Shasta Pools’ Pocket Guide to Pool Service

Looking for some quick tips to keep your Phoenix swimming pool looking and feeling clean and fresh? Check out our guide!

Check the Water

A quality chemical test kit is a “must” if you want to be able to maintain a healthy pool.  It’s essential that homeowners check their water daily to ensure that it’s within normal and healthy parameters.  You’ll need to look at:

• Free Chlorine Levels: Make sure that the free chlorine never falls under 1.0ppm so that it’s still able to kill off germs and algae
• pH:  The pH of your pool should stay between 7.2 and 7.6.  Anything outside of that is a pretty strong indication that your chlorine levels are probably too high or too low
• Water Balance: This includes testing the pH, as well as the total alkalinity and calcium hardness in the water

Chemicals for Regular Maintenance

When the pool is being used daily, the free chlorine levels should be checked every day. Your free chlorine levels should be between 1.0 to 2.5 ppm, or anywhere from 4 to 5ppm for pools that are using dichlor and trichlor.

You should also be testing your pH every day to ensure it stays within the boundaries mentioned above, or even more often if your pool is being heavily used.  If you need to raise the pH, you can use 0.7kg of soda ash per every 15,000 gallons per day.  To lower it, add 0.7kg of dry acid per 15,000 gallons per day.

The total alkalinity can be tested once a month, and the calcium hardness anywhere from two to three times while the pool is in use during the season.  Cyanuric acid can be tested once every two weeks or so.

Hardware for Regular Maintenance

Pool maintenance is more than just testing and adding chemicals – it’s also all about the hardware, too!  Here are some tips on how you can get the most out of your hardware:

• Circulation Pump:  The circulation pump should be running non-stop while bathers are in the pool, and then for four hours every 12 hours (you can set this up on a timer so that this is done automatically)
• Filter:  It’s important that the filter be backwashed, at a minimum, every 2 weeks.  The sand inside of the filter should be renewed every 7-10 years
• Skimmers:  These should be cleaned out once a week
• Vacuuming:  For those who are without an automatic pool sweep, make sure that the pool is vacuumed once a week
• Brushing:  Brushing the pool a couple times a week will help cut down on having the algae stain your grout, tiles, or liner
• Tide Marks:  A chlorine compatible liner and tile cleaner should be used to get rid of any dirt that you see at the water line

If you’re looking for someone to take over the chore of pool maintenance for you, call Shasta Service to schedule a service call today!

Shasta Pools is a Phoenix pool builder who provides a variety of services including swimming pool remodeling, commercial pool building, and pool service and repair. Since its establishment in 1967, Shasta has helped over 80,000 families realize their dream of pool ownership. By providing exceptional value, quality craftsmanship and superior customer service, the Shasta team continues to fulfill the corporate mission of astonishing and delighting their customers and exceeding expectations. You can learn more about Shasta Pools & Spas by visiting them online, or by connecting with them on Facebook or Twitter.