Weekly Pool Maintenance Checklist

Weekly Pool Maintenance Tasks

Your DIY pool maintenance should include doing the following tasks each week:

❒ Check Skimmer Basket

❒ Skim The Surface

❒ Vacuum The Pool

❒ Scrub The Walls

❒ Test The Water

❒ Shock The Pool

❒ Add Chlorine

❒ Add An Algaecide

❒ Add Additional Chemicals

❒ Check The Filter

1. Check Skimmer Basket

Pull out the pool’s skimmer basket(s) and be sure to clear out any debris, if applicable. Use your garden hose to blast away anything that may be sticking to the basket.

2. Skim The Surface

Use the pool skimmer in order to remove any floating debris, such as leaves and bugs. Performing regular skimming will help to make all other maintenance tasks easier.

3. Vacuum The Pool

Vacuuming the pool will remove any dirt and debris that may have settled at the bottom of the pool.

4. Scrub The Walls

Use your pool scrubber to brush away any sediment that has built up, especially on the walls.

5. Test The Water

Chemistry is crucial to maintain a healthy pool. Test the water to check the chemical balance each and every week with a test kit.

Maintain the pH balance, calcium hardness and alkalinity using this simple guide:

• pH: 7.2 to 7.6
• Calcium hardness: 175 to 275 ppm
• Alkalinity: 80 to 150 ppm

Testing the water includes checking your water level. Most inground pools should be filled up halfway to the skimmer plate.

6. Shock The Pool

Adding a high dose of chemicals to destroy bacteria is known as shocking the pool. You could do this task either once per week or once every other week.

You’ll want to shock the pool after a heavy rainfall or a larger pool party. Shocking the pool filters out any contaminants that have washed into the water.

7. Add Chlorine

Use a pool chlorine test strip to check the current chlorine level before adding any extra chlorine. You should aim to keep your pool’s balance between 1-3 ppm.

This means if your level is 1 ppm and you want to increase it, you need to add 0.00013 ounces per gallon to raise the chlorine level by 1 ppm. To raise a 10,000-gallon pool by 1 ppm, you will need to add 1.3 ounces of chlorine to your pool water.

8. Add An Algaecide

You will need to apply an algaecide either weekly or bi-weekly based on the pool size, pool type and how much sunlight the pool receives daily.

9. Add Additional Chemicals

Be sure to follow your manufacturer’s guidelines for applying pool chemicals. This includes rust and scale removers and water clarifiers.

10. Check The Filter

Check the filter pressure and backwash it with a chemical filter cleaner, if necessary.