Common Mistakes You Can Make With Your Swimming Pool Care

Here are some common failures and things to avoid with your swimming pool, and of course, cover these and more in the podcast.

Failure to add water
This is the #1 failure I see daily. 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 a short period, 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, most regions lose one to two inches of water each from evaporation. The ideal pool water level is right before the skimmer opening. The pool will stay much cleaner with the correct water level, and you will avoid expensive repairs.

On the flip side is failing to turn the water off while filling the pool. This happens to almost every customer. Try setting your phone alarm or turning on your stove timer. I don't fill customer pools because of liability, but I will occasionally fill them if I am at a vacant property. I always set my truck keys on the fill valve so 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 every week. The debris can clog up either or both baskets, preventing the pool pump from priming. This will also cause the pool not to filter correctly, and the water quality will suffer. It is straightforward, and you should check and empty 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 with water before putting the lid back on the pump. The pump will prime up much better with water in the pot area. Also, I have seen customers 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 it will remain off all week if you don't hit the on/off button when you are done using the pool. So, if you use the pool in the afternoons, I suggest programming it to run in the early AM and turning it off by 3 pm to avoid this issue. I see this often on my pool route and have also left a pool off by mistake all week – oops.

Also similar 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 gone into the backyard and seen a 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.

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