Spices of Life

If you have your own pool, it's important to keep it maintained and clean. There are many pool supplies that will help you do this. Depending on which supplies you purchase, you may have more or less work to maintain your pool

Pumps and Filters

Every home pool needs a pump and a filter. The pump moves the water in the pool ensuring that it all goes through the filter. Depending on what type of filter your pool has, the filter will catch dirt, pollutants, and organic material.

Some filters, such as zeolite filters, can absorb ammonia from the water, which helps to reduce the smell of chlorine as well as filtering out fine particles. You'll want to run the pump in your pool for at least 6 to 8 hours a day. Most pumps have a timer that will cycle the pump on and off, which adds convenience.

Brushing and Vacuuming

Although the filter will capture particles that are found in the water, they will not catch particles that have settled onto the floor or have gotten stuck to the walls of your pool. Because of this, it's necessary to brush and vacuum the pool once a week during pool season.

A stiff brush can loosen the dirt so that it can then be vacuumed. If you're not sure that you have the time to do this weekly, you can instead buy an automatic pool cleaner that will suck the dirt from the walls and off of the bottom of the pool.

Backwashing the Filter

Sand filters use a bed of sand to catch the impurities in the water. Over time, these impurities clog up the sand so that water cannot freely pass through the sand. Backwashing helps to flush out the dirt in the sand. There should be a setting on the filter for "backwash." Follow instructions in the manual for how to complete this process.