Let’s face it, there isn’t a better time for swimming than during the summer. It’s the perfect time for pool parties, and the combination of warm sunny weather and soothing cool water just can’t be beaten.
That said, the summertime is usually when your pool gets used the most. So naturally, more pool maintenance follows.
You’re vacuuming your pool more, skimming twice as many leaves and bugs out of the water, and adding what seems like an endless amount of chemicals. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
By using a few pool maintenance hacks, you can make summer pool maintenance a breeze. Which is why we put together this post.
If you’re interested in learning summer pool maintenance hacks that let you enjoy more time in the pool while saving you time and money, then keep reading.
11 Summer Pool Maintenance Hacks
1.) Keep the wasps & bees away with dryer sheets and lemongrass
if you don’t have an enclosure around your pool, then keeping out the bees and wasps is tough. And skimming them out of the pool is time-consuming.
But naturally deterring these insects is much easier than you might think.
Because what attracts them can also drive them away. And by that, we mean scent.
Place a few baskets of dryer sheets and lemongrass around the perimeter of your pool. This alone can make a noticeable difference in keeping bees and wasps away. For some reason, they just really detest the smell of freshness and clean laundry.
But that’s just one of many ways to keep bees and wasps out of your pool.
2.) Use tennis balls to absorb oils
Got a few tennis balls sitting around in a bin somewhere? Not planning on playing a single match of tennis anytime soon?
Great! Let’s put those tennis balls to good use.
Place a few of them into the water and let them float around. That’s all you have to do, the tennis balls do the rest — they’re made from a material that can absorb the free floating oils in your pool from swimmers, lotions, etc.
This simple hack also helps take a major load off of your filter, which means less work for you 🙂
3.) Line your skimmer basket with pantyhose
Lining your skimmer basket with pantyhose is the easiest way to double its filtration power. The fine mesh material of the pantyhose allows the basket to filter at a much finer level.
Often, smaller debris gets past the skimmer basket and ends up in the filter. But this simple pool maintenance hack solves that problem.
4.) Run the filter more
Yes, we did say that these pool maintenance hacks save you money. And yes, running your filter more means more energy use.
But by running your filter more often, chemicals are circulated far more effectively. And pool chemical expenses are usually at a yearly high during the summertime.
So by running your filter a little more, you cut down on your chemical use a whole lot. And if you were wondering, longer filter cycles are way more cost effective than spending double on chemicals each month.
[Trying to lower your swimming pool bills? Check out these energy saving tips]
5.) Test water twice a week to maintain balance
How is this a hack?
Consider the difference between balancing your water every other week versus a few times a week.
If you’re testing and balancing every other week, then usually, you need to add a lot of chemicals to keep the water balanced. Especially during the pool party weeks.
But, if you test and balance every few days, then the water has less time to get imbalanced. Which makes balancing the water require fewer chemicals.
So if you want to save on pool chemicals, test and balance your water often to reduce the need.
[Not sure where to start with pool chemicals? Learn how to manage pool chemicals here]
6.) Use extra chlorine (it’s cheaper this way, trust us)
When you go to balance your water during sunnier weather, add a bit more chlorine than you normally would. Sure, you use more chemicals this way, but it helps to compensate for chemical loss from solar rays.
Plus, as we mentioned earlier, summertime is usually the busy season for your pool. So by adding a bit more chlorine than normal, you end up needing less later. Seeing a pattern in the
Seeing a pattern in these summer pool maintenance hacks?
7.) Prevent algae with good circulation
Maintaining healthy, balanced water is the easiest way to prevent algae.
Of course, in the summer, right after a big 4th of July pool day, that can be a challenge. A day or two goes by, and you forget to test the water.
Suddenly, on the fourth day, you wake up to a green pool. All that suntan lotion and sweat took a toll.
This is why good circulation is so important. You can maintain healthy water circulation in your pool by:
- Running the filter at least 8 hours every day (do it at night to save energy)
- Keeping the skimmer basket clean and clear
- Keeping the pump basket clean and clear
- Cleaning the filter regularly
8.) Use vinegar to fight scaling
Calcium scaling happens to every pool owner at one point or another. Sometimes it’s because of the natural chemistry of your state’s water, other times, it’s because of ph and alkalinity.
No matter the reason, the best course of action is attacking it as soon as you see it.
Use a 50/50 solution of water and vinegar to scrub away scaling with a sponge. And once it’s gone, simply keep up with chemical maintenance and keep your calcium hardness levels in the 200 – 275 ppm range.
9.) Use a solar cover to lock in heat and keep out debris
This little hack is one you may or may not already be using, but if you’re not, it’s time to start.
Using a solar cover not only improves heat retention, but it also reduces water loss and creates a barrier between your water and the surface.
It may not be air tight, but it helps keep out leaves and debris. And that means less skimming for you, so why not?
10.) Use baking soda as a pH booster or as a cleaner
Is your water’s pH too low? Dump some baking soda in there and boost it up.
Got a stubborn stain on the lining of your pool? Scrub it out with a water/baking soda paste.
Yup, baking soda is the best-kept secret of the pool world. Well maybe not a secret, but it’s one of the easiest pool maintenance hacks you can use. Baking soda cleans your pool and keeps your pH balanced. And, it super cheap and easy to find.
11.) Use lime to remove rust and metal stains
The natural acidity of lime makes it perfect for removing rust, yet gentle enough for your pool. That’s a big deal. Most everyday chemicals used for removing rust are no good for a swimming pool.
Most rust removal chemicals are no good for a swimming pool.
So squeeze a lime into a cup, add a bit of salt and water, and you have yourself a natural, pool-safe rust remover.
Closing thoughts
We wish we could give you the secret formula for avoiding pool maintenance for good. But as far as we know, no such thing exists (yet).
So the next best thing is following the summer pool maintenance hacks in this post. They save you money and time, and what pool owner doesn’t want those results?
Well, now that you have some new pool maintenance hacks under your belt, here a few more posts that you might like:
That is such a great idea to use lime as a rust remover. My husband and I find maintaining our pool is very time consuming and we don’t have enough time to enjoy it. I wonder if we could find a pool maintenance company that knows natural ways like lime to remove rust, so we can really enjoy our pool this year.