Pool Maintenance Tips

Maintenance of your pool & spa equipment is important all year round, and especially after a party or weather event like a storm. Here is a quick list of the main things to check, so your pool and equipment keep working at their best.

Cleaning Equipment

Check your leaf rake nets for splits and tears, these can be replaced separately either in-store or at home with just a screwdriver (and a lot of patience). Cracks in the frame of leaf rakes and brushes happen when the residual chlorinated water remains on them as well as damage from the sun’s UV rays.

Pumps

Check for any signs of leakage, most commonly found underneath. There is a mechanical seal that can begin to leak and become noisy with age. If you find a leak this means the seal needs to be replaced.

Also check the pump basket for cracks as this can allow fine debris through, clogging the inside of the pump, and restricting or even stopping the flow of water.

Filters

Media filters should be backwashed, they can also be cleaned and degreased as they benefit greatly from this because not everything is expelled with a backwash.

Cartridge and DE filters require a good hose out and should also be degreased to maintain their efficiency and make them last longer.

Those with glass media are the easiest filters to clean as they don't require any degreasing. Just a good backwash then rinse and you'll be good to go again.

Check the Multiport Valve for any leaks, the most common place to find them is water coming up through the handle area as well as from around the collar where it joins to the tank.

The tank of the filter can fatigue over time from being under constant high pressures, be sure to run your eye and hands over the whole tank for leaks and stress cracks. Check the pressure gauge for correct pressure readings e.g. When the pump is off, it should be at 0 and when on, it is operating in the normal range.

Salt Chlorinator

A good cleaning of the cell is important, even if it is 'self-cleaning'. This will remove the excess Calcium buildup that can attach itself to the plates that prevent proper chlorine production & the sensor which can give you false readings.

Simply mix a very dilute acid:water mix of 1 part acid to 10 parts water in a bucket and put the cell into the mix, ensure that the acid/water solution only touches the plates and not over the cap onto the leads.

*Always add acid to water, never water to acid as this can splash the acid onto you!!

Check the power connections on the cap to ensure there are no exposed wires and they aren't stripped or damaged.

Pool Cleaners

There are a lot of wearing parts on suction cleaners including skirts, soles, swivels, floats, and hoses on suction cleaners to rollers and baskets on robotic cleaners. Usually, a visual inspection of the cleaner will easily show parts in need of repair, though if they just aren’t working like they used to, you can bring the whole unit into us and we’ll give it the professional once over or you can have us come to you and make sure it’s covering the whole pool.

Water Balance

A home test kit will check your chlorine, pH, and alkalinity levels. Ensure they are in the ideal range and balance where required.

Alternatively, by bringing a water sample into our shop, we'll be able to test for all the balances that can affect your water quality and ensure that you have the perfect balance to keep your water clear!

*IMPORTANT - This is only a guide for what we suggest to check. If you are unfamiliar with your equipment and/or its operation, please contact us. We can either help you learn more or come and check your equipment for you. More damage can be done by removing or uninstalling any parts of the filtration system and voiding any warranties you may have.

Simple pool care tips

When the first hot day of summer strikes the last place any pool owner wants to be is standing in their local pool shop.

Grant Forbes, the owner of Poolside Beaconsfield, knows this better than anyone.

But lucky for pool owners everywhere, Grant has some handy tips to keep them out of store queues and in their pools – and it all starts long before summer hits.

If you do this, your visit to the pool shop at the start of summer will result in you requiring more chemicals and you not swimming until the pool has turned back to what is considered chemically safe.

So you can have a pool that looks fantastic all year round and is ready to use when you need it or you can stand in your pool shop on a hot Saturday morning getting frustrated because you’re standing in a queue in the pool shop to be told you need all these chemicals and cannot use your pool.

“It will cost you the same to maintain your pool for 12 months – whether you visit your pool shop every month in winter and every two weeks in summer, or if you ignore it and let your pool turn green throughout winter”

According to Grant, one of the keys to maintaining a quality pool is investing in quality equipment such as pumps and pool cleaners, because, as he says; You shouldn’t have to come home and work on a pool. You should come home and be in the pool!

Another important factor in keeping a pool looking tip-top is a pool cover.

A pool cover does three things, firstly, it keeps large debris out. The second thing it does is keep the heat in, and the third thing is that it reduces your water evaporation by 97%.

Once summer is over, a heating system can extend its use well into the cooler months. There are multiple heating systems on the market now with each having its own benefits. The first is a solar heating system that ideally goes on the north-facing roof and uses the sun to heat your pool water by way of a circulation pump.

Second is a gas-fired heating system that uses natural gas to heat your pool water by circulating the water through the heater.

The third is a heat pump which uses similar technology to reverse cycle air conditioning using the heat in the air to heat your pool water by way of a circulation pump.

Advice for any time of the year

The best advice I could give anyone is to visit their pool shop on a regular basis and do what the computer-generated report tells you to do without question. There are millions of pieces of data that come together in the software program to recommend what is best for your pool as no two pools are the same.

I also suggest having your equipment serviced each winter so it is in reliable condition for your summer swimming experience.