Common Mistakes and Errors You Can Make with Your Pool Care and Tips to Avoid Them

One of the things that can happen with a pool and pool equipment is user error. When you purchase a house with a pool or start your pool service business there is no owners manual and many times you learn by trial and error. Below are three of the common mistakes I see that a homeowner will make with their swimming pool and equipment. Listen to the Podcast to here more mistakes and to hear details about all three of these.

Failure to add water
This is probably the #1 failure I see on a daily basis. Many pools do not have an in-deck Autofill system so it is up to the pool owner to add water to the pool each week. Newer pools have a safety feature in the skimmer to prevent the pump from running dry but older pools do not. If the water is left low for even a short period of time, leaks will happen and the pool motor can burn out. This is one of the easiest things to correct, check and add water to the pool weekly. In the Summer in most regions figure to loose one to two inches of water each with from evaporation. Ideal pool water level is right in the middle of the skimmer opening. The pool will stay much cleaner with the correct water level and you will avoid a host of expensive repairs.

On the flip side to this is failing to turn the water off while filling the pool. This happens to almost every customer. Try setting your phone alarm or turn on your stove timer. I don't fill customer's pools because of liability but if I am at a vacant property I will fill it on occasion. I always set my truck keys on the fill valve so that I don't leave the account with the water running.

Not Emptying the Skimmer or Pump Baskets:
Just as bad as not filling the pool is not cleaning the skimmer or pump baskets on a weekly basis. The debris can clog up either or both baskets and this also can prevent the pool pump from priming. This will also cause the pool not to filter properly and the water quality will suffer. It is very easy thing to do and you should check and empty both the pump and skimmer basket each week. Also, I suggest adding a large rock to the skimmer basket as in many cases they will float up after the pool turns off spilling debris everywhere – the rock will keep it down in the skimmer.

One error I often see when the customer empties the pump basket is not filling the pump up with water before putting the lid back on the pump. The pump will prime up much better with water in the pump pot area. Also, I have seen customer's drop the pump lid O-Ring out onto the ground and put the lid back on without it. The pump will not prime without the O-Ring on the pump lid. Make sure the O-Ring is on there and in good shape.

Failure to Turn the Pool on:
If you have a stand alone VS pump there is a dedicated on/off button and many customers will turn the pool off when using it – with this button. But if you don't hit the on/off button when you are done using the pool it will remain off all week. So if you are going to use the pool in the afternoons, I suggest programming it to run in the early AM and turn off by 3 pm to avoid this issue. I see this a lot on my pool route and I also have left a pool off by mistake all week – oops.

Also similar to this is when you use your attached spa and forget to turn the valves back to pool mode when finished. I can't tell you how many times I have went into the backyard and saw a perfectly clear and sparkling spa and a cloudy or algae filled pool. The spa was left running all week while the pool was off all week. So after using the spa be sure to turn the valves back to pool mode to avoid leaving the poo off all week.

Listen to the Podcast to hear more failures and user errors.
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