Keep your pool clean so it won't turn green

Swimming pools can provide a cool way to recreate and relax, but they require regular maintenance. Some people hire pool cleaning companies, and others maintain their pools themselves.

Reese Holbrook, a sales representative at Acme Pool & Spa, said those who want to do it themselves should know the following:

• How to test for chlorine and PH in pool water.

• How to operate the pool equipment, such as pumps and filtration systems as well as heaters, automatic water levelers, and self-cleaning systems.

• How to backwash filters, which get clogged with dirt and foreign matter that blows into the pool.

• How to vacuum the pool with a vacuum head attached to a telescoping rod (unless the pool has a self-cleaning system with pop-up vacuum heads).

• Where to keep the water level, because if it gets below the skimmer, it can burn out the pool pump. (Some pools have automatic water level systems).

It may take a total of about a half hour to maintain pools in the winter and about an hour and a half in the summer, he said. “In the winter, check it once per week for chlorine and PH levels, and vacuum it when it gets dirty. In the summer, check it at least two to three times per week.”

People moving into a home with an existing pool can get pool maintenance instructions when they buy pool cleaning chemicals, he said.

And those who want to install a new pool can get information when they inquire about or buy a pool, he said.
Older pools tend to require a little more maintenance, he said.

Joe Limon, owner of Jia Pools, said pools nowadays are designed to enjoy rather than to have to maintain. His company installs in-ground concrete pools with systems that use either chlorine or salt.

“The salt is basically a soft water system. The salt is very simple to use. You just throw it in. It is very forgiving if you forget to check it. With chlorine, the water turns green right away if you forget.”

But even chlorine is simpler nowadays, he said. “The chlorinator unit tells you when to add chlorine and it even tells you when it’s not working!”