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A pool in your very own backyard sounds like a whole lot of fun and it can be, especially when you think of hours of fun plunging, swimming, ducking and weaving as the whole family enjoy glorious summer days in the pool. Fun though comes at a price if you take care of your pool on a regular basis, the price isnt too large to pay.

Pool maintenance is absolutely essential to keep the pool clean and the water safe for your family to swim in. There is no real danger in attending to your pool maintenance and the tips given below will serve as a guide to take you through the process. You need to observe certain safety precautions when cleaning your pool; first make certain that everyone is out of the pool. It may sound silly to mention but you would be surprised at the number of accidents that happen just because it was assumed the pool was empty. Then engage the safety features of the filter pump to make sure it does not harm you.

Regular pool maintenance is aimed at achieving two things: getting rid of the physical dirt from the pool and maintaining the chemical balance of the water. You can use the following tips to do the pool maintenance job safely.

Get rid of the dirt: debris in the pool is a very unpleasant sight but thats not all, it also affects the pH levels of the water. Hence removing all the debris should be the first step in your pool maintenance program. To do this make use of a net or skimmer basket and constantly check for signs of algae, you can remove this with a steel or nylon brush.

Some pool maintenance safety tips when removing debris from the pool include: wearing anti skid shoes when cleaning the pool; turning the nozzles on the return jets of your pool vacuum to face downward. The idea behind this is to prevent ripples forming and clouding up the water, preventing you from seeing the bottom of the pool clearly. Use your vacuum in the same manner you would your lawn mower; dont clean erratically, instead follow a pattern of overlapping, parallel lines.

The other aspect of pool maintenance is to conduct regular checks on the pH levels (degree of alkalinity) of the water in your pool. Think of the gunk that gets left behind in the water, lotions, creams, body oils, hair and whatnot, all of which changes the chemical composition of the water. Excess pH levels may cause the water to calcify and this in turn traps more dirt. On the other hand, very low pH levels tend to increase the acidity level of the pool. High acidity can cause eyes and skin irritations, ruin bathing costumes and pool equipment, rapid chlorine loss and total alkalinity destruction.

Tips on maintaining the ideal pH levels: the ideal pH level should read between 7.2 and . When the pH level is too high it means the alkalinity is too high, adding sodium bisulfate or muriatic acid helps to lower it. Once this is done the water needs to stabilize for 2-3 days. You should use a chemical tool kit to take accurate readings. Always add the chemicals in small amounts of approximately 2 pounds to 10,000 gallons of water and let it circulate for 3-4 hours before you add any more.

Another step in pool maintenance is backwashing, which means allowing the pool water to flow in reverse to clean the pump. Turn the pump off, turn the dial to backwash and turn the pump on again.

Pool maintenance would not be complete without cleaning the pump filter; make sure you turn the pump off first.

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