Express Pool Care service professionals explain importance of vacuuming a pool
Swimming pool maintenance and upkeep — to the uninitiated may seem like a mystery of chemicals, skimming and turning pumps and filters on and off. The swimming pool service contractors from Express Pool Care agree that it is a task that requires diligence and know how. Some swimming pool owners start out performing their own upkeep and maintenance but realize after a short time that it takes more time than they thought, and it could cost them more money to care for the pool on their own than to hire a professional pool service contractor in Laveen, Arizona. Why could it cost more? Simply because you don’t quite understand the intricacies of balancing the chemicals and this could lead to your having to continue adding more and more to keep it in balance — this can be costly. Also, if you clean the pool yourself, you will have to purchase the chemicals and have a place to store them where children and pets do not have access to.
You will certainly want to clean your pool between service visits by skimming off floating debris or even vacuuming up debris that’s fallen to the bottom. You can even avoid this by asking your pool contractor about the installation of an automatic swimming pool vacuum. Monsoon season in Arizona is also somewhat of a challenge to the homeowner who may not be equipped to know how to clean up the dirt aka mud that might make its way into the pool and do deal with the changing water chemistry because monsoon rains have changed it.
Here are tips for vacuuming your swimming pool between service visits:
- Put the vacuum head and the hose together and then attach it to the filter
- After you’ve completed that, lower the vacuum head to the bottom of the pool. The vacuum hose will need to be sunk to the bottom of the pool slowly so the air moves out of it. You can tell if you’ve properly lowered the vacuum head if water comes out of the hose. If you work with a pool service contractor you won’t have to concern yourself with brushing the walls and bottom of the pool before you vacuum. If you don’t work with a pool contractor, this will be a task you will need to complete before you vacuum.
- Remove skimmer basket and connect the free end of the hose to the opening at the back
- Turn the main control valve on the filter to the off position. Turn the control valve attached to the skimmer off until the pump starts. Open the valve slowly until the pump starts running
- Vacuum slowly so you don’t stir up fallen debris. If the pool is overly dirty you may have to empty the pump strainer
- After you’re done vacuuming turn the valves off prior to lifting the vacuum from the water
Vacuuming the pool, just as testing and adding chemicals, is not a task that can be pushed off. It will lead to dirty, bacteria-filled water and even algae growth. Talk with your pool contractor so you can understand the nuances of cleaning and maintaining a swimming pool.