This Free "Pool Care Cheat Sheet" Instantly Helps You Become A Pool Expert!

This Free "Pool Care Cheat Sheet" Instantly Helps You Become A Pool Expert!

By entering your email address you agree to receive emails from me about pool care. I won't sell your information and you can unsubscribe at any time.

From the pool of John Smith,

If you're like every new pool owner, you're a little lost when it comes to how to maintain it.  Are you wondering how do you test, what do you test, what chemical to add, how much to add, or what weekly tasks you need to be doing?  
Don't worry.  Every new pool owner has those same questions.  The good news is pool maintenance isn't hard.  It's actually quite easy and I want to help you.  My mission is to help you master pool care so you can spend more time enjoying your pool instead of stressing about it.

The Basics of the Easy Pool Care Method

Having a pool in your backyard to enjoy whenever you want is awesome, right?  But the stress of not knowing how to take care of it is no fun.  I feel you on that which is why I want to help.
After about a year of trial and error I finally found a method that not only worked, but was super simple and easy.  I don't fight algae anymore.  I don't stress about what chemicals to add.  I'm not having to spend hours a week taking care of it.  
I call it The Easy Pool Care Method.
The Easy Pool Care Method has a few basic principles.
  • Only doing what you need, when you need it
  • ​Liquid first approach
  • ​Knowing how your pool behaves and anticipating it
  • ​Harnesses the power of observation (aka just look at it)
  • Keep it simple
  • ​Have more fun!

Know How Your Pool Works

Probably the most important part of owning a pool is simply knowing how it works.  Luckily pools are pretty simple.
Looking for even more pool care help? I’ve got got you covered. Check out my Easy Pool Care Method video course and become a pool care master.

Simplify pool maintenance with my FREE pool care cheat sheet.

Simplify pool maintenance with my FREE pool care cheat sheet.

By entering your email address you agree to receive emails from me about pool care. I won't sell your information and you can unsubscribe at any time.

The Typical Components of a Pool

In order for you to property care for your pool you must know how it works.  You don't have to have a masters degree in pool design and maintenance.  You just need to know the basics.  By knowing this it's easier to troubleshoot any problem that might come your way.

The Pool Water

This might seem like a "duh" moment but your pool water is by far the biggest component of your pool.  It's what makes a pool a pool.  Your water has a delicate balance that it must be in. It also needs to be sanitized to kill icky germs that could make you sick.

The Pool Pump

The pool pump is like the heart of the pool.  It pulls the water from the pool and pushes it through the filter.   Without it your water wouldn't circulate.

The Filter

The filter simply removes all the small particles and dirt from the water.  As the pump pushes the water through the filter the small particles get trapped in the filter and the clean water returns to the pool.

Skimmers and Returns

Along the surface of the pool you will have one or more skimmers.  These allow the water to flow into it, trapping any debris that is floating on the surface.  The water is sucked back to the filter and the debris is left stuck in a basket.  
Returns are the jets on your pool walls that shoot the water back into your pool after it has left the filter.

Great Circulation Equals Easy Pool Care

We've all seen a gross stagnant pool of water that isn't moving.  I don't know about you but I wouldn't want to swim in it.  Simply put, when water is moving it's harder for the icky stuff to take root.  
The better circulation you have in your pool, the less problems you are going to have.  If you have poor circulation you'll have nothing but problems, no matter how balanced your pool water is. 
Luckily great circulation boils down to a few simple tasks:
  • Keep your skimmer baskets clear of debris
  • ​Empty your pump basket when it gets a lot of debris in it
  • ​Run your pump at least 8 hours a day, but ideally 12 hours
  • ​Clean your filter when the PSI is 5-10 PSI higher than normal

How To Keep Your Pool Chemistry Balanced

Pool chemistry confusion is what drives most pool owners to hire a cleaning service.  I've got news for you though, you don't have to be a math wiz or chemistry major to know how to do it.  And if I'm being real honest, you don't even have to worry about trying to measure out exactly how much needs to be added.  Always keep in mind that you're working with thousands of gallons of water.  Approximation is your friend when adding chemicals.

Get A Complete Test Kit

Having a complete testing kit is a must.  Most of the test kits you will find in the store just test chlorine and pH.  I learned the hard way that only testing those will lead to problems and leaving you saying "WTF am I doing wrong?".
The Taylor K-2006 is a complete test kit that is simple to use and is the Gold Standard in the pool care industry.  You need this.

pH

pH is how acidic or base your water is.  The ideal range for a pool is between 7.2 and 7.8.  If it's higher you'll start seeing white scaling form on your tile.  It will also start eating away at your grout and plaster.  If it's too low it becomes acidic and you'll notice your eyes and skin getting a lot more irritated.

Sanitization & CYA

Sanitization is simply the act of killing germs and algae.  For most pools chlorine is the best option.  The problem though is the sun will burn up your chlorine before it has a chance to do it's job.
That's where cyanuric acid (CYA) comes it.  It acts like sunscreen for your chlorine.  It's important to understand the relationship between CYA and chlorine.  The more CYA you have, the more chlorine is needed.  This is because CYA "crowds" the chlorine preventing it from doing it's job if there is too much.  If CYA is too low then the sun will burn up your chlorine fast, meaning you need more chlorine just to keep it in your pool.
The sweet spot for CYA is 30-50 ppm and 4-6 ppm of chlorine.

Simplify pool maintenance with my FREE pool care cheat sheet.

By entering your email address you agree to receive emails from me about pool care. I won't sell your information and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Simplify pool maintenance with my FREE pool care cheat sheet.

Alkalinity

Alkalinity helps buffer your pH helping it stay more stable.  The ideal range is 50 - 90 ppm.  While alkalinity is important you will find that you do not need to test it that often.  I recommend testing it 2-4 times a year and adjusting as needed.

Borax (Your New Best Friend)

Borax is the "secret sauce" for easy pool care.  Odds are you've seen it in your grocery store in the laundry detergent isle.  20-Mule Borax is typically the brand you will find.  Borax is a natural mineral that has several benefits like making your clothes cleaner.
For pool care, it acts like a natural algicide and lowers the surface tension of the water.  It's extremely effective too.  It also is wonderful at stabilizing your pH so that it doesn't change that often.  Who doesn't want to deal with pH less, use less chlorine and have less algae?
The ideal about of borax is 50 ppm.  There are Borate test strips that are super easy to use.  Just be aware that Borax will spike your pH.  You will need to add Muriatic acid at the same time to counter act.  

Calcium Hardness

Calcium hardness is how much calcium you have in your pool.  If you have too little then your water will start sucking out calcium from your plaster, grout and concrete.  This will greatly reduce the life of your pool.  If it's too high then you will start seeing white calcium deposits around your pool and in your pool equipment.  
The ideal range is between 200 - 350 ppm.  To raise your Calcium you can add calcium hardener.  To reduce your calcium you must drain some of your water and replace with fresh water that is low in calcium.

The Bare Minimum Cleaning Needed

When most people think of pool care the vision that comes to mind is how they will be spending all day brushing and vacuuming instead of enjoying their pool.  This will leave people to believe that hiring someone else to do it is the best thing to do. 
While I can't promise you never have to clean your pool, I do promise that you won't be spending all day doing it.  In reality it's closer to 1 hour a week, and not even at one time.
I recommend you take a look at your pool every day.  Casually stroll around it to see what it might need that day.  If the baskets are full spend 5 minutes to empty them.  Do this throughout the week, breaking up the tasks into small 5 minute efforts.

Cleaning Baskets

Your skimmer baskets need to be emptied weekly, sometimes more.  These are collecting all the stuff that floats on the surface.  If they get too full your circulation will start to suffer because the pump is having a hard time sucking in water.  
Save yourself some time and don't worry about getting the basket 100% clean.  I used to spend time making sure I got every spec of dirt out of the basket.  I realized that's not needed because they are just going to fill up again.  Just make sure you get all the large stuff out so that the water can flow easier.

Simplify pool maintenance with my FREE pool care cheat sheet.

Simplify pool maintenance with my FREE pool care cheat sheet.

By entering your email address you agree to receive emails from me about pool care. I won't sell your information and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Brushing

Brushing your pool's walls, steps and corners on a regular basis is a must.  During the summer months you will need to do this at least once a week, more if you see algae.  During the winter you can go a few weeks between brushing as long as you don't see algae.  
When brushing know that you don't have to brush hard to be effective.  I used to feel like I had to really scrub the sides.  Then a friend pointed out that I was reducing the life of my plaster by scrubbing that hard.  The ideal brush stroke should feel like you were sweeping the floor with a broom.  You just want to give the surface a quick swipe.

Skimming

Skimming is simply using a net to get debris that are floating on the surface.  You only need to do this when you notice a lot of stuff floating on the surface and not making it into the skimmers.
Pro Tip:  If you angle your return jets in the same direction and slightly up they will start moving the surface water in a circular motion.  This will push debris into your skimmers and almost eliminate the need for you to skim manually.

Save Tons of Time With An Automatic Pool Cleaner

Invest in an automatic pool cleaner.  It will save you so much time it's not even funny.  If you don't have one, then you will have to manually vacuum your pool.  Vacuuming stinks and takes a long time.  Let a robot do it for you.  For a few hundred dollars you can save at least a hundred hours of your time.

Vacuuming

I'll be honest, vacuuming is my least favorite part of pool care.  I avoid it at all costs if I can.  But sadly there are some times where it's the best or only option.
If you have a lot of "stuff" on the bottom of your pool, and you don't have an automatic pool cleaner, then you have no choice but to vacuum.  Otherwise all that debris will be mixed up when you swim, clouding up the water.  Just be sure to go slow when vacuuming.  If you go too fast it can kick up the debris making it harder to vacuum up.

Caring for a "Salt Water" Pool

Have a salt water pool?  The common term is Salt Water Generated (SWG).  This simply means you have a device that converts salt to chlorine.  At the end of the day you still have a chlorine pool.  That means everything that I said above applied to your pool.
The only difference is you also need to add "pool salt" to your pool regularly.  The ideal range is 2,700 - 3,500 ppm.  There are salt test strips that make testing a snap.  
You will also need to clean your salt cell about every 3 months.  This is the device that uses electricity to convert salt to chlorine.  Over time junk will build up on the cell making it hard for it to do it's conversion, which reduces the chlorine in your pool.  It can be cleaned with muriatic acid.

Have Fun!!!

This is by far the most important part of owning a pool.  You are one of the lucky few to have a swimming pool. 

Enjoy it!

Simplify pool maintenance with my FREE pool care cheat sheet.

Simplify pool maintenance with my FREE pool care cheat sheet.

By entering your email address you agree to receive emails from me about pool care. I won't sell your information and you can unsubscribe at any time.
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