After your pool installation in Salt Lake City, using your pool cover the right way will protect your investment. As you need regular swimming pool maintenance , your cover will also need some special attention now and then to ensure that it stays in good condition and protects your pool properly. If you have a sold pool cover, follow these steps to care for it.

Spot Check Your Water Line

Your water line is important to more than your skimming system. If there is heavy debris on the surface of your solid cover, such as snow, water from heavy rains, or limbs, and the water line is so low that it doesn’t support your cover from underneath, then your pool cover can become damaged or wear out sooner than it otherwise would. When your pool is not in use for long periods of time, periodically perform water level checks to prevent excessive stain on your pool cover.

Prevent Chemical Damage

The chemicals you put in your pool to keep the water clean and balanced could cause damage to your swimming pool cover. When you add chemicals, avoid putting the cover on for at least two hours. This will allow the chemicals to dissolve in the water and the levels to balance out. If you put your pool cover on right after treating your water, the chemicals could still be sitting on the surface of the water and damage the pool cover.

Clean Your Pool Cover

Your pool cover should be cleaned about once every three to six months. Use mild dish soap and a hose to wet the surface, and then scrub it with a pool brush. Rinse the soap off and use a cover pump on the liner to get rid any water that accumulates. If you notice any mold growth, wash the affected area with diluted bleach, being sure to rinse it off completely. You can reduce the chances of mold growth by making sure your cover is dry before storing it.

Swimming pool companies in Salt Lake City recommend backwashing the sand filter about every week, or more frequently if your pool gets a great deal of use. Ideally, you should do this pool maintenance task right after you vacuum your pool. Watch this quick video for a demonstration of the proper way to backwash a sand filter.

This pool maintenance expert directs viewers to turn off the sand filter, and then affix the backwash hose to the backwash nozzle. Screw on a hose clamp, and adjust the multiport valve from the filter setting to the backwash setting. It should run for about a minute. Then, you’ll adjust the setting to rinse, and finally turn the setting to filter. Once you’ve completed these steps, your lap pool is ready for use again.

Becoming a new pool owner is exciting. Dealing with daily pool maintenance is somewhat less thrilling. When you imagined having your own pool at home, you probably thought about how nice it would be to relax on a float on a hot day, get more exercise swimming laps, and give the kids a place to play outdoors. Weekly shock treatments and daily debris skimming probably wasn’t part of your daydream. But, the good news is that you don’t have to manage it all by yourself. A pool contractor in Salt Lake City will give you all the information you need to make decisions about your professional maintenance schedule.

What’s the easiest way to stay on top of pool maintenance?

The easiest, hassle-free way to keep your pool at optimum conditions is to hire a swimming pool company to handle your maintenance tasks for you. Even if you do schedule regular services, you’ll probably want to handle a few minor tasks yourself. Create a written maintenance schedule, which might look something like this:

• Skim debris daily
• Vacuum once weekly
• Run the pump 10 to 12 hours daily
• Chemically treat twice weekly
• Shock once weekly
• Do safety checks of equipment every other month

Of course, your own maintenance list won’t replace professional services, as these are only some of the tasks that need to be done regularly.

How can I balance the calcium hardness?

Hard water makes your pool cloudy and can cause sediment to accumulate inside the plumbing. Water that’s too soft is corrosive. Eventually, it can corrode the metal and crumble the concrete. Ideally, you should keep the calcium hardness at about the middle of the 150 to 400 ppm range. Check the level every one to two weeks. Raise the level simply by adding calcium chloride. Lower the level by draining and replacing some of the water, or by using a flocculant. A flocculant will clump the extra calcium, and you can then remove it by cleaning the walls and bottom of the pool, and then backwashing and cleaning the filter.

How can I keep ducks out of my pool?

Ducks are certainly cute, but they’re also messy, and letting them use your pool will make your pool maintenance tasks more of a headache. Perhaps the least expensive way to duck-proof your lap pool is to introduce some of their natural predators. Find pool floats that mimic the size and appearance of alligators, snakes, dolphins, or killer whales. Leave the floats in the water whenever you aren’t swimming.

Maintenance is essential if you want to keep your swimming pool installation serving Salt Lake City in top shape, but what do you do about the offseason? Big and small pools can both benefit from a pool cover, which can lower maintenance requirements and keep your family and pets safe during the colder months. A pool cover can even help maintain the amount of water in your pool, which protects the environment and saves you some hassle when you open your pool again during the summer. Here is a closer look at the top reasons you need a swimming pool cover.

Cut Down on Maintenance Needs

Swimming pool maintenance tends to be a simple enough process, but why not make it even easier? It’s one thing to skim your pool during the summer, but it’s probably not something you’d want to be doing during the winter. When you use a pool cover, you won’t have to worry about removing bugs, leaves, or other debris from the water. This means your list of chores will be one bullet point shorter when the weather gets colder. If you don’t want to skim your pool all year long, consider using a pool cover to shield the water.

Protect Your Family

Just because the weather cooled down, it doesn’t mean your pool will automatically freeze over. You might stop paying so much attention to your pool area when you’re not using it, but your kids and pets might have a different idea. Although all pool areas should be enclosed or protected in some way, kids and pets tend to make their way into the prohibited zone regardless. A pool cover helps to keep your family safe. Even if your kids or pets do make it into the pool area, the cover will prevent them from falling in.

Preserve Your Water

If you don’t want to have to deal with completely refilling your pool when the summer rolls back around again, a pool cover can help. It will prevent your water from becoming contaminated, and it will also retain water that might otherwise evaporate on warmer days.

For many people, it’s tough to beat relaxing in the pool on a summer day. When pests decide to take over your pool, however, it can be hard to relax. Regular pool maintenance near Salt Lake City keeps your water clean, healthy, and refreshing, but how do you keep bugs out? Make sure you use a pool cover during the offseason so you don’t create a breeding ground for pest problems, do away with places pests can hide, and think about putting up a fence around your in-ground pool. Read ahead for details on these helpful tips.

Use a Pool Cover

When you close your pool up for the season, you might forget about it altogether until the warm weather rolls around again. If you want to make sure that pests don’t make themselves at home in your pool, it’s a good idea to close it up with a cover. Pool covers will seal out insects, rodents, and other pests that might otherwise set up habitats and start families in or around your pool. A cover can help, but you need to find one that fits your pool and install it properly.

Get Rid of Hiding Spots

Pool covers can be helpful, but they’re typically only used during the offseason. When there’s still plenty of time before you close yours up for the year, you’ll need to take additional steps to keep pests away. When you’re going through your swimming pool maintenance routine, make sure to keep an eye out for places where pests might be hiding. Bushes and growth around your pool can serve as habitats for pests and make it easy for them to spread into your pool, so get rid of these potential hiding spots.

Install a Fence

Pool fences can help keep children and pets safe, and they can also keep pests away from your swimming pool. Look for a fencing style that will do an adequate job of keeping small critters away—wood and vinyl fences may be ideal materials for a job like this. Choose a fence that doesn’t leave any room to sneak by.

Pool covers are designed to protect pools when they are not actively in use. After you complete your swimming pool installation near Salt Lake City, your pool contractor may recommend that you purchase and use a cover for your new pool. By getting in the habit of covering your pool when you are not using it, you can prevent the need for extensive swimming pool services or repairs in the future.

There are a few instances when you will definitely want to cover your swimming pool. Your pool cover should be used during the winter season if you decide to not drain your pool. By covering up your pool over the winter months, you can prevent damage to your swimming pool filter and heater. Your pool cover will also keep leaves and debris out of your pool area. If you are a parent of young children, you should also cover up your pool to prevent your kids from accidentally falling into the pool if they are unattended.

A swimming pool is a wonderful feature to have in your backyard—it is great for exercising, playing games with kids, and hosting parties. However, it is essential to keep up with pool maintenance . The good news is that professional pool maintenance in Salt Lake City is available to help busy families enjoy their pool safely and without hassle.

If you are a parent, you know how precious your free time is. Instead of spending time every week cleaning your pool and balancing its chemicals, you can let a professional do the work and spend your free time doing something you actually enjoy. Professional swimming pool services can also help you save energy that you can then use participating in your hobbies. In addition, if you set up a pool maintenance schedule with your pool contractor, you can rest assured that your pool will always be clean and safe for swimming whenever you and your family want to take a dip.

The right type of pool maintenance near Salt Lake City can help your investment last for as long as possible, and it can keep it working efficiently throughout that time as well. Your pool’s cartridge is one of many components and systems that allow large and small pools to function properly, but you need to keep it clean. There are different methods that you can use to clean this swimming pool component, and some are more thorough than others. If you want to keep your pool in top shape , keep reading to find out why it’s important to clean your pool’s cartridge filter.

Your swimming pool installation is essentially a large basin of water that is consistently exposed to a variety of elements. In order to keep the water safe for human exposure, you will need a functioning filter. A cartridge filter is one type of swimming pool filter that removes contaminants from the water. Although cleaning your cartridge filter with a regular hose can be effective in some cases, chemical cleanings can be even better. A dirty cartridge filter can make the water unpleasant and even unhealthy for swimmers, so talk to your pool contractor about having it cleaned.

When you make the decision to invest in a hot tub installation near Salt Lake City , your pool contractor can offer you a variety of hot tub design features. You will need to pick out pool tile, choose an energy-efficient pool heater, and consider additional water features for your hot tub installation. Here are some great tips that will help you work with your pool contractor on designing and planning your hot tub installation.

Choose a site for your hot tub installation.

If you already have an in-ground pool or are planning a simultaneous swimming pool installation, your hot tub will likely be installed adjoining the pool. If you have decided on just a hot tub installation without an in-ground pool or saltwater pool, you will need to decide where the hot tub will go. When making this decision, you should consider your existing landscape and any city, county, or state codes and restrictions.

Consider how the hot tub will be used.

Your new hot tub installation will be a relaxing oasis for you and your family. If you have young children, you will need to ask your swimming pool builder to construct a locking fence around your hot tub and in-ground pool, and you will need to purchase a secure hot tub cover. If you plan on using your hot tub for entertaining guests, you should ask your pool contractor about including water features, lighting features, stereo setups, an outdoor fireplace, and an outdoor kitchen with your hot tub installation. If you plan on using the hot tub for therapeutic purposes, you can ask your swimming pool company about accessibility options and specialized massaging jets.

Hire an experienced pool contractor.

You must hire an experienced, licensed, bonded, and insured pool contractor for your hot tub installation. Your pool contractor or swimming pool builder will know how to acquire the necessary permits and follow building regulations and codes when designing and installing your hot tub and in-ground pool. Be sure to check your pool contractor’s references and verify his credentials before beginning your hot tub installation.