The Three C’s of Pool Care

You want to keep your pool sparkling clean and clear, you want to be able to take a dip in it without having to worry about grime and grease, and you want to be able to have a proper pool maintenance routine without being overwhelmed by all the information pool care blogs are bombarding you with? Does this sound like you? If so, City2Bay Pool solutions has got you covered with this latest blog post!

If you’re tired of combing through thousands of pool maintenance blogs, YouTube and TikTok videos, just to keep your pool in top shape for the swim season — we got you.

The “Three C’s of Pool Care” is the simple, no-fuss pool care routine that covers all the basics of pool maintenance. There are the occasional maintenance and repairs that you’ll have to do as and when the need appears of course, but this pool care routine is a great starting point for you to build upon.

(And of course, if you’ve got any questions about or beyond this, we at City2Bay Pool Solutions are always happy to help!) 

Let’s dive right into our Three C’s now, shall we?

1. Circulation

“Circulation” is the first of our three C’s. It refers to keeping your pool water moving in order to prevent stagnant water which can lead to “dead spots” and algal growth in your pool. Nobody wants that! Proper pool circulation also ensures that your pool chemicals are properly distributed throughout the water. In addition, maintaining good circulation also helps with filtration so your pool doesn’t slowly regress into muddy swampwater!

So, what actions do you need to take in order to maintain top notch circulation in your swimming pool?

The most critical component for ensuring good circulation is running your main pool pump at least 8-10 hours per day. Now, obviously, you don’t want pool circulation and maintenance to be costing you an arm and a leg in energy bills. That’s why it’s always best to make a proper, long-term investment when it comes to pool parts. Opting for a pool pump like the AstralPool Viron XT P520C Variable Speed Pump is a great choice. In fact, when programmed to the correct speeds and flow rates required for different pool operations, these pumps can drastically reduce your overall energy consumed, saving you huge on annual operational costs. In some cases, they can save you up to 90% of energy costs when compared to a conventional single speed pump!

Other actions you need to take in order to ensure good circulation through your pool, is to clean the skimmer baskets and pump baskets regularly to maintain a strong flow. You can also keep your pool jets angling slightly downward (ideally at a 45 degree angle) in order to ensure maximum circulation. 

2. Cleaning

“Cleaning” is the second pillar of pool maintenance. Now, this sounds like a very broad topic, so we’re going to narrow it down to the basics of what you need to be doing, and WHY you need to be cleaning in the first place.

As to the “why”, it sounds like a no-brainer, right? No one wants a dirty pool! But the need for a clean pool goes beyond just aesthetics; a clean pool means less debris, and less debris means less workload on the filtration system. This, in turn, prevents contaminants from staining or damaging the pool surface.

So, what are the areas of the pool you need to be focusing on, when it comes to cleaning?

Primarily, you need to skim the surface daily, brush the walls and floor and other low circulation spots daily, and vacuum the pool at least once a week.

Skimming can be done using a net or leaf rake. 

You can brush the walls, floor, and other areas with a pool brush to prevent algae, staining, and scaling. 

You can also save yourself a lot of trouble and effort, and opt for an automatic pool cleaner instead! We’ve got a whole range to choose from, like the Polaris Vac-Sweep 360 Pressure Pool Cleaner with PosiTrax Tyres! Renowned as the most advanced boosterless pressure cleaner available, the Polaris 360 takes the chore out of cleaning your pool, leaving you with more time to enjoy it!

3. Chemistry

The third pillar of pool maintenance: “Chemistry”.

You need to sanitise and balance chemicals in your pool to keep the waters safe, clear, and scale- and corrosion-free.

And don’t worry, this is nothing like a high-school science experiment or a fancy laboratory— all you need to do is test the water 1-2 times a week for key levels of chlorine, pH, and total alkalinity.

Chlorine acts as the sanitiser that kills bacteria in your pool, but it needs to be administered and maintained in the range of 1-3 ppm as too much can cause harm to your body and to your pool itself. 

Your pool’s pH needs to be in the range of 7.4-7.6, in order to prevent skin irritation and damage to your pool equipment.

The total alkalinity needs to be in the range of 80-120 ppm, and it acts as a buffer for pH.

Testing your pool’s chemical levels can be done using a test strip, or a liquid test strip (for more accurate and detailed analysis).

If you want to make your life a whole lot easier, you can also opt for something like the AstralPool Halo 18 Chlorinator, which is an all-new high-performance chlorinator that will keep your pool healthy and sanitised. With a host of features, including AI Mode, that takes total control over your sanitation and filtration (Requires compatible 3 speed pump, Halo Doser with pH and ORP sensors), unique and intuitive large touch screen, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi/Ethernet connectivity, and more!

In conclusion,

While this blogpost can serve as your basic blueprint for pool maintenance, we want to remind you that we at City2Bay Pool Solutions are always just one call away! If you’ve got pool-related questions that need answering, if you’ve got equipment that needs repair, maintenance, or installation (which we offer for FREE, by the way!), we’re always happy to help!

Happy swimming!