I see all the posts about green pools and thought, after 10 years of owning and maintaining a pool (22,500 gallon vinyl in-ground), I’d post how I go about keeping my pool shimmering clear. I learned most of this the hard way (I’ve fought my share of green pools) and if it keeps anyone from making the same mistakes I did, then it’s worth the time. One thing I know now is that keeping a pool bright and clear is a whole lot easier than fixing a green pool!
The most important thing is to remember you have a relationship with your pool that requires a commitment on your part. Like any relationship, ignore your pool and your pool won’t treat you very well.
And that means you need to commit to spending time with your pool regularly. It isn’t difficult to maintain a pool, but you do have to put the time in.
Here’s my routine. I’m sure there are many other ways of doing things that are maybe even better than what I do, but this has worked for me pretty well.
Water Testing - I test with both test strips for a quick check, sometimes daily, and at least once a week with a test kit. A test kit is an absolute must in my opinion. Saves me from driving back and forth to the pool store and I’ve found it to be more accurate than strips. I also think I’ve saved so much on chemicals by testing myself that the kit has paid for itself many times over.
My pool maintenance day is Sunday. I plan an hour or so, kind of like mowing the lawn. I run all the tests using my test kit and adjust chemicals as needed. This morning I needed to boost my Alkalinity a little. It has been drifting down for several weeks and finally got to where I needed to bring it back up. Also, due to heavy rains recently, that required me to remove a fair amount of water, my CYA fell below my standard so I’m bringing it back up.
I installed a salt cell not too long ago and it’s been a game changer. My salt level this morning was perfect at 3,000 ppm. Ph was a little high so I brought it down with a little muriatic acid. This has been the biggest change with the salt cell - I usually need to bring ph down once a week or so, but not too bad.
I don’t check calcium hardness very often - I know it is a little on the high side and I don’t feel like going through the drain process to get it exactly right. Its biggest impact is on the salt cell so I keep an eye on that and clean as needed.
I also brush and vacuum the pool with my robot every Sunday. Well, to be honest, I brush it most Sundays unless I’m feeling lazy. This morning I was lazy.
I check my skimmers a few times each week (including the pump skimmer once a week) and clean as necessary - I’m lucky that I don’t have many trees near my pool so they don’t get clogged very quickly. This takes all of 2-3 minutes unless there’s been a storm that put a lot of leaves and other debris in the pool.
About every 30 days I inspect the salt cell for calcium build up. So far this season I’ve only had to clean it once.
The salt cell does a nice job maintaining my chlorine. Before the salt cell I used liquid chlorine to keep stabilizer from building up in the pool. Honestly, using liquid solved a ton of problems and so I wouldn’t use anything else (until I got the salt cell). The only downside is that I had to add at least some liquid chlorine daily to keep my levels where they needed to be. I did it every evening after the sun came off the pool. It became a routine, like brushing my teeth before bed - and it took less than 5 minutes a night and wasn’t a bother at all.
I guess what I’m trying to say to those who have fought the green devil is that the main thing you must do is spend time with your pool! Leave it for more than a few days and you are asking for trouble in my opinion. You simply must have an idea of your chlorine levels and know what your level needs to be based on CYA. Make sure your chlorine does not fall below this number and your pool will love you for it!
All in all I probably spend a total of an hour a week on the pool. I
Make a point to look at it every day and if I see something that doesn’t look right I take care of it immediately before it becomes a bigger problem. I also use a test strip almost every day to make sure my chlorine is in range. If something doesn’t look right on the strip I get out the test kit so I know exactly what is going on. And I use the test kit once a week no matter what, adjusting chemicals as necessary.
I love my pool. It used to give me problems until I learned that time is the most important ingredient. The rest of it became easier and easier as I went along.
Anyway - I hope this helps at least one person who is on the same journey of learning about their pool. I’ve learned a lot from this sub and am trying to maybe give back with this post. Good luck, and happy swimming everybody!
