Cambridge Residential Pool Services

How to Keep Your Pool Cleaner, Over Longer Periods 

Anyone can stock up on testing kits, pool vacuums, skimmers and tools but having a shed full of supplies does not guarantee results. It can take weeks or months to fully understand what makes your water systems tick — and as soon as you nail down a spring cleaning program, the needs of your pool will change. Pool cleaning is not a concrete system but changes with the seasons, temperatures and surrounding areas. It can be tough to keep up but our Puddle Pros have developed a system that works! 

Balancing Water Chemistry: Basic test strips can help to point out glaring issues with your pool water but they don’t tell you how to fix them. Shocking the pool when water starts to go cloudy is the first step toward restoring water condition but it definitely isn’t the last. Maintaining a sanitary swim space depends on balancing chlorine levels, pH levels, total alkalinity and calcium. In the wrong hands pool chemicals can be dangerous, so leave these applications to the experts. 

Dealing with Debris: Even with a pool cover on, you are going to get unwanted items in your water systems. Flipping the switch on a robotic pool cleaner can help to pick up debris from flat, open spaces but dealing with corners, angles and steps means needing a manual pool vacuum. In addition to sucking up debris that has sunken to the bottom of your pool, it is important to empty skimmer baskets and scoop up unwanted items floating along water surfaces. 

Cleaning Filtration Systems: As much as you might try it isn’t possible to pick up every piece of debris that lands in your pool water. The goal of a pool filter is to catch and hold small pieces of debris while letting filtered water pass through, back into basins. Over time these filters will become clogged up, making it harder for water to pass through. This puts strain on circulation systems, most notably pool pumps. If there is no water circulating in your pool, chemicals are not being properly dispersed and water will become contaminated in no time. A cartridge filter should be taken out, cleaned and reinstalled every 3-4 months while sand filters should be emptied and refilled with clean sand every 3-5 years. 

Seasonal Treatments: Keeping pools in great shape all year long depends on reliable seasonal care. From dropping the water level in fall to prevent damage caused by freezing, to restoring water condition in spring, it is always a better idea to call an expert to manage your swim space as seasons change.