Pool Cleaning for Total Newbies

Last year, we repaired our pool, and I started to learn to clean it. The main book out there that everyone uses is “What Color is Your Pool?”, which is a great book. I’ll summarize the key things you need to do to get started.

First off, you can pay the pool people (way too much money) to do the first batch of chemicals. This will prevent problems while you shop around to get your pool tools from the hardware store.

Get the following:
* Extensible pole that reaches the bottom of the deep end.
* A wide plastic brush head.
* A small aluminum brush head for algae.
* A “leaf rake” net.
* A “skimmer” net.
* A round “stairs” brush to get in crevices.
* A liquid pH and chlorine test kit, or test strips.

You might also want to get a canister of chlorine tablets and a pool float.

Also, get several gallons of muriatic acid, a few gallons of chlorine. You may also need to get “pH up” or a base like baking soda to adjust your pH, but I didn’t seem to need that.

I prefer liquid chemicals because they’re easier to measure by sight because they’re so bulky.

By the way, store these chemicals away from each other. You don’t want any chemical reactions.

The process of cleaning is simple. First, go to the skimmer, open it up, remove the basket, and dump any leaves. Then go to the pump’s pre-filter, and clean that out.

Then, test the pH of the water. If it’s high, add muriatic acid. If it’s low, add the “pH up” or baking soda.

The instructions will say add some amount. I found it’s easier to just add a half-gallon of the muriatic acid, and then run the pump for a while, and test again. The amount will vary depending on the size of the pool. The pool I’m cleaning in around 10,000 gallons and is in the ground.

While the pump is running, put the big plastic brush on the pole, extend it, and start sweeping the pool. I start at the shallow end and push the dirt and dust toward the drain on the bottom of the deep end.

After a go-round of the pool, I re-check the pH and if it’s still not right in the middle of the desired range, I add another half-gallon of acid. (After a few weeks, you’ll figure out how much acid to add the first time. Usually, for me, in CA, in the summer, it’s a 3/4 to a full gallon.) Run the pump a bit more, and keep sweeping. There’s always something else to clean, so, getting the pH right in this manner is not really a waste of time.

(If you’re in an area with “acid rain” you will probably need to use the baking soda instead of the acid. The rain is providing the acid, unfortunately. Also, a vlnyl liner probably causes the pH to behave differently.)

Once the pH is right, check the chlorine level. If it’s low, add a quarter gallon of chlorine, and let the pump mix the chemical in for 10 minutes or so. (Again, note that this is for an in-ground pool, not above ground.)

While it’s running, you can practice with the “rake” to try and net leaves that have sunken into the pool. That’ll take a while.

It’s important to remove this organic matter, because it’ll “use up” the chlorine. Chlorine works by killing the algae, which is a plant material – as it kills, it gets used up. A leaf in the pool will use up your expensive chlorine just by being in the pool and not harming anything.

Also, this is why sweeping is so important. The sweeping action stirs up the algae on the pool walls, exposing them to the deadly chemicals. They die, and turn into “dust” that gets sucked into the filter. If you didn’t sweep, the algae would develop a protective coating that resists the chemicals.

Let’s get back to the chlorine. Test the water again, and see if the chlorine level has improved. You generally need a lot less chlorine than acid (or base). However, if the weather is hot, the chlorine will evaporate away, and you’ll need to replenish it during the week.

That’s where the chlorine tabs and float come in. During pool season, you should use a pool float with a chlorine tablet to release chlorine into the pool. What I do is put in a little less liquid chlorine than usual (a bit less than 1/4 gallon), and drop a tab into the float. The tablet dissolves over the week, chlorinating the water. If it’s done right, the chlorine level at the next cleaning is just a little bit above the minimum.

Early on, you should test the pool water often, just to see how the levels work. That experience will save you time later on.

You can do this routine for a few week… then you have to clean the filter and adjust alkalinity. That’s another story entirely.