POOL SEASON
Pool Season is right around the corner and its almost time to get those pools back up and running for the summer. To help with basic pool maintenance questions Pool Pros put together this guide to help you start off pool season on the right foot! Fiberglass Pool Maintenance is the easiest of all 3 types of pools. Follow these simple guidelines to spend less time cleaning your poo and more time enjoying your fiberglass pool.
POOL MAINTENANCE
Some basic maintenance tasks for a fiberglass pool would be to ensure your pool filter is running for the proper amount of time to turnover the water in your pool at least 1.5 times per day. Also make sure your water level is about 2/3rd up the face of the skimmer. Make sure you are sanitizing and balancing your water chemistry regularly with the proper chemicals and proper amounts. Lets break this down further into the types of pool maintenance and frequency of that type of pool maintenance.
3 KEYS TO POOL MAINTENANCE SUCCESS
1: Circulation- Without proper circulation your pool will be difficult to keep clean. Proper circulation is achieved when the total amount of water in your pool can travel through your filtration system a minimum of 1.5 times per day. So that means you need to be sure that your pool pump is running long enough during the day to achieve that affect.
2: Filtration - Without proper filtration your pool will start to get hazy/cloudy then inevitably will turn onto an aglae bloom. So be sure that your filters are always clean and ready for action. Monitor your clean start up pressure on your filter and when the pressure climbs 10 psi it is time to clean that bugger out. Clean filters = clean pools.
3: Sanitization - Without proper sanitizing chemicals in your pool you will struggle to keep your pool usable. Sanitization can include keeping a chlorine residual in your pool via a floating tablet feeder with Tri Chlor Tablets in it and the use of a Pool Shock treatment once per week to destroy combined chlorine molecules.
POOL MAINTENANCE MYTH
A clear clean pool is a balanced pool! This could not be further form the truth. A pool that is crystal clear can lull you into a false reality that your pool is balanced. Its easy to fall into that trap. However, if your pool water is not balanced for an extended period of time even though it looks crystal clear you could be slowly damaging the pool surface and or components of the pool equipment like the pump seals, heat exchangers, etc. Most of this damage is unseen until it is too late and it is expensive to repair so don't be lulled into complacency by clear water. Always, test your pool water to be certain.
Daily Pool Maintenance-
Daily pool maintenance is generally not needed. Whenever possible it helps to check that your pool pump is running and the water level is where it should be. That's about it for daily maintenance.
Weekly Pool Maintenance-
At least once per week you should test your pool water chemistry and balance as needed. Do this more frequently when you are starting out with a new pool until you get a goo grasp on how your pool works. You should also add 1/2 of a gallon to 1 gallon of liquid pool shock to the pool keep the water sanitized. Do this by slowly pouring the liquid chlorine in the pool as you walk around the outside of the pool. This helps to distribute the chlorine better than pouring it in one spot. This is also a good time to check your floating tablet feeder an add chlorine tablets as needed. Make sure you always have 2-3 full tablets in the floating feeder at all times. We recommend using Tri-Chlor only for fiberglass pools. Do Not use Cal Hypo at all in a fiberglass pool. It will lead to potential staining of the interior finish of the pool.
You will also want to either plug in your robotic pool cleaner at least once per week or manually vacuum your pool and brush the pool walls to keep you new pool looking its best. Check out this great video above from River Pools on how to vacuum your swimming pool. Lastly if you have an automatic pool cover you want to make sure that you leave the cover open to gas off any built up chlorine from under the cover. This could be for a few hours or an entire day.
Seasonal Pool Maintenance-
Seasonal Pool Maintenance is basically opening and closing of your pool based on the season. We always recommend hiring a fiberglass pool professional for this type of pool maintenance. If this is done incorrectly it could lead to expensive or catastrophic damage to the pool and or its plumbing. Seasonal Pool Maintenance could be the cleaning of your pool cover when you remove it in spring and the deep cleaning of your filter cartridges each fall after the pool is closed. These 2 steps will ensure you start your pool season off on the right foot.
Make it a Ritual
Consistency is king when it comes to pool maintenance. Be sure to perform your weekly pool maintenance on the same day at the same time every week. This will reduce the chance of your pool getting away from you and causing an algae outbreak or a wildly unbalanced pool. MAKE IT A RITUAL. weekly pool. Its easy to forget about pool maintenance especially when your pool is crystal clear. Creating a schedule and sticking to it will easily remind you what needs to be done. Whether it is daily, weekly or seasonal maintenance your pool will thank you for staying on top of maintenance.
Chemicals-
Common chemicals you will need for your pool are pool shock, chlorine tablets, algaecide, pH Up and pH Down, Scale Free. These chemicals help keep your pool clean and water balanced. They are easy to understand and use when needed. Be sure that you are using the correct chemicals and in the right amount for fiberglass pools. Fiberglass pools are a unique beast and should be treated differently than a concrete or a vinyl pool. DO NOT use any Cal Hypo products in your fiberglass pool. Your pool will thank you.
Chlorine-
Chlorine helps destroy harmful bacteria, keeps water safe for swimmers and keeps the algae away. Add chlorine tablets to a floating dispenser and liquid chlorine directly to the pool.
Pool Shock-
Pool shocking is needed every so often with different reasons for why the water needs to be shocked. Such as heavy rainfall, there was a surge in pool use, water temperature soared and for the first time opening or closing your pool. Adding pool shock is recommended at night because the sun can burn off the chlorine very quickly. We recommend using liquid chlorine as a pool shock.
Algaecide-
Algaecide is used by maintenance crews for pool cleanings because of its ability to kill off an algae infestation. They kill and stunt the algae growth in your pool. While chlorine is the best to fight off algae, algaecide is a good secondary option for pool sanitation every week.
Scale Free-
A Scale Free or Metal Free type product will help remove metals and minerals from your pool water in turn reducing the chance of scaling or staining of your pools surface.
What not to do-
Your pool maintenance shouldn’t have to be hard in any way. Getting an understanding of the pool chemicals and pool cleaning needed to keep your fiberglass pool in top shape is not difficult at all. The biggest no no is mixing pool chemicals. Never at any time should you add chemical to other chemicals. The combination could be fatal. Always add chemicals directly to the pool when applicable. In some cases it sir recommended to fill a bucket of water and then add the chemicals to the bucket, thoroughly mix them and then disburse into the pool. Never let your pool pump run dry. If you pool water level is low add water right away. If its too low, turn off the pump until the pool is filled back up then turn it back on. Lastly and most importantly DO NOT Drain your fiberglass pool ever. This should be left up to a professional fiberglass pool service company. If you do drain a fiberglass pool it will void any installer and manufacturers warranty and could damage the pool.
THE MORAL OF THE STORY
Pool Maintenance is not bad at all. There is a bit of a learning curve like anything in life but after a few weeks you will get into a routine and you will find that keeping your fiberglass pool is a breeze and a fraction of the work a gunite or vinyl pool would take. For more info on fiberglass pools check out the related articles below.
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