How to clean your pool

Your own pool is a great way to cool off during the summer, but you should also take the time to clean it. You can assign this task to a professional company, but if you want to save money - you can clean it yourself. It is quite time consuming to keep your pool clean and at the same time you should not forget to monitor the chemical parameters at least twice a week (but you can read in another of our articles). Despite the efforts, it is worth keeping your pool clean and safe to use for a longer time.

Make sure you have the necessary tools. First of all - a universal telescopic handle, to which most accessories for cleaning pools are attached. You will also need a net for collecting leaves, as well as a net for collecting bulky waste from the surface of the pool.

Get a brush - it cleans the walls, stairs and steps of the pool. The brushes must be periodically cleaned of dust and dirt adhering to them.

The first step in actually cleaning your pool is to pick up the infested leaves with a suitable net. Things like leaves and other greenery often end up in outdoor pools. You should take the time to do this every day to make sure that there is no dirt on the surface. Insects are also a constant problem. You will almost always have dozens of insects on the surface of the water that you will have to constantly remove. This is a fairly easy part of pool maintenance. You need to attach the net to the telescopic handle and remove any foreign bodies you see at the top of the water.

Once you have collected all the debris floating on the surface, use a brush to clean the walls, stairs and steps of the pool. It is recommended to do it daily. Just attach the brush to the telescopic handle and carefully brush these areas, applying some force to remove the dirt when it is more stubborn. Keep in mind that areas with poor water circulation (such as stairs) may need more attention.

The most problematic place in any pool is the water line. Almost all swimmers in the pools use beach oils, often in large quantities. Some of the oils are absorbed into the human skin, but another part dissolves in the water and remains floating on the surface of the water. It is where the surface of the water rests in the walls of the pool - the water line, that is where the most dirty and visible dirty place. The water line should be cleaned daily from the sticky dirt with a brush. It is simply scraped off and dissolved in the water, after which the filter system has the task of removing it from the water.
In addition to the water line, the entire wall must be cleaned of adhering dirt particles.

Stairs, as well as other elements - water loungers, etc., are very problematic places because no robot can clean them well. They have too many corners, folds and narrow spaces. All of them must be brushed by hand to remove adhering dirt. These contaminants will either dissolve in the water, where the filter system will purify them, or if they are larger particles, they will settle to the bottom.

The bottom is cleaned last, because that's where all the heavy dirt particles that you've knocked off the walls settle. There are deposited sand and small stones, which are imported by bathers.

Hard brush.

As much as you don't want to, you can't avoid washing the pool with a stiff brush. The water line is the most problematic area that we cannot clean with another tool.

Vacuum brush

The brush is very similar to a vacuum cleaner nozzle. A flexible hose comes out of it, which connects to the filter system. In this way, her pump sucks water from the cleaning brush. With the telescopic handle you move the vacuum brush and the water pumped through it passes through the filter system, then returns purified back to the pool. In addition to sucking water, the vacuum brush also has bundles of bristles that you can use to clean as needed. In this way, while moving the brush, it pumps the water from the bottom and together with it removes the deposited dirt - sand and others.
This brush cleans the bottom and walls. As far as you can, you can clean other surfaces - steps, water chairs and more.

Pool cleaning robots

Fully automated robots are most effective for cleaning pools. They move along the bottom of the pool and are controlled independently by automation. Many models are completely self-contained and they calculate the trajectory themselves so that they do not miss a single speck from the bottom. Other models have the functionality to set the duration of the work cycle depending on the size of the pool and the level of pollution, they are equipped with high quality brushes and filters. Some robots have two filters for fine and coarse waste.
The best robots can also clean the walls of your pool, except for the bottom.

Semi-automatic wipers

they are connected by means of the skimmer to the sand filtration pump. Compared to mechanical vacuum brushes, semi-automatic sweepers successfully increase the efficiency and speed of cleaning the bottom and walls of the pool. The suction force of the sand filtration moves the cleaner along the bottom of the pool.

Manual vacuum brushes

again designed to clean the bottom and walls of the pool, but are effective for pools with a sand filter, their use with a cartridge filter is possible, but their efficiency would be many times lower. The advantage is their low price.

After choosing the most suitable cleaner for you, you need to adjust it and prepare it for commissioning. Most vacuum systems come with instructions for use that you need to follow exactly, if you are not sure exactly how to connect or use them, it is best to call a representative of the company from which you purchased the product. Cleaning the pool is the same way you clean your carpet at home. Move the squeegee to the bottom of the pool, emphasizing areas that are more contaminated. Robots do not require you to clean. All you have to do is set them and they will do all the work for you, and at the end of their set duty cycle they will turn themselves off.

Clean the bottom of your pool at least once a week to make sure it is clean and safe to use. A lot of waste and bacteria are deposited on the bottom of the pool. Add additional water to the pool before starting the vacuum cleaning system. The action of vacuum suction leads to a decrease in water level.

In this article you can find a detailed information on the use of chemicals for pool cleaning. Here our advice is related to the pool filter - you need to keep the area around the filter clean of debris and dirt. Check the filter regularly for debris, dirt and other deposits and clean it promptly.

The filter significantly affects the cleanliness of your pool and the success of your sanitary system. All filters are used in conjunction with a pool pump to push water through the filter, purify it and return it. The combination of pump and filter is called a filtration system. Filtration systems collect dust, dirt, oils, hair and other small particles to keep pool water clean and free of debris. The bigger the filter, the better it will work and the less often you will have to clean it. The recommendation "the bigger the better" only applies to the filter tank and not to the pump.

Keep the water level in your pool between 1/2 and 1/3 to the pool opening. This is the level at which your pool works best.

The pool skimmer is a device that attracts surface water and picks up small debris such as leaves, twigs, insects that may have fallen into the pool. Several uncomfortable and potentially harmful things can happen when using it, if the water level is not in the optimal range. If the water level is too high, the water moves too slowly in the skimmer. This can lead to the accumulation of debris in the pool as it surrounds the skimmer. If the level is too low, the skimmer will be left without water to suck in and suck in air, and it could potentially burn the pool motor pump.

There are three different types of filtration on the market: filter cartridges, diatonite and sand filters.

Sand filters

these filters are made of metal, fiberglass or concrete and contain a hard bed of specific sand. The sand performs the task of capturing debris and contaminants - the water is pumped through the sand, filtering debris smaller than 20 microns. After a while, the particles caught by the sand start to accumulate in the tank, and the manometer shows high pressure, which means it is time to wash the sand. You need to change the sand in the filter every five to seven years, the only other maintenance that is needed is to wash and rinse the sand. It is important to match the sand filter to the pump - to be of appropriate flow.

Advantages: cheap; easy maintenance; suitable for large pools; the use of better sands improves filtration efficiency.

Disadvantages: requires rinsing and rinsing, which leads to water loss; less energy efficient due to the high pressure required to push water through the sand; filters contaminants up to 20-30 microns in size (compared to 5 or 10 microns in the other two types of filters).

Cartridge filter

they allow water to penetrate through a fine filter surface. They are a tank with a filter cartridge that traps particles smaller than 10 microns. The captured waste is stored in the filter until you clean it - it does not need rinsing and is easily removed. To clean it, you need to remove the cartridge and spray it with a hose, or you can use chemical sprays and soaking to clean the filter before rinsing it. The advantage of cartridge filters over sand filters is that they have a larger surface area, which leads to fewer blockages and easy maintenance. These filters need to be replaced every 3-5 years depending on the use and brand.

Advantages: without rinsing; works well at low speeds (perfect for energy efficient variable speed pumps) due to the large surface area; filters particles smaller than 10 microns.

Disadvantages: you have to replace worn filters with new ones; you should basically clean the cartridges once or twice a year.

Diatonic soil filters DE

these filters are easy to install - they are placed directly in the skimmer. They are a large tank with gratings or protrusions resembling fingers that are covered with DE powder. Diatonite is a natural, soft sedimentary rock that breaks down easily into a fine powder. This rock is actually fossils of hard algae that act like small mushrooms. These filters work quite similarly to sand filters with the difference that they can filter particles smaller than 3-5 microns. Diatonic soil filters require flushing, because when the tank is filled with trapped particles, the pressure in it rises. Rinsing is recommended monthly, after which a new DE powder needs to be added. The filter grilles should be thoroughly cleaned once or twice a year.

Advantages: this is the most precise filter (captures particles below 5 microns); easy to maintain and adds extra DE powder.

Disadvantages: the most expensive filter, with higher maintenance costs; DE powder is carcinogenic; requires monthly rinsing of the filter, which increases wastewater; the grilles should be cleaned mainly once or twice a year.

The filters of your pool are one of the most important tools for it and must be kept very clean. So be sure to include them in your routine pool care to enjoy crystal clear and safe water for longer.