DIY Pool Maintenance
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For most swimming pool owners it is common to hire a swimming pool maintenance company to take care of the day to day tasks of keeping the pool clean, vacuuming the floor, scooping leaves, cleaning the filter and of course checking and maintaining the pool water chemistry. In reality hiring a professional to do this stuff for you is a luxury and not a requirement of owning a swimming pool. Many pool owners choose to care for their own pool, whether to save money on hiring a maintenance company, or simply because they take pride and enjoy caring for their possessions. This is an entirely reasonable plan provided that you are prepared to commit to learning about your pool and most especially the water chemistry aspect of caring for your pool.
As a pool industry professional I consider it to be a luxury to hire a pool maintenance company. I believe that every pool owner has the ability to care for and manage their own pool maintenance including the water chemistry. If you are busy and you do not mind hiring a paying for a pool professional to care for your pool there is nothing wrong with that. Equally there is nothing wrong with a pool owner who wants to take control over their pool and pool maintenance and take it on for themselves. More than ever home owners and pool owners have access to resources to help you learn and understand how to take care of your pool, and with the rising costs of, well, everything, saving some money on your swimming pool maintenance may well be the best option for you.
The importance of water chemistry - If you are going to take over the day to day care and chemical maintenance of your pool then you definitely need to brush up on your pool chemistry fundamentals and water testing procedures. More than just ending up with green water, which is obviously not ideal, there is a real potential to damage or stain your pool from improper water chemistry and maintenance. Further, you can actually become sick from improperly managed pool water so while there is a financial incentive to take care of your own pool you need to balance this with the severity of being responsible for the pool. In addition to illness, improper water chemistry maintenance in a pool is the number one cause for early pool equipment failure. So poor water quality can cost you an awful lot if you do it wrong!
There a many moving parts and pieces that have to come together in a swimming pool. You will need to monitor and manage water quality and chemistry but you will also need to manage the pool equipment itself which includes cleaning the filters, emptying the strainer baskets in the pump and skimmers, brushing the walls and floor of the pool regularly, scooping leaves that fall into the pool. Add to this about a dozen individual chemistry points you need to test and manage. The potential for savings on maintenance costs are definitely there, but so is the potential to cause damage to the pool or pool equipment. For this reason if you want to take care of your own pool instead of paying for pool maintenance then you really need to commit to learning the water chemistry as well as the regular pool maintenance.
If you are learning about pool care and want to take over the management of your swimming pool then you will find these following resources helpful. First you should review the pool and spa chemistry crash course after which you should watch this (long) video about how to take care of your pool step by step. These resources should fast track you on your way to caring for your own swimming pool. If you encounter a problem and you are not sure how to proceed you can always Ask Steve for help.
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Swimming Pool Steve is an award winning, second generation swimming pool and spa specialist from Ontario Canada. With over 10,000,000 views on the Swimming Pool Steve YouTube Channel, winner of the 2018 Pool & Spa Industry Leadership award and author of hundreds of pool and spa articles both online and in print Steve is committed to helping pool and spa owners as well as pool and spa industry workers learn more about the technical side of building, renovating, repairing and maintaining all types of swimming pools and spas. Follow Swimming Pool Steve on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
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www.ClearComfort.com
Clear Comfort's patented hydroxyl-based advanced oxidation systems (AOP) represent the pinnacle of water care technology available to pool and spa owners. To put a complex technology simply, if you are looking for the best possible water care system for your pool or spa then you are looking for a Clear Comfort AOP system.
- Swimming Pool Steve
www.PoolPartsToGo.com
New Black + Decker variable speed pumps are available online from www.PoolPartsToGo.com and they are a drop in replacement for many popular pump models including Pentair Superflo and Hayward Super Pumps. With an adjustable platform base, union connections included and a very strong warranty these pumps offer an impressive value to pool owners.
- Swimming Pool Steve
www.PoolSupplyWarehouse.com
Pool Supply Warehouse has a large stock of swimming pool equipment, chemicals, maintenance items and consumables needed for caring for your swimming pool. They offer fast shipping and by shopping with this retailer you are helping to support Swimming Pool Steve directly.
- Swimming Pool Steve
www.PoolSuppliesCanada.ca
When it comes to ordering pool and spa supplies online in Canada www.PoolSuppliesCanada.ca is by far the best option. They carry everything from chemicals to replacement pumps to entire pool kits, with free shipping options and more "in stock" items than any other Canadian online retailer.
- Swimming Pool Steve