How to Clean Up Your Swimming Pool After a Storm

It is important to clean your pool, but if you are recovering from a major storm, you may have more clean up than usual. During the wintertime, blizzards and other weather conditions can cause all sorts of problems with your pool. In the summertime, high winds can send debris everywhere. If you don’t do anything about it, the debris could actually cause damage to your pool’s inner systems. Not only can it clog your pool drains, it could also cause the filter to burn out from overuse. Fortunately, there are a number of ways to protect your pool. Here are some ways to clean up your pool after a storm.

1. Make sure to remove the debris. Your first step is to remove all the debris. This is important because removing the debris will be a bulk of the work. Once the detritus is gone, you can focus on other aspects of clean up, like disinfecting the water and making sure your pool is swimmable again.

2. Vacuum the bottom of the pool. After you move the big pieces of debris, like trees and other large items, you’ll want to vacuum the bottom of the pool. You can usually find a pool vacuum at a retailer like SwimEx. These specialized vacuums are completely waterproof and they suck up any dirt from the bottom and sides of the pool. After a big storm, there will no doubt be sand, dirt, and soil at the bottom of the pool. Not only will it be uncomfortable to walk on this debris – it could actually damage your pool filter. A vacuum will easily suck in all of the debris.

3. Add more chlorine. On top of vacuuming the pool, you may also want to add more chlorine to your pool. There is a good chance that your pool’s water has been contaminated. If you are cleaning your pool after a long winter, the chlorine may be completely dissipated. This is why you want to wait for the water to clear and then add the chlorine tablets. You may want to add extra chlorine to make sure the water is totally clean.

4. Empty out the basket filters. If your pool has filter baskets, you will need to clean them out. There is a good chance that they are full of leaves and other detritus after a big storm. When it comes down to it, emptying your baskets is as easy as pulling them out and then dumping them into a plastic bag. In most cases, you should be emptying out these baskets every week or so.

5. Clean out the filter. On top of everything, you also want to clean out the filter. If you have a sand filter, you may be able to automatically clean it. Otherwise, you may have to replace your filter. Also, if you have any blockages in your filter, you’ll want to remove them. In the end, you don’t want your filter to have any obstructions and you want it to be perfectly clean and ready filter your pool water.