Cleaning can be the most time consuming part of maintenance.  Here are some tips on how to make that part pretty simple:

• Brush “dead spots” – near steps, ladders, and lights.  Anywhere that the circulation is not as strong.  This should take less than 5 minutes.
• Vacuum the pool.  We recommend having an automatic cleaner or an in-floor cleaning system, so this should not long.  Without one of these, however, one hour pool maintenance can be difficult to attain.
• Clean out the skimmer and pump baskets.  It’s important that these are free of debris to ensure proper circulation.  This should take only a couple minutes.
• Check the filter pressure, and clean the filter when the pressure rises 8-10 psi above where it runs when clean.  With a cartridge filter, this entails removing the cartridges from the filter housing and spraying them off with a hose.  A sand filter requires backwashing.
• The pool needs to be uncovered a minimum of 24 hours a week.  The pool needs to breathe so that contaminants can be oxidized from the water.  If you spend at least 24 hours a week in the pool (we hope so!), then you don’t need to leave the cover off any additional time.  Always uncover the pool the day of weekly maintenance, too.

If you spend more time taking care of the pool than you do enjoying it, come talk to us about how to reverse that trend!