5 Common Mistakes Pool Owners Make
Pool owners, listen up: These common mistakes can be costly, but the good news is they are completely avoidable. Discover how you can keep your pool safe and swimmable all while improving the longevity of your pool system.
Mistake #1: Not Running the Pump Long Enough
While it may be tempting to save on electricity costs by turning your pool pump off early, you have to be sure you’re running the pump long enough for all of the water in the pool to be filtered once.
To determined how long you should run your pool pump, you need to know:
The volume of water your pool pump can pump per hour.
The volume of water in your pool.
Depending on the size of your pool and the gallons/liters per hour, you’ll likely find that you should run the pump between 6-8 hours per day.
Some pool contractors or online resources may say you should run the pool pump 24/7, but really this is a waste of electricity and a huge strain on your pump. If you need help determining the exact time you should run your pool pump, give us a call.
Call: 609-954-4327
Mistake #2: Not Maintaining the Proper Water Level
It’s imperative that pool owners keep a close eye on the water level of their pool, particularly if you notice that water is escaping.
Water can escape your pool for a variety of reasons, including:
People entering and exiting the pool.
Splashing in the pool.
Evaporation.
Leaks.
Backwashing.
While pool water escaping can be normal, maintaining a water level at least half way above the pool skimmers is key. Otherwise, the following issues could arise:
The pool pump can lose prime.
The pool motor can seize from running dry.
The pool motor can overhead from overexertion.
That’s because if the water level goes too low, water won’t enter the skimmer, resulting in air entering the pool pump.
Having the pool at the proper water level – or even slightly overfilled – will guard against this issue.
Mistake #3: Forgetting to Clean Filter and Strainer Basket
Forgetting to clean your pool’s filter and strainer basket is like throwing your garbage in the bin, but never bringing the garbage to the curb for pick up.
In general, you should clean your pool’s filter and strainer basket at least once a week.
To clean your pool filter, you’ll need to perform a backwash. Backwashing reverses the flow of water through the filter; removing build-up contaminants, dirt and debris; restoring the cleaning power of the system. In general, when the pressure gauge rises 8-10 PSI above the start-up pressure, it’s time to backwash the filter. Again, this is likely to occur about once a week.
The pool pump’s strainer basket prevents debris from clogging the pump’s important operating parts, therefore it’s important to empty it regularly. Depending on the size of the strainer basket, the time of the year and the location of your pool, you may need to clean the strainer basket more frequently. For example, if your pool is located beneath trees in the fall season, you may find yourself cleaning the basket more often than once per week.
Mistake #4: Incorrect Chlorination
Proper use of chlorine is required in chlorine pools in order to ensure the pool is safe to swim in. Not only does chlorine keep the pool water clean, it also kills germs.
But too much chlorine in pool water can be dangerous. Exposure to over-chlorination can provoke asthma, lung irritation or skin and eye irritation.
In addition to causing potentially dangerous health issues, high chlorine levels could also damage your pools – the chemical could fade your swimming pool liner or impact your pool’s pH levels.
That said, proper chlorination is key. The ideal chlorine combination of your pool is between 1 and 3 parts per million (ppm). But before you add the chlorine, you need to know how many gallons of water are in the pool.
And, before you add chlorine to your swimming pool, you should test the current chlorine level with a pool chlorine test strip. Generally, you should maintain the pool’s chlorine level between 1 and 3 ppm.
Mistake #5: Not Calling Pool Service & Management
There’s a lot more mistakes that we see pool owners make when we’re out on a job, but we don’t want to bore you with the details. Instead, we suggest you give our company a call so we can service your pool and educate you in the process.
Pool Service and Management proudly serves the Tri-State Area. We are a residential and commercial pool company headquartered out of Montclair, in Essex County, New Jersey.
Call: 609-954-4327
Email: poolservicecompanymanagement@gmail.com