimming mode all week long.

Running on Empty

You must check and empty your skimmer baskets on a regular basis. Your skimmer removes all the surface debris that enters your pool and collects it in the basket. By doing so, that debris does not make its way into your pump which can clog the pump and affect how it operates. A clogged skimmer basket is also not good. Environmental debris is food for algae. By leaving it in the pool, algae have the nutrients it needs to grow. A clogged skimmer basket can affect your water circulation which can lead to clarity issues or cause your pump to run dry which can burn out your pump. By checking and emptying those baskets multiple times every week, you will thwart potential, costly pool problems.

Running on Low

Water is essential for you pool. Without it, your pool is just a hole in the ground! When water levels are too low, this can also cause your pump to cavitate (suck air) and run dry. It also can impact the operation of the heater.  When your water is too high, it can prevent the skimmer from collecting debris at all. Therefore, to maintain the proper water level, make sure your water is to the halfway mark of your skimmer.

Running Away?

When we are at your weekly visit and chemicals are added to your pool, the water, initially, may cloud up. No, we are not running away and leaving your pool cloudy. Some chemicals, when added, (especially in large doses) will cloud water. However, this is normal and will dissipate over time, which could be a couple of minutes or one turnover (that is anywhere between 8 and 12 hours for a residential pool). Don’t be alarmed! The chemicals are doing their job.

Make sure that no one is running into your pool that doesn’t belong, so make sure your fencing and gates are functional and meet the barrier code. This requires fences to be a minimum of 48 inches high with no gaps greater than four (4”) inches and gates to be self-closing and self-latching, opening outward from the pool. If you have fencing or gate issues that you can not repair yourself, you need to contact a fencing company.

In the Long Run

It is best to take small efforts between your weekly visits so your pool will be in tip top condition. If you need tips, tricks and advice, don’t hesitate to call!