Learning how to clean a swimming pool is one of the most important aspects to a sparkling clean pool. However, cleaning your pool doesn’t have to be such a time-consuming chore when you follow my recommendations.
Table of Contents
Routine to Clean a Swimming Pool
I highly recommend keeping to your maintenance schedule to ensure the pool water is properly balanced and adequately filtered. This will guarantee the pool water is sparkling clean and easy to keep clean.
Daily Routine
Run the pump for at least 6 to 8 hours per day. If you run the pump during off peak electricity times you can save more money.
Skim the surface daily before dirt & debris sinks to the bottom. You don’t want to vacuum the pool too frequently as the pool loses water or clogs the filter. The longer dirt & debris sits in the pool the more it decomposes. This uses up chlorine and has the potential for algae growth. Run the pump throughout the day every few hours so the skimmer has the opportunity to remove most of the floating surface debris before it sinks to the bottom. It better to run the pump longer and throughout the day than have to clean the bottom with an automatic or manual cleaner.
Empty the skimmer basket daily into the rubbish so it cannot blow back in the pool. The use of a skimmer basket filter bag helps to reduce clogging the filter. The bag traps smaller particles of dirt and reduces the need to backwash or clean the filter.
Weekly Routine
Check the pool water chemistry with a test strip. This is a really simple procedure and only takes one minute to complete. Usually there is nothing to do. However, if the chemistry has changed fix it as soon as possible to prevent the condition of the pool water deteriorating further.
Read our article on How to Balance Swimming Pool Water
Brush the pool walls & steps. This should only take 10 minutes every week.
Vacuum the pool weekly (maybe fortnightly). Ensure you vacuum the bottom slowly in order to not stir up dirt and debris. This should only take 20 to 30 minutes. Read the section below on how to manually vacuum a swimming pool.
If you have a robotic or suction cleaner put in the pool once a week for at least 2 or 3 hours to give the bottom a proper clean.
Shock treatment the pool to ensure all bacteria and other contaminants are eliminated. Maybe this can be fortnightly, depending on usage.
Read our article on How to Shock Your Swimming Pool
Install a Pool Cover
I highly recommend using a pool cover as it reduces the requirement to skim, vacuum and clean the pool. This saves your pump, filter and electricity.
Swimming Pool Cleaning Equipment
Telescoping Pool Cleaning Pole
A telescoping cleaning pole is required to clean a swimming pool It comes with a universal connector that will attach to many cleaning heads.
The same telescoping pole is used to:
- skim the surface with a net attachment
- brush the sides with a brush attachment
- vacuum the bottom with a vacuum head attachment
- grab floating or sunken objects with a hook attachment
Pool Vacuum Cleaner Head
Pool vacuum heads come with a universal connector that will attach to any pool cleaning pole. The vacuum head must be weighted so that it sits on the bottom and will not float away while cleaning.
Attach the vacuum hose to the top of the vacuum head. This removes dirt and debris from the bottom of the pool. Attach the other end of the hose to the skimmer box inlet pipe. The filtration system sucks water from the skimmer inlet pipe into the filter.
Pool Vacuum Hose
Please use a proper pool vacuum hose to clean a swimming pool. These hoses are designed to connect to other pool accessories.
Pool vacuum hoses are manufactured in two sizes. One continuous length which is usually 30feet (10m) or a box of 10 x 3foot (1m) sections that are connected together. If you have a large pool you can connect more hose components together.
Pool vacuum hoses are constructed out of strong material that will tolerate UV light, pool chemicals and the vacuum pressure from the pump motor. The hose also has to tolerate the vibration from automatic suction cleaners (commonly called “kreepy krawlers”).
Vacuum Plate for Skimmer Box
A vacuum skimmer plate allows you to connect your vacuum hose to the skimmer box for cleaning. The vacuum plate fits into the skimmer box creating a seal over the skimmer basket. Attach the vacuum hose to the top of the vacuum plate. When you vacuum the pool the water is passed through the skimmer box and basket trapping larger debris in the skimmer basket. This prevents large items of debris entering the pump and filter.
How to Manually Vacuum a Swimming Pool
- Attach the pool vacuum head to the telescoping pole
- Connect the vacuum hose to the pool vacuum head
- Lower the pole and vacuum head to the bottom of the pool
- Attach the vacuum plate into the skimmer box over the skimmer basket.
- Remove the air in the vacuum hose. Push the hose underwater to expel all the air from the hose. Some people prefer to push the hose up to the outlet jet and let the water flow push out the air.
- Ensure the hose is completely full of water with no air pockets.
- Connect the hose to the vacuum plate in the skimmer box
- You can now vacuum the water through the filter
- If you want to vacuum the water into the drain turn the outlet valve at the pump to waste or drain. Remember to turn it back when finished cleaning the pool.
- Turn on the pump motor
- Vacuum the pool by slowly moving the vacuum head over the bottom of the pool. Don’t move the vacuum head too fast. It will stir up the dirt on the bottom and you won’t be able to vacuum it. I recommend starting in the deep end and work your way into the shallow end. Finally vacuum the steps and work your way out of the pool.
- When finished vacuuming turn off the pump motor
- Remove the vacuum head, hose and skimmer vacuum plate. I recommend hosing the equipment with fresh water to remove the pool chemicals. This will make the equipment last longer.
- Set you pump filter back to automatic.
How to Manually Vacuum with a Sand Filter
Manually vacuuming the swimming pool with a sand filter is similar to above except sand filters require backwashing.
Sand filters have 6 filter settings on the return valve – filter, backwash, rinse, recirculate, waste and closed.
You have two options for vacuuming with a sand filtration system.
Vacuum to Waste
When the pool is very dirty I recommend you select the waste setting to vacuum the pool water into the drain. Otherwise the sand filter will quickly become clogged with debris and dirt. This setting will lower the pool water level. You will need to add the hose to the pool to bring the water back to the correct level.
Vacuum to Filter
When the pool is only slightly dirty select the filter setting. The pool water passes through the sand filter and returns to the pool.
Once you have completed vacuuming the pool you must backwash the filter. Please follow the manufacturer’s instructions for your model of sand filter. Normally backwashing only takes two or three minutes. Backwashing pumps water backwards through the filter into the drain. This process cleans the debris out of the sand filter. However, even backwashing for a few minutes will cause the pool water level to drop slightly. You will need to add the hose to the pool to bring the water back to the correct level.
Read our article on How to Clean a Swimming Pool Filter
Automatic Swimming Pool Cleaners
Automatic swimming pool cleaners can save you a lot of time and ensure your pool is always sparkling clean. However, they are not completely automatic. You need to install the unit in the pool and remove it when the cleaner has finished.
There are three types of automatic swimming pool cleaners.
Robotic Pool Cleaners
Robotic pool cleaners are placed on the bottom of the pool and move around to pick up dirt and debris. They also have rotating scrubbing brushes to clean the surface. These cleaners operate separately from the pool filtration system so they won’t clog up the filter. Robotic cleaners store the dirt in an on board container. Empty the container when you remove the cleaner from the pool. Install the cleaner in the pool in the evening for a few hours or even leave it in the pool overnight.
As this is the most expensive option I recommend robotic pool cleaners for larger pools.
Suction Pool Cleaners
A suction pool cleaner is attached to a vacuum hose which is attached to a vacuum plate in the skimmer box. This is the same as manually vacuuming a pool except the manual vacuum head is replaced with the suction cleaner.
When the pump is activated the suction cleaner slowly moves around the pool. It sucks up the dirt and debris into the filtration system.
One advantage of suction cleaners is that they can clean up and down the walls and into corners. During the off season, some pool owners tend to leave the cleaner in the pool permanently. The cleaner is activated by the pump so it will clean the pool every day.
Suction pool cleaners are usually know by their common brand names, such as “Kreepy Krawler”. These cleaners are a cheaper alternative to a robotic cleaner.
Pressure Pool Cleaners
A pressure side cleaner is basically the same as a suction cleaner except it comes with its own collection bag. Empty the collection bag after every cleaning session.
The advantage with this cleaner is that they don’t clog up the pool filter with dirt. This reduces the requirement to clean a filter element or backwash a sand filter.
Conclusion
Swimming pools are never maintenance free. However, if you follow the above advice on how to clean a swimming pool you will save yourself much time and money. The best return on your money is the installation of a pool cover. A cover will dramatically reduce the amount of dirt and debris entering the pool water. Your pool will require much less cleaning and filtering saving your equipment, money and time.
