Owning a pool is a luxury that will bring you and your family hours of enjoyment. But cleaning a pool is no easy task, especially when your pool has just been installed. With the right tools and know-how, you can easily clean your pool. This article looks into the following pool cleaning hacks that will help new pool owners keep their pools sparkling clean all summer.

1. Maintaining the Pool’s Water Chemistry

Maintaining the pool's much-needed chemicals is undoubtedly one of the most critical aspects of pool care. Unbalanced chemicals are unsightly, cause irritation to the skin and eyes, and even serve as a breeding ground for harmful bacteria. Frequency of water testing should be once per week. Here are five chemistry levels that you should put your focus to:

-Free chlorine: Free chlorine kills bacteria and algae. If levels drop too low, bacteria and algae can take hold and wreak havoc on the pool's water chemistry.

-Cyanuric Acid: This chemical keeps chlorine from evaporating from the sun. The best level for the outdoor pool is about 30-50.

-Alkalinity/Acidity: To prevent skin irritation and corrosion of your pool's fixtures, keep the acidity level (also known as the PH level) between 7.5 and 7.8 at all times.

-Total Alkalinity: This helps balance the PH levels to protect you from harmful bacteria. The recommended range for most pools is 60-120.

-Calcium Hardness: Calcium hardness needs to be balanced, like pH and total alkalinity, to keep your pool water from becoming corrosive or scaling.

2. Good Circulation Is Essential to Pool Care

A healthy pool relies on good circulation. To prevent stagnant water that might house bacteria, viruses, and most possible white water mold that can make people ill, maintain your pool's pumps and filters so that the water continues flowing and is safe. Here's how it's quickly done:

• Ensure the pump basket is clean and in the right place. Having a clogged impeller is a sign that something is wrong.
• Lubricate the pump lid and tighten it enough to prevent air leaks.
• Keep the pump running for 8-12 hours per day.
• Check the pump every day to ensure it is functioning correctly. Low water levels or air leakage can wear the pump. If you observe weird noises, whirling water in the skimmers, or a ripple on the surface of the returns, there is a problem.

3. Responsible Pool Care is the Key

Pools are fun for kids and adults, but people can't simply do whatever they want in and around them. Set clear rules for everyone's safety and to keep the pool in good shape. Everyone has to work together to keep their pool in good shape and ready for use. Here are a some tips to keep your pool in tip-top condition:

• Make it a point for swimmers to have a quick shower before showing their swimming skills.
• Keep animals away from the pool to reduce hair and dirt.
• Maintain the cleanliness of the pool deck by cleaning and wiping the area.

4. Strictly Following Pool Maintenance Schedule

Every day you should:

-Skim the pool's water surface

-Clean up the pool deck by sweeping.

Every week you should:

-Vacuum the pool thoroughly

-With a brush, clean the pool's surfaces

-Clear out or clean the filters

-Maintain chemical levels

5. Natural Pool Cleaners You Can Use

Cleaning your pool can be expensive, so we recommend using natural cleaners. Here are a few tools that can help you get the best results;

-Muriatic Acid

-Bleach

-Baking Soda

-Borax

-Olive Oil

-White Vinegar

-Simple Green

-Rubbing Alcohol

-Lemon Juice

-Plastic broom

-Melamine sponge

-Vitamin C tablets

6. Salt and Lime Is a Natural Stain and Rust Solution

If you want to get rid of ugly stains on the sides of your pool, lime juice is a much easier and more natural way to do it. Just squeeze some limes and add salt to make removing the stains easier. If you scrub hard enough, the metal blotches should be simple to remove. Also, unlike most commercial products for removing stains and cleaning pools, lime juice is all organic and contains no chemicals. So, you won't have to worry that this pool care hack for getting rid of stains will irritate your skin or throw off the chemical balance in your pool.

7. Throw a Couple of Tennis Balls To Absorb Oils

People usually think of playing catch when they think of tennis balls in a pool. But these toys can do more than one thing. When swimmers get out of the water, they can leave behind oils like suntan lotion, hair products, and the oils our skin makes on its own. Even though it's unpleasant to think about, there's a simple way to fix it. Just toss a tennis ball into the water. The tennis ball's fibers will help absorb the oils and dirt. You can also toss a couple in the skinner basket to help fight the accumulation of oil from your pool's water hassle-free!

8. Prepare the Pool for the Winter

The next thing to remember is to prepare your pool for the winter season. Here are some steps to avoid consequences and ensure that your pool is in fine condition for the next season.

1. Remove, clean, and store all pool accessories, from skimmer baskets, cleaners, and ladders, to solar blankets from the pool.
2. Make sure to deep clean the pool removing all leaves, silt, and other water pollutants.
3. Adjust the pool's water chemistry balance a week before you cover the pool.

• Alkalinity - 80 to 150 ppm
• pH level - 7.2 to 7.6
• Calcium hardness - 175 to 225 ppm
• Chlorine level - 1ppm to 3 ppm

1. Lower the pool's water level. If you use a mesh cover, the water level should be one foot below the skimmer; if you have a solid cover, it should be roughly half a foot below the skimmer.
2. Drain all the pool equipment(filter, pump, heater) and store it in a safe and dry place.
3. A few days before closing the pool, add shock to eliminate bacteria and algaecide to kill any algae formation.
4. Finally, cover the pool. Safety covers are hooked down. Winter covers protect less, but you don't have to think about adding extra security to anchor them down. But whatever cover you use, ensure it's tight enough and has no tears or holes.

While getting your swimming pool ready for guests is one of the most fun things a new pool owner can do, it is also one of the most tedious chores. It can be a lot of work to clean the pool constantly. But with these tried and tested cleaning hacks for new pool owners, you should not have any problem keeping your pool in pristine condition.

These hacks will take the toil out of cleaning your pool and make the task easier for you. The most important trick is to clean it regularly. If you don't, the cleaning can become much more challenging and more expensive in the future. Ideally, it would help if you cleaned your pool at least once a week so it does not become much more significant of a job. These techniques will get you well on your way to a cleaner pool. So, all you have to do is have fun and enjoy the pool!