A Beginner's Guide to Swimming Pool Maintenance

Regardless of where you live or how frequent it's used, pool maintenance is an important factor in having a
healthy pool. Maintenance can consist of anything from removing debris, balancing water chemistry, or
maintaining the pool's equipment. Your pool requires attention. And while you’ve already got a lot of things
to do this weekend, the cleaning and maintenance for your swimming pool needs to be a priority.

We've compiled all the need-to-know life-hacks to making maintaining your swimming pool easier no matter if you have an inground or above ground pool. We're also calling out the most common pool maintenance mistakes. (Don't do these!)

Here's your scoop... 

MUST HAVE POOL MAINTENANCE PRODUCTS

At Royal Swimming Pools, we make getting started with your pool maintenance quick and easy by beginning your pool on E-Z Pool. Why? Because no one wants to be a chemist on the weekends.With these items, there's no guessing or measuring out multiple products in order to get pristine water conditions.It's just easy. 

E-Z POOL

E-Z Pool is a proven water care program that combines simplicity with incredible water quality in a once-a-week application.Did you catch that? Only once a week! Leaving you much more time to actually enjoy your pool instead of maintaining it. 

This is a specially blended, multi-tasking formula for proactively managing swimming pool water while eliminating the confusion and inconvenience of adding multiple chemicals on a continuous basis.

E-Z Pool can also be used for your winterizing routine come time to close your pool for the season. Which we'll cover more on in just a moment. 

REVIVE!

Your Royal Swimming Pools install team will have also used Revive! when your pool was initially installed. A multi-action product that uniquely removes phosphates (algae food), metals including copper and iron, scaling carbonates, organic debris and other contaminants that cause cloudy murky water. (Seriously, even if your pool looks like a swamp monster's favorite vacation spot.) See more REVIVE! before and after pictures here.

Revive is formulated for use on new pools, remodel/refills, spring openings, abandoned pools, and severe algae cleanups of all swimming pools (like your child's pool party where no one left the pool for 5 straight hours after going through 6 cases of lemonade). Revive! It's compatible with all pool chemicals sanitizers, and finishes. If you get in a jam, reach for your Revive!

Revive! comes in a larger container (shown below) for heavy duty start-up or clean-up needs. But it also comes in a smaller options meant to be used with your weekly E-Z Pool routine to be proactive against pool contaminants. 

MAINTENANCE SCHEDULE

WEEKLY

• Check the water levels to ensure that the pump can work efficiently
• Test the water and adjust the pH if necessary
• Test the chlorine levels in the pool water
• Test and adjust the alkalinity
• Test oxidizer and stabilizer levels and adjust if needed
• Inspect the pool water and check for clarity and algae growth
• Remove any leaves or debris from the bottom of the pool, skimmer basket, and skim the surface of
  the water to remove debris
• Add the appropriate amounts of weekly chlorine or oxidize pool with one scoop (1/2lb) of E-Z POOL
  per 10,000 gallons of pool water.
• Check the filter pressure and backwash if necessary
• If using E-Z Pool + Revive! Weekly, no chock should be needed. Otherwise, shock the pool at least
  once every 2 weeks to eliminate contaminants and restore clarity to the water.

MONTHLY

• If using E-Z Pool, test and balance pool as needed.
• Test the calcium hardness and adjust accordingly
• Test the total alkalinity
• Clean the filter
• Inspect equipment such as pump and filter for proper functioning
• If your pool has a liner, inspect the liner for holes and tears and make any necessary repairs
• If you have a concrete, gunite, or fiberglass pool, inspect for cracks.
• Check all other pool equipment including ladders, handrails, diving boards, etc. to make sure
  nothing is loose and it is working properly

HOW TO TEST YOUR WATER

One of the most important jobs when owning a pool is testing the water regularly. There are 4 main tests to
be performed:

• pH
• Chlorine
• Total alkalinity
• Calcium hardness

While it is unrealistic to think that most people will test their pool on a daily basis, it is recommended that
you do so once a week at minimum. This will help to ensure clean, healthy water for your pool.

TEST STRIPS & KITS

Test strips are the cheapest, easiest, and quickest way to test your pool water.

1. Dip the test strip into the pool and swirl it around for about 30 seconds.
2. Then compare the colors on the test strip to the colors on the bottle.

While these are definitely easy to use, they also tend to be the least accurate.

There are digital testing kits. These kits are easy to use and popular among health departments. While these are more expensive to purchase, they are the most accurate kits for testing your pool water.

Finally, there are Reagent test kits, where you drop reagents into the water sample. These kits rely on the eye of the tester to make accurate color comparisons

BALANCING PH

pH is the measure of how acid/ alkaline the swimming pool water is. The pH of the human body is 7.2. This
may conclude why this number is also perfect for the pool. When pH drops below 7.0 the water becomes
acidic. Anything above 7.0 is alkaline

• LOW pH PROBLEMS
  • Low pH can cause your liner to dissolve, corrosion of all the metals associated with your pool (ladders,rails, pumps, filters, valves, etc), staining from the metal corrosion, rapid dissipation of chlorine resulting in having to use more & more, and dry & itchy skin.
• HIGH pH PROBLEMS
  • High pH can cause scaling or calcium buildup on pool surfaces, waterline and accessories,dull or cloudy
    water,clogging of filter medium or elements,dry itchy skin, and drop in disinfection potential of chlorine
    resulting in algae growth.

• KEEPING pH BALANCED
  
  • Use E-Z Pool + Revive! Weekly toensure a balanced pH. If using these items on a weekly basis and not getting a balanced pH when testing contact (800) 407-9964 or info@apiwater.com

POOL CLOSING AND OPENING

ANNUAL WINTER CLOSING

• Balance the water levels: pH, total alkalinity, calcium hardness
• Run the filter continuously for about 24 hours
• E-Z Pool Winter Dosage: 1lb (2 scoops) per 5,000
  gallons. For best results, run the pump for 30
  minutes prior to closing.
• Make sure that you have drained all of your pipes and
  pool plumbing as water expands when it freezes and
  can cause your pipes to burst. You can blow the
  water out from these plumbing lines by using a shop
  vac or by backwashing the pool filter.
• Lower the water levels to avoid freezing and blow out
  the lines to remove any excess water
• Thoroughly clean the pool by vacuuming and
  removing all debris
• Remove skimmer baskets, ladders, and other exterior
  pool equipment
• Place a winter cover or safety cover over your pool.
• Add air pillows to protect your pool walls as needed
  and use a cover pump as needed.

ANNUAL SPRING OPENING

• Net leaves and pump water off of the swimming pool cover
• Remove the cover from the swimming pool. Clean and fold the swimming pool cover prior to storing
• Add E-Z-Pool per dosage on the bucket
• Add water to the pool & start the pump- When the swimming pool water is 3/4 the way up the
  skimmer opening, start the pool pump. The multi-port position on your pool filter should be on rinse
  for about 30 seconds before being switched to the filter position.
• Net any leaves or debris from the swimming pool - If the pool is dirty it should also be vacuumed.
• Brush the swimming pool walls and floor
• Add Revive! !to the swimming pool, in place of shock
• Circulate the swimming pool pump for 24-48 hrs. - Keep the pump running so that all the water in
  the pool will be run through the filter, cleansing it from any bacteria and making it safe to swim in.
• Now that the water has circulated, vacuum the pool if it is needed.
• Check the swimming pool water's pH - Use test strips to check the swimming pool water pH and
  adjust as needed (use baking soda to raise the total alkalinity).
• Backwash the sand filter or clean the DE or cartridge filter as per instructions.

COMMON MAINTENANCE MISTAKES

MISTAKE #1: DRAINING THE WATER

Do not drain more than one-third of the water from the pool. Draining a vinyl liner swimming pool can cause the liner to dry out or shrink. This would cause far more headaches than solutions and typically results in needing to replace the liner. Draining your vinyl liner pool may seem like a good idea when opening it for the summer, however, you can do all the cleaning and maintenance necessary with the water still inside. Just use your Revive!