St. Catharines Residential Pool Services

Residential Pool Care: What to Know 

From a distance, keeping a pool clean seems simple but doing it properly is more complicated than meets the eye. Anyone can skim the surface of pool water to remove the debris that is floating along. Depending on the type of plant life around your pool you might be seeing leaves, seed pods and pollen floating along water surfaces which is easy to skim out, but what about the stuff sitting under the surface? 

From getting rid of debris, balancing water chemistry and keeping systems running, keeping a pool clean is a multi-step approach that treats swimming pools from the inside, out. 

Dealing with Debris: You might be used to seeing leaves or small insects floating along pool surfaces but this isn’t the only places that debris can build up. Lighter items float, heavier items sink to the bottom of the pool and then there are the filters! There are plenty of pool vacuums on the market but these are not designed to navigate hard angles or tight spaces. This leaves areas around stairs and in corners prime areas for bacteria to build up and unwanted items to collect. When you want to get rid of debris completely, you’ll need manual vacuums, speciality brushes to scrub away residue without damage. These tools can be expensive and require storage but a Puddle technician will bring all of the necessary supplies right to your front door. 

Maintaining Water Balance: Keeping pool water clean means regular applications of chemicals, as well as routine testing and balancing. Test strips might help to point out problem areas with chlorine levels but they often won’t tell you how to fix it. It can take quite a bit of time to get your pool routine dialled in and during that time your water is becoming contaminated, even going cloudy or green. Imbalanced chemicals will lead to algae growth and that is a lot more difficult to correct. Instead of dealing with the aftermath of an amateur approach, have your water tested by an expert focusing on chlorine levels, pH levels, alkalinity and calcium. 

Monitoring Filtration Systems: The pool filter is the unsung hero of any swim space. These components are hard at work picking bits and pieces of unwanted debris out of your water and cycling it back into pool basins. Over time filters will get clogged up and will need to be cleaned regularly. When dealing with a cartridge filter, they should be removed, cleaned and reinstalled every 3-4 months. Sand filters should be emptied and have the sand replaced every 3-5 years. Cleaning skimmer baskets is also an important part of regular cleanings. 

Seasonal Treatments: As the seasons change so do the needs of your swimming pool. Cold weather has a much different impact on your pool than warm weather will and it is important to be ready for both. Closing a pool down for the season is not as simple as throwing on a winter cover and forgetting about it until spring. It means dropping the water level with a proper draining, applying speciality pool chemicals, and removing fragile components to avoid damage. If that sounds like a lot of work, that’s because it is! Instead of struggling through a closing or wasting the first days of spring opening your pool, have a Puddle Pro handle it for you instead. 

As a pool owner, you want to keep your water system running and avoid unnecessary damage. Luckily, there are local Puddle technicians nearby that are ready to help you make the most out of summer.