Owning a pool in Austin, Texas can be thrilling and exciting especially during our hot summer months when you just want to relax and spend quality time with your family. However, having a pool means more than just filling it with water.  There is a huge responsibility that owning a pool comes with. You have to properly maintain it to ensure that it’s not only healthy, but also safe for the users. While it’s easier to hire a pool service company, there are a few things that you can do to effectively maintain your pool.

Some of the things you need to do to properly care for the pool include:

Skimming the water surface

One of the easiest ways to keep the pool clean is by removing any leaves or debris that may have accumulated. Failure to skim the surface of the water means that the debris sinks to the bottom of the pool which makes work difficult as you’ll now have to use a vacuum.  Skimming the top should be done on a daily basis to ensure that there is enough circulation and that minimal amounts of chemicals are used when testing the quality of water using pool test strips.

Run the filter a couple of hours daily

A lot of homeowners struggle with algae growth in their pools. This is because they either run the filter for too long or for less hours depending on the size of their pool.  A filter should run for 6-7 hours each day to keep the water clean. It’s also recommended to check your filter for any debris accumulation.  A healthy pool has proper water circulation which prevents growth of algae.

Vacuum the pool at least once on a weekly basis

If you want to enjoy your pool for a long time, it is important to ensure that you vacuum it at least once a week.  Vacuuming gets rid of the debris along the bottom. It’s also wise to first brush the sides of your pool to remove any dirt before vacuuming.

Test the water quality

You can easily use a pool test strip to test the quality of your swimming pool water. These strips are inexpensive and accurate. A PH balance of 7.2-7.8 shows that you have good quality water and that there is no need to add any chemical to balance the PH.

These are some of the easiest ways to maintain your pool. Not only are these methods cost-effective, they are also easy to implement to keep your pool healthy and safe.

Keep in mind a quality Austin Pool builder can automate most of these maintenance tasks with robots and high end Pentair equipment.