Do you own an above-ground pool system? Or are you planning to invest in one? Wondering how to effectively maintain and clean your above-ground pool from time to time? The process of cleaning these kinds of pools can vary from season to season. But most importantly, you must work towards creating a day-to-day pool maintenance schedule. You need to automate the water level, set the time for activation of pool filters, clear the pump baskets, clear fallen leaves, and also test the chlorine/pH level to ensure it is within the safe range.
Your above-ground pool may look clean, but in reality, the surface may have dirt stuck to it, pool chemistry must be off, small debris may be present in corners, and the water may be mixed with collective dust that keeps falling in.
We have curated a few solutions to ensure you can always keep your above-ground pool clean and tidy:
Shocking the pool water
Also known as super-chlorination, this process eliminates the chloramines that have collected in your pool water. Start by testing your pool water to check for the chloramine levels. Depending on the intensity, you can shock your water with concentrated chlorine and reestablish safe levels. Usually, when multiple people who apply skincare products enter your pool, the water tends to get infected with more bacteria.
Cleanse the pool filters
Above ground pool vacuum systems require frequent cleaning of the pool filters due to the collection of leaves, branches, dirt, and other foreign particles. The pool filter automatically sucks in all the solid particles in your pool and cleans the water of visible pollutants.
But if the pool filter is already full, then it proves useless as the excess dirt remains floating around in the pool. Thus, you need to clean the pool filter itself once in a while to refrain from clogging instances to occur.
Choose a top-notch water pump.
We have already established the importance of a pool filter. But a pool filter is deemed pointless if you do not have a fully functioning water pump. The water pump is responsible for pumping the pool water towards the filter. All the excess chemicals, bacteria, and debris are taken away from the swimming area and diverted to the pool filter. Usually, all pools, whether an above ground pool vacuum or a ground-level pool, must have their filters on for 10 to 12 hours to ensure that the swimming section is free of debris at all times.
It is advisable to install jets that promote the circular motion of water around the pool.
Opt for a high-end pool vacuum cleaner
Are you sick and tired of the constantly building black algae on your pool surface and walls? What you need is an above-ground pool vacuum cleaner. If not completely remove the existing black spots, using it regularly will definitely ensure that more of this black algae does not build up in the pool. Over and above all, the vacuum cleaner will give you easy access to parts of your pool that would be impossible without equipment.
Those heavy debris that have settled at the base of your pool be it leaves, thick and small-sized branches, little rocks, etc. can all be taken care of by an effectively designed vacuum cleaner. Guess what? You can even purchase an automatic-functioning pool vacuum cleaner.
This equipment will go about in a motion that you decide and cleanse every nook and corner of your pool by itself.
- Prevent staining by cleaning the interior walls of your pool – Stains can build up in your pool if the interiors are not cleaned for long durations. It is a progressive issue and gets more visible overtime. The only way to avoid these calcium, copper, or algae stains, is by getting someone (or yourself) inside the pool and using solutions along with a brush to scrub these stains away. Weekly or fortnight sessions of cleaning the inside walls of your pool will assure you lesser maintenance costs in the future.
- Water must be crystal clear – Do you see tinges of blue, green, yellow, or brown in your pool water? If yes, then you must be informed that algae are collecting, and it’s going to start soon, weakening the internal walls of your pool. You need to look for natural algaecides (ideally organic) and periodically apply them to get rid of this building algae. Do not enter the pool during this duration and wait for a few days till the discoloration has vanished.
Many people jump into the pool with skin lotion, makeup, tanning lotion, lipstick, deodorants, etc. you must use pool clarifier liquids such as HTH or Clorox pool water clarifier to neutralize these human-made solutions and prevent algae from building in larger amounts.
- What must you do to clean your pool before the winter months? – Unlike having constant cleaning episodes in the months of summer, you can implement a few of the below-mentioned options to reduce your pool cleaning workload in winter months (as the pool would anyway be shut).
- Completely drain your hoses to remove any leftover water. You do not want water lying in your filter tank while the pool is inaccessible.
- If you have not performed one round of cleaning equipment in your pool, then make sure you do it before shutting your pool for the winter months. Chemicals, soapy water, algae, etc. will only harm the equipment more over the period of no usage.
- Consider purchasing a winter chemical kit for your above-ground pool vacuum cleaner.
- This is a sure-shot method to maintain the neutrality of your pool water while it is not being used.
- Last but not least, always cover your pool during winter months. You will anyway not be using it. Also, this reduces the chances of further pollutants from mixing with the water.
Keep in mind that depending on the size, type, functionality, and back-end system of your above-ground pools, the cleaning and maintenance methods can vary.
