Common Mistakes When Opening a Pool

Your family wants to just dive into pool season as it gets warmer out, but you need to make sure to slow down and avoid these Top 10 mistakes when you are opening your inground pool for the swimming season.

1. You just vacuum out your pool.

Do not forget to brush your pool’s walls and floors to really get your pool clean and ready after a long fall and winter of debris and dirt building up.

2. You add shock when it is sunny.

There is a best time to add chemicals to your pool, especially shock. Sunlight affects the chemical and burns it off. When you are just opening your pool, add shock around or after dusk, so that the chemicals can do their job.

3. You allow the automatic cleaner to remove algae.

Robotic cleaners cannot truly tackle any accumulation of algae. The fine mesh bags on auto cleaners can get clogged quickly and just spread the algae out in your water.

4. You backwash – a lot.

Backwashing is necessary, but only when your pressure gauge hits the right number: typically 10 psi over your normal just-backwashed pressure.

5. You ignore chemical levels.

Make sure that you are maintaining the correct alkalinity and pH levels in your water to prevent burning eyes on your swimmers or cloudy water. 

6. You shock through your skimmer.

Pool shock and chlorine should not be combined as there can be a gas and bad interaction. Automatic chlorinator systems can mix these when added through the skimmer.

7. You throw shock into the pool.

Shock is a very concentrated version of chlorine. If you do not dissolve it properly before adding to your pool water, you could have undissolved granules land on your pool’s bottom and cause damage to your liner.

8. You do not use calcium hardness.

This is typically needed only once a year at the beginning of the season. It helps prolong the life of your liner.

9. You do not circulate your pool water.

While each and every pool is unique, you need to make sure that you are circulating your water by running your system about two times a day during the season. Our Caribbean Pools & Spas crew can help you determine the best approach if you are unsure.

10. You are lazy about your pool water.

Staying on top of testing and adding the necessary chemicals to your pool water is vital to a healthy pool. Our team can test your water and provide direction at any of our locations.

Let Us Open Your Pool For You

Our professional technicians can take care of your opening process for you as part of our services. We offer a variety of opening levels to fit your style of pool ownership. We are also experts at maintenance, repairs and renovations throughout the swimming season. We are available for questions through our online contact form.