Taking Care of Your Pool in the Fall
Most people would say summer is the perfect time to throw on their swimsuits and spend the entire afternoon swimming and splashing around. While that’s definitely true, early fall is also still a great time to enjoy your backyard pool before the true cold weather arrives. With the beautiful leaves and crisp air surrounding you, it’s hard not to enjoy those moments. But in order to fully enjoy your pool during the fall months, you’ve got to take good care of it. Read on for some great tips about caring for your pool during the fall season.
1. Get rid of the leaves. Yes, they’re pretty but not so great for your pool. Allowing leaves to stay in your pool can clog your filters, stain the bottom of your pool, and cause algae to bloom. Use a leaf bagger to remove them. Also consider keeping the pool covered when not in use. This saves you the time of removing leaves and debris every morning.
2. Clean your pool filter regularly. There’s only so much dirt a pool filter can trap before it needs to get changed. This is an easy task that can save your pool from becoming cloudy. All you’ve got to do is backwash the filter depending on the type of filter you own.
For instance, simple backwashing will suffice for a sand filter. For cartridge filters, you just have to pop them out and deep clean with a hose. Diatomaceous Earth (DE) filters need a little more prepping, but backwashing is still the basic step here.
3. Cut back on the chemicals. Because the days are shorter and much cooler in fall, the chemicals don’t have to work very hard. During summer, heat breaks chlorine down quickly which is why this chemical has to be topped off regularly. With less heat in the fall, there’s not so much need for this. Keep an eye on your pool chemicals to maintain a healthy level of chemicals.
4. Pump the brakes on your pump use. Just in case you don’t use your pool as much in the fall as you would in the summer, you should reduce the daily pump use. A good rule of thumb here is to run your pump for one hour for each 10o F the environment is. Therefore, you should run it for 8 hours when it’s 80o F outside.
5. Dive down. Clean the bottom of your pool and the rest of the interior. A grimy pool is not fun for anybody. This isn’t the easiest task considering the size of a pool, but it will prevent your pool from becoming murky. Use a brush to scrub the walls and vacuum the debris with a pool vacuum hose.
6. Seal it up. Do you know those tiny cracks and chips on your pool deck? You may think they aren’t a big deal, but think again! As the temperature gets colder, these cracks can deepen and lead to more damage. Your best bet is to seal them before they cause permanent damage.
7. Keep the general area clean. It’s not just the inside of the pool and the water that matters. A messy environment makes you less likely to stay in your pool and enjoy yourself. Do some general cleaning around the backyard and pool deck.
Contact Your Local Pool Care Experts
All in all, fall is a great time to enjoy your pool. If it’s a bit on the cooler side, just turn up the pool heater so you can enjoy a nice swim or leave it as is and just relax and take in the cool air and cool water. Give your local pool care experts a call today to learn more about pool care year round and how to best maintain your pool’s health throughout the fall season.