Weekly Pool Routine questions

[PoolStudent]

I'm trying to get a better idea of what to do on a weekly basis for my pool and what is the best order to do the routine.

Equipment
1. Telescope Arm
2. Vacuum Head
3. Brush
4. Hose

1. Brush Pool
2. Vacuum Pool w/ water draining out of filter
3. Clean Skimmer basket
4. Clean Pump basket
5. Clean Filter
6. Test Chemical
7. Remove Water if needed for CH or CYA
8. Add Acid/Chlorine etc.

I am on the fence about getting an automated cleaner, but those that do please share what you do.

Is this a good way to go about the weekly routine?

 

[jblizzle]

No. It does not work that way.

Chemically you should be testing at least the FC and pH daily and adjusting as needed. Less often you should be testing the rest of the levels and adjusting as needed.

You should clean the skimmer and pump as often as required. Clean the filter when the pressure rises 20-25% over the clean pressure.

Brushing one a week would be good assuming not new plaster. Vacuum and use a leaf take as often as required.

You can not create a general schedule as all pools are different.

 

[SunnyOptimism]

There is already an article on this -

http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/131-basic-pool-care-schedule

Automatic pool cleaners come in three different flavors - pressure-side cleaners, suction-side cleaners and electric robots. Which one you choose depends on the configuration of your pool (do you have a suction port? do you have a booster pump? etc, etc) and how much $$$$$ you have.....if you give us more details about your pool's plumbing configuration, we might be able to make some suggestions.

 

[PoolStudent]

No. It does not work that way.

Chemically you should be testing at least the FC and pH daily and adjusting as needed. Less often you should be testing the rest of the levels and adjusting as needed.

You should clean the skimmer and pump as often as required. Clean the filter when the pressure rises 20-25% over the clean pressure.

Brushing one a week would be good assuming not new plaster. Vacuum and use a leaf take as often as required.

You can not create a general schedule as all pools are different.

I guess I wasn't quite clear with what I meant. I plan on doing the daily maintenance, checking FC/CC and pH.

What I meant was what is the best order of operations for the weekly maintenance from the article SunnyOptimism posted. Is the order listed in the article the best way to go about it?

 

[SunnyOptimism]

I guess I wasn't quite clear with what I meant. I plan on doing the daily maintenance, checking FC/CC and pH.

What I meant was what is the best order of operations for the weekly maintenance from the article SunnyOptimism posted. Is the order listed in the article the best way to go about it?

Again, it all depends on the specifics of your pool.

For example, this would be my order of operations for a full system clean -

1. Skim water surface
2. Put pump on high speed and adjust Skimmer/Vacuum valve for max pull on suction port without causing too much cavitation
3. Vacuum pool with in-line leaf canister on vacuum head
4. Adjust valve for 100% skimmer/Main-drain, remove and clean in-line leaf canister, remove all vacuum equipment from pool
5. Clean skimmer basket
6. Shut off pump and clean pump leaf trap
7. Start up pump and backwash DE filter
8. Shut off pump and prepare a fresh charge of DE
9. Turn on system and pour DE charge into skimmer basket to recharge DE

But that's just me....everyone does these things a little different....

 

[PoolStudent]

Again, it all depends on the specifics of your pool.

For example, this would be my order of operations for a full system clean -

1. Skim water surface
2. Put pump on high speed and adjust Skimmer/Vacuum valve for max pull on suction port without causing too much cavitation
3. Vacuum pool with in-line leaf canister on vacuum head
4. Adjust valve for 100% skimmer/Main-drain, remove and clean in-line leaf canister, remove all vacuum equipment from pool
5. Clean skimmer basket
6. Shut off pump and clean pump leaf trap
7. Start up pump and backwash DE filter
8. Shut off pump and prepare a fresh charge of DE
9. Turn on system and pour DE charge into skimmer basket to recharge DE

But that's just me....everyone does these things a little different....

Sunny Optimism I see you have a pool cleaner. I am manually brushing my pool at the moment. Would you recommend I brush the pool the day before I vacuum since everything should settle down on the bottom of the pool by the next day?

 

[SunnyOptimism]

Sunny Optimism I see you have a pool cleaner. I am manually brushing my pool at the moment. Would you recommend I brush the pool the day before I vacuum since everything should settle down on the bottom of the pool by the next day?

I brush once a week as a matter of routine. All I really brush for is aeration and if I add acid I like to brush to help mix up the soup. When I brush for cleanliness, all I ever brush/sweep is dust and dirt. I do get the occasional mesquite leaves at the bottom but those usually settle within minutes of brushing. I don't really feel line it matters much for me because if I don't get it with the vacuum head, Kreepy Krauly will get it later.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[kcindc]

Everyone and every pool is different. I'm sure each member has a very different process, but essentially, you do what you need to do in order to have a clear and balanced pool.

I test FC, CC and PH daily and adjust as necessary.... I manually dose with bleach and I use pucks when I need to boost my CYA.

I test TA weekly and adjust if necessary. I usually only need to adjust TA twice in a season because my fill water is around 80 TA.

I test CH every two weeks and CYA once a month because I have a small leak in my underground plumbing and my fill water has lower CH than necessary for my pool type.

In the spring and fall, I clean my skimmers out twice a day. I brush every two weeks and sometimes less often, but I have a polaris that runs a few hours each day (tree debris). I manually vacuum only when I open my pool in the spring... love my polaris I hate seeing stuff on the bottom of my pool, but some owners aren't as picky. I'm lazy, but like a clean pool, so I'll run my polaris much longer and more often than necessary just so that I don't have to break out the manual vacuum. I also run my pump longer than some because I need constant skim action.

I backwash when necessary (25% above clean pressure) which varies from every two weeks to once a month. I clean my pump basket when I backwash or more frequently when needed (spring and fall).