Trying to prepare your pool for vacation? This Vacation Pool Maintenance Guide is the perfect resource for you
So you have an exciting vacation planned. Maybe it’s an excursion to a bustling city with reservations at the most popular five-star restaurants, and tickets to the best shows in town. Or maybe you’re visiting family and friends for a week to spend some quality time and catch up.
Whatever your plans may be, one fact is certain. You won’t be home to handle pool maintenance during that time.
And we already know what can happen to an unattended pool — from pool algae infestations to cloudy water and debris overload, the list goes on.
So the question here is, what are the keys to preparing your pool for vacation?
In this post, we explain the essentials of vacation pool maintenance.
Preparing Your Pool For Vacation
A Vacation Pool Maintenance Guide
Get an automatic timer
Automatic timers are the ultimate solution for the busy pool owner.
The timers have the sole purpose of applying power to your pump/filter system for pre-set times for specific durations.
Now, of course, this can be done manually, but this kind of routine can be difficult to maintain when the week gets busy. Even more so when you’re on vacation and nowhere near your pool.
Instead, automatic timers allow you to stay on top of good pool care while you’re away, helping you to maintain optimal pool water circulation. A factor essential to clean and clear water.
Set your timer to run for 8 – 12 hours (nighttime is best and cheapest), this ensures adequate circulation and filtration while you’re away.
Test and balance your water before leaving
Before leaving, make it your mission to test and balance your water. As long as your pool doesn’t get much use while you’re gone, this step alone will go a long way.
Proper pool chemical maintenance helps keep your water clear and sanitized, allowing it properly fight off any contaminants that intrude.
So grab your pool water test kit, and aim for the following levels:
Ideal Pool Chemical Levels
pH: 7.4 to 7.6
Alkalinity: 100 – 150 ppm
Calcium Hardness: 200 to 275 ppm
Chlorine: 3 ppm
That covers all of the basic chemicals, but for a more in-depth explanation of pool chemistry and other important chemicals, check out this post:
Depending on your chlorine levels, it may also be a wise choice to shock your pool before leaving. Doing so will leave your pool equipped with at least a week’s supply of chlorine.
Learn how in this post:
Shock Your Pool In 4 Simple Steps
Use solar pool covers
Although solar covers are typically associated with heating your pool and extending your pool season, they’re also great for a few other reasons.
Particularly for their ability to preserve your pool chemicals and significantly reduce evaporation. How? Glad you asked
Solar pool cover work by acting as a shield against the sun’s UV rays. These harmful rays have a knack for burning up the chemicals in your pool water, hence why you typically spend the most on them during the summer. The heat from the rays also accelerates the evaporation rate of your water.
But a pool cover reflects the heat of the sun and significantly weakens the effects of UV rays on your water. Meaning that you maintain proper chemical balance and water level easier, so try using one.
Plan accordingly
This might be the most important part of vacation pool maintenance. Good pool care habits are definitely in your favor no matter what, but will your vacation pool maintenance plans hold up for more than a few days?
This leads to the most important point of all
Consider how long you’ll be gone for.
If you’re only leaving for a week, then you’re pretty much covered with the previously mentioned tips. But if you’re going to be gone for a few weeks, then realistically, you have two viable options:
You can close your pool while you’re gone,
or,
Let’s explore the option of getting some help.
Hire a helper or swimming pool service
There’s nothing quite like having the eye of an experienced pool owner watching over your backyard paradise while you’re gone. Problem is, not all of us have friends who are experienced with pool care, but that’s okay.
If you can find a neighbor or friend willing to help out, you can leave behind a small checklist or your pool care schedule as guidance.
But if you’re pressed for time and can’t find anyone to take care of your pool, a swimming pool service may be the perfect solution. They can handle anything from chemical maintenance to pool equipment repair and have years of experience in the industry. They may even be able to help you improve you pool set up for better energy efficiency, so consider hiring a professional swimming pool service.
