Markham Residential Pool Services

The Best Way to Keep Your Pool Clean: A Multi-Step Approach 

Pool maintenance is not only about water condition but it is easy to get caught up with chemical treatments. Achieving proper water balance involves more than just a basic testing kit, in fact it involves looking past the water itself and considers the swim space as a whole. Keeping your pool cleaner means addressing water chemistry, the internal systems that keep pool water flowing, structures, equipment and even debris that finds its way into swim spaces. 

Managing Water Chemistry: When you think about pool chemicals the first thing to come to mind is likely chlorine. Sanitizers are a key component of achieving clean water but they aren’t the only one. Shocking the pool is a good idea when you begin to notice cloudy water or algae growth but maintaining a sanitary swim space involves balancing sanitizers, pH levels, total alkalinity and calcium. 

Dealing With Debris: It is easy to skim the surface of pool water removing leaves, seed pods, pollen and even insects. Even with a pool cover on, unwanted items have a way of sneaking into pool basins and ruining the visual appeal of your swim space both at the surface level and underneath. Heavier items will sink to the bottom of the pool and floating items will need to be skimmed out and emptied from skimmer baskets. It seems easy to flip the switch on a pool vacuum but this often isn’t enough to get results. Removing debris means putting a manual pool vacuum to use, reaching into hard angles and hard to reach areas, as well as using specialty brushes to remove residue from pool walls and water lines. 

Testing Internal Systems: Stagnant water is prone to contamination. The goal of a circulation system is to keep chemically treated water flowing through your lines and into pool basins. If a pool pump begins to fail your water will be left sitting still and is vulnerable to contamination. Regular testing of pumps, lines and even heaters helps to provide pool owners insight into the condition of your pool equipment. 

Keeping Filters Clean: The filter is the unsung hero of any swim space. The aim of any pool filter is to trap and hold unwanted items while letting filtered water pass through. Over time debris will clog up filters making it difficult for water to pass through. The harder that water systems have to work, the more energy they use. This means higher rates of energy use and an increase in daily running costs. Cartridge filters should be removed, cleaned and reinstalled every 3-4 months while sand filters should be emptied and refilled with new sand every 3-5 years. 

Seasonal Pool Care: The needs of your swimming pool will change from one season to another. In order to avoid damage throughout fall and winter, it is important to drop water levels and winterize plugs while the spring season means deep cleanings and heavy water treatments. No matter how you look at it, these are complex processes and if done improperly will have a negative ripple effect throughout your water systems. Failing to close a pool properly for the off-season can result in damage caused by frozen water including structural damage, liner issues and even burst pipes.