Popular Articles
"Saltwater pool conversion" might sound like there is a lot involved. If you're wondering how you convert to salt, it really doesn't involve any big procedures. In fact, it's very DIY-friendly. If you can use some basic tools (or have a handy friend to help) you can do it yourself in about an hour.
Converting from chlorine to a saltwater pool simply means...
Read more
Once you start thinking about the pool again, many pool owners who still use chlorine ask themselves again if they should put a salt system on their pool, but don't know what to think about what they've heard. A very common question that comes up is "I've been thinking about changing my pool to saltwater, but I've just heard so many different things about it. Is it true that...
Read moreLatest Articles
The Essential Salt Water Pool Maintenance Guide For Beginners
This article and video goes over the four pillars of pool maintenance and what to expect with a saltwater pool. The goal of this guide is to go over the essentials to help keep that pool looking good with minimal work. You might be surprised to find that a lot of this is great info if you’re still manually chlorinating your pool.
What makes this specific to salt pools is that we’re assuming you’re using a salt chlorine generator for your method of sanitation. So for those that made the switch to a salt pool, good for you. it is easier to maintain than traditional chlorine pools but OF COURSE it is not maintenance free. Alrite, that’s a common misconception. The following 4 things are key to your pool maintenance. And if you learn these basics trust me, it will make your life a whole lot easier:
The 4 ESSENTIAL Basics are:
- Sanitation
- Circulation
- Water Balance
- Basic Upkeep
1) Sanitation
Sanitation is the difference between a pool and a swamp. Put simply, you have to continuously kill off the bad things that are trying grow in your water. If you don’t do that, the water is going to turn cloudy and green. You either need to manually buy and add chlorine to the pool, or use a salt chlorine generator to provide that sanitation. This is the foundation of a clear blue pool.
We’ll get more into the details in a minute when we talk about “water balance”, but practically speaking, for salt pools this simply means setting your chlorine generator to match your pool’s needs. If you still have a chlorine pool, this means manually adding chlorine to the pool on a frequent, regular basis.
2) Pool Circulation
Now to get that water crystal clear and keep it clean, you’re gonna need regular circulation in the pool. This is your pump and filter system, which keeps the water moving and captures the dirt and debris.
Like any body of water, the more the water circulates, the easier it is for the water to stay clear. Think of a fast moving stream versus a stagnant pond. Getting adequate circulation allows you to capture those impurities through filtration. With a standard pump & filter system, the typical pool usually needs 8-12 hours of run time a day – though of course there may be some variance depending on your pool’s unique setup. If you want to get more advanced and measure your pool’s flow rate, your goal is to “turnover” all the water in the pool 1-2 times a day. Ensuring proper circulation is another critical element to maintaining a clean pool.
3) Monitoring Water Balance
Monitoring water balance. This is one most people struggle with. It also tends to be pretty intimidating to new pool owners but it doesn’t have to be.
You might ask, what are you even balancing – isn’t it just water? Well, your water has certain characteristics that make it behave a certain way. And the whole goal is to balance those characteristics so your pool doesn’t behave unexpectedly. And there are A LOT of “characteristics” that go into water balance. What were gonna do is highlight a few important ones that can have the biggest impact on your pool.4) Basic Upkeep of your Pool and Equipment
If you have an outdoor pool, there's gotta be a little regular maintenance. This includes checking your pump and skimmer baskets regularly. You don’t want your system to get plugged up with debris. Same goes for leaves and debris floating on top of the pool, and stuff that’s accumulated at the bottom of the pool. Don’t let those leaves stay in the pool too long or it can affect your chemistry. And remember, if you want to save some effort here, a robotic pool cleaner can help tremendously with this.
Finally, be sure to clean out your pool filter when it gets too full. You’ll know its getting full by checking the pressure gauge on the top of the filter. Pressure will build as the filter gets dirty. Once you see the pressure go up by about 10 psi, its time to clean the filter. But you need to know your filter’s baseline pressure – what it reads when it is clean. If you don’t know this number, no big deal, clean it out and then take note.
Alright - so there you have it, the four essential basics. Maintain proper pool sanitation, make sure you get enough pool circulation, keep your water chemistry balanced, and check for when your pool needs a little basic upkeep. And believe me I know it can be a little overwhelming at first, but if you’re still a little confused or have any questions please just call us and we’ll be happy to go over with you. Trust me, after you get a groove going and a good schedule, there's really nothing to it. Sometimes all you need is some simple reminders set in your phone!
