I had no prior experience with owning and maintaining a swimming pool until 2006 when my wife and I bought a house with a 5 year old saltwater pool. It had an old Lectrinator salt system with a very basic chlorinator but it required very little work on my part once the water chemistry was good.
I did – through some trial and error, research and experience – figure out little tips and tricks to keep things working well and also learned how to figure out early when something wasn’t right.
After we switched to a more modern and advanced Hayward AquaRite saltwater chlorinator system, the work was even easier since we could set the pump on a timer and run it only when we wanted.
While you can follow the manuals and listen to your pool company’s advice, I’ve also found out that you learn things on the job so to speak regarding saltwater and pool systems. Here are some things I learned to help keep your salt water swimming pool clean and ready to use.
Use Test Strips To Keep Water Chemistry Correct
It’s an easy and quick way to get a sense as to where your water stands in terms of its chemistry. I find that using them once a week or as required gives you a chance to catch any issue early on so you can make any adjustments you need to keep the water crystal clear.
Specifically you can quickly keep an eye on salt, chlorine and pH levels with these strips depending on the product you buy.
You’ll also figure out over time how to predict what you’re going to need in terms of salt usage. In our case, we find that we need about 20 lbs of salt in the spring to open the pool and usually another 10-20 lbs mid summer tossed in keep things running correctly. Our pool company usually advises this when I take a water sample in every month or so to be sure.
Look For Issues Early
Force of habit, I look out the back window of the house every morning from upstairs at the pool below. I look for any dead animals floating…It happens. But I also rescued a few live chipmunks and mice who were swimming around trying to escape and got to them in time. But I digress…
I also look down at the pool to see how clear the water is. Often you can just look at a pool from above and see the water is getting cloudy so you can deal with it quickly. Most likely you aren’t getting enough chlorine produced and need to adjust it asap before it becomes a bigger problem. This is especially true if you’re using the pool frequently, are getting a lot of hot sun or frequent rain which all play havoc on the chemistry.
You’ll also learn to listen for the pump having difficulty pumping water as it sounds different when water flow is low.
Check The Skimmer And Strainer Daily
I tend to check the skimmer at the side of the pool and the pump strainer daily and empty them as necessary. We have a lot of trees and flowers in the backyard so leaves and other debris get stuck there and fill it up quickly. The strainer can get quite full and slow down the pump as a result which puts extra strain on it.
Rinse Filter Mediums As Necessary
This depends on what sort of pool filter you use. We have a Sta-Rite System 3 cartridge filter and I know it needs to be hosed down when the return jets inside the pool slow down. Once the filter cartridges are rinsed, the water flow is much stronger again.
Put your hand in front of one of the returns in the water to see how strong the water flow is. I found that over time as the filter mediums fill up and need rinsing or the strainer gets full, the water flow will go down. That’s when it might be time to rinse the cartridges if you have such a filter.
For other filter types, check the manual to see if it needs to be backwashed, etc.
Run The Pump As Needed
When we first bought our house and I was learning about the pool, I’d run the pump 24/7. I thought that was what you were supposed to do. Then the pump seized up and died and we had to buy a new one. I started thinking about the wear on a pump running 24 hours during the day and wondered if it was necessary…
I know what the pool manual (and probably your pool company says) but we live in an area with time of use electricity prices. Electricity is more expensive during the weekdays than in evenings and weekends, almost double. So I decided to try a few things and see how it would work.
I set the timer on our pump to run only overnight for 8 hours – and sometime less – and not at all during the day or at best, 2 hours on hot days. Yes, during hot summer months. On weekends when we tended to use the pool more often, I would run it for several hours during the day too.
I took water tests into our pool company every few weeks as usual and didn’t notice any difference. The chlorine that was being produced was enough to keep the pool chemistry in order.
If we had super hot weather and I thought the pool was getting a bit cloudy, I’d turn the pump on longer. But in general, running the pump only overnight suffices. It saves (big time) on the electricity bill and is less stressful on the pump and other equipment too. You might not experience the same thing but it has worked for me.
Use The Functionality Your Pool System Offers You
Familiarize yourself with the features that your pool system has. While it’s easy to just stick with what you know about, you might be surprised about some features that your chlorinator system has that makes your life easier.
Some chlorinator systems like our Hayward AquaRite system have a Super Chlorinate function which bumps up chlorine production during heavy pool use ie. you’re having a pool party, having friends over. It also works when you have cloudy water or have had heavy rain. When more bodies enter the water, more chlorine is needed to keep the pool clean and sanitized. If your pool system has this sort of feature, use it as needed preferably in advance of heavy pool usage.
Make use of the pump timer function if you have one. As mentioned above, I’ve found it to be a very convenient and cost savings (electricity) feature and only run the pump at certain times despite what my pool company told me. Even when I shut the system off during the winter, the settings remain in the new season.
Our Hayward system also comes with an automatic cell cleaning function. This is very handy to clean the salt cell automatically to keep it running properly while also potentially extending its lifespan. Better and easier than manually cleaning the cell and possibly damaging it.
Conclusion
- Salt water pool maintenance tends to much easier than with chlorine or bromine systems. Less work and more swimming.
- Maintenance of salt water pool systems still takes some knowledge and experience which you’ll gain over time.
- Learn about the features that your chlorinator system has that benefit you and your pool and that make your work easier. I particularly like the pump timer and super chlorinate feature on our Hayward AquaRite system.
- Check out my page on benefits that salt water pools have over chlorine ones to learn more about the benefits of saltwater.
