Preparing Your Pool For the Season
Once summer rolls around, you're probably looking forward to having some fun in the sun.
The summer is the best season to take advantage of your pool or hot tub
If you haven’t used your pool or hot tub in a while, it may be in need of some maintenance. Below are a few tips that will help you prepare your pool before summer begins and aid you with maintaining it during the season.
End of Season Maintenance – Don’t Empty the Pool Entirely
When closing your pool at the end of the season, don’t make the mistake of emptying the pool entirely. The only reason you should empty your pool is if you have no other choice. For example, if you need to have structural work done or there is too much debris at the bottom of the pool, then you have little choice but to empty the pool. The risk of emptying a pool completely is that the structure can actually lift out of the ground. This is especially true if the pool is in a high water table. In such a scenario, you may need to have the pool replaced entirely. Therefore, don’t risk emptying the pool entirely even if you live in a cold climate.
Pool Cleaning and Filtration
No matter how hot a summer day is, no one wants to swim in a filthy pool. The first thing you should do to prepare your pool for the summer season is a thorough cleaning of the pool and its filtration system. For example, you want to get the filtration system going and clean out the baskets of the pool. Some types of filters you will need to manually clean while other types of filters have an option you can select to automatically clean the filter for you. If you put any plugs in the pool, you should remove them as well. As you work on cleaning your pool, it is a good idea to keep the cover on. The last thing you want is for more debris to end up in your pool as work to clean it.
Add Water To Your Pool
Chances are the water level of your pool has decreased noticeably since the last time you used it. To get it ready for swim season, top it off to get it back to a satisfactory water level. Once the water level is adequate, you can turn on the filter. Over the course of the summer, you will periodically need to top off the pool and clean the filtration system.
Professionally Test the Water
Just because the water in your pool looks clean doesn’t mean it’s actually clean. Therefore, you should have a professional test the water for cleanliness and balanced levels of chemicals. After the test, the professional will be able to tell you what characteristics of the pool need to be adjusted. You should have your pool professionally tested over the course of the summer because the conditions of a pool are very prone to change.
As you can see, preparing your pool for the upcoming summer season isn’t as difficult as it may sound. Just follow the pool maintenance tips discussed above and you and your family will be able to enjoy the pool all summer long.