As the days grow longer and temperatures rise, it’s time to prepare your pool for summer.

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Prepare your pool for summer

After months of minimal use, your pool might need a thorough check-up to ensure it’s ready for those warm, sun-soaked days. This guide will walk you through essential steps to get your pool sparkling clean and safe, perfect for diving in when the heat hits. Below are some crucial steps to ensure that your pool is summer-ready.

Clear Debris and Clutter

The first step in preparing your pool for summer is to remove any debris that has collected over the cooler months. This could include leaves, branches, or even small animals. A leaf scooper or skimmer net is ideal for this task. Make sure to clean the surrounding areas, such as the pool deck and any outdoor furniture, to keep more debris from entering the pool.

Check Pool Chemistry

Balanced water chemistry is critical for safe swimming. Testing your pool’s water ensures that the pH, chlorine levels, alkalinity, and calcium hardness are all within their recommended ranges. Using a high-quality pool water testing kit is recommended, but professional pool services can also assist with testing if you’re unsure. For ideal conditions, aim for a pH between 7.2 and 7.6. This balance will help your chlorine or other sanitiser work more effectively. If the water chemistry has been neglected, use chemicals like algaecides, shock treatments, and stabilisers to get everything back in balance.

Inspect Equipment

Your pool’s filtration system and pump are the heart of clean, healthy water. Before the swimming season begins, inspect the pool pump, filter, and skimmer to ensure they are in working order. Clean out the skimmer basket and check for any signs of wear or damage to the pool equipment. Check the O-rings on the pump and make sure the pump is not making any rattling or humming noises, which could indicate a malfunction. Address any leaks or issues early to prevent costly repairs later.

Clean and Vacuum the Pool

After clearing debris, it’s essential to vacuum the pool to remove any dirt and grime that has settled at the bottom. Brush the walls and floor of your pool to loosen algae and dirt, then run your pool vacuum to remove it. For best results, ensure that your pool filter is clean and in good condition before vacuuming. If your pool has turned green or is cloudy, you may need to shock the water to clear it. Use a high dose of chlorine or a specialised pool shock product to bring your water back to crystal-clear condition.

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Adjust Water Levels

After months of rainfall or evaporation, your pool’s water levels may be off. Check to ensure the water is at the right level—halfway to three quarters up the skimmer opening is ideal. If the water is too low, the pump may not function properly, and if it’s too high, the skimmer won’t be able to remove floating debris efficiently.

Test the Pool's Circulation

Good circulation is key to keeping your pool water fresh and clear. Ensure that all your pool’s jets are working, directing the water to circulate efficiently. If necessary, backwash your filter to ensure that it's clean and ready to handle the increased load as pool usage rise.

Treat the Pool Water

Once everything is clean and balanced, it’s time to add a dose of sanitiser, such as chlorine, to keep your water clear and safe throughout the season. Follow this up with algaecide to prevent the growth of algae in your pool. Always check chemical levels regularly during the swimming season to avoid any surprises.

Inspect Pool Safety Features

Before your pool is officially summer-ready, don’t forget to inspect your pool’s safety features. Check pool fences, gates, and latches to ensure everything is secure and compliant with local safety regulations. Make sure you have an up to date and readable pool resuscitation (CPR) visible from anywhere within your pool area. Also, inspect any pool covers, especially solar covers, for damage that could affect their effectiveness.

Keep Your Pool Perfectly Clean All Summer Long

By following these essential tips to prepare your pool for summer, you’ll ensure that your pool stays clean, clear, and ready for fun. Whether you take the DIY route or enlist the help of pool professionals, a well-maintained pool guarantees hours of enjoyment during the hottest months of the year.

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5.0

Based on 20 reviews

Handy Pools Pty Ltd

5.0

Ellie Rigby

03:06 16 Jul 24

We couldn't be happier with the service provided by Handy Pools. Andy and Val recently installed an electric heat pump for our pool and set us up with the right pool robot for a pool surrounded by a lot of trees, making cleaning a breeze.They also come every month to test and balance the water, meaning we don't have to make trips to the pool shop to pick up all the chemicals which saves so much time. Andy and Val are incredibly helpful, always taking the time to explain everything and offering tips on how to keep our pool in top condition. Highly recommend!

Pippa Duffy

04:26 27 Jun 24

Andy was recommended to us by a friend with a pool in our area. We wanted someone to attend to our pool after moving back in post-renovations and it was in need of some TLC. Even though we were a new customer, Andy attended our place in a timely manner, fixed the problem, offered advice (without being pushy on spending big) and helped set us up new systems in terms of caring for our pool going forward. We've since called on Andy and Handy Pools for other one-off hiccups - he doesn't mind me calling and sending random videos of pool things to explain problems - and he's always so helpful, informative, efficient and very reasonable on costs.Would highly encourage any pool owner to give Handy Pools a call. Thanks Andy!

Lesley Kilsby

08:27 08 May 24

Andy is amazing and goes above and beyond. He installed a pool pump cover very quickly & with no fuss. Will definitely use Andy’s services in the future. Cannot recommend him highly enough.

Taylor Kilfoil

03:58 18 Sep 23

Handy Pools, Andy and his team, take excellent care of our pool, both the general pool and water maintenance as well as the ongoing upkeep and repairs to our pumps, filters, solar and electrical heating systems. Andy and his team are extremely professional, friendly and provide very cost-effective pool related services to us. We would highly recommend them to anyone seeking similar, high-quality services for their pool and systems.

Sheridan Collins

05:19 02 Sep 23

Andy has regularly maintained and fixed our ageing pool for 18 years now. Always very responsive (we've had a few dramas) and always fabulous communication and service. He is a great guy to deal with also. Highly recommend.

Michelle Zwar

04:02 28 Aug 23

Handy pools are always communicative and do a great job. We have used them for 4 years now and our pool is always lovely, clean and balanced

Phil Johnston

23:57 08 Aug 23

Andy has always given me great service. Friendly, professional and super-quick I'd happily recommend Handy Pools to anyone. Andy's staff, Kerri and Val, are cut from the same cloth and are a credit to his business. Give them a call, you won't regret it

Catherine Porquier

12:15 05 Sep 22

Andy and his team have been maintaining our pool for over two years now and I couldn’t recommend them enough! They have great knowledge in everything pool and do a great job of keeping our freshwater pool clean and in great condition. After the floods and recently after cleaning the pool area, our pool was throughly dirty and they cleaned it and it came back super clean!

Antony Sault

09:43 26 Aug 21

Andy and Val have provided great service and advice for many years. I highly recommend Handy Pools

John K

03:25 26 Jul 21

Best pool tech, can’t say enough good about Andy and his teamHave used many companies in the past 15 years , always with hiccups until Andy came along .Everything just runs better with Andy , been spending a lot less money every year .Not only are they very professional, experienced , well mannered , do a good job, they communicate so well and are very accomodating !!!!

Graham Campbell

00:53 08 Jul 21

Handy Pools have serviced since our pool / pump etc was refurbished in 2009 [by another contractor]. Always had great service and advice including sourcing and installing new chlorinator, solar controller, lights, pool cleaner etc.

Prue West

09:33 07 Jul 21

Handy Pools really know their stuff. The best thing is they are genuine and give quality advice without the constant upselling. Cheers Andy!

Angela Voyce

11:30 01 Jul 21

Andy is a rare breed. Honest, capable, knowledgeable and an all round good guy. I would never use anyone else.

David Goodwin

07:44 01 Jul 21

Tara Richmond

23:26 29 Jun 21

We moved into a house with a pool and no idea how to looks after it. I contacted Andy who’s thorough pool knowledge has guided us every step of the way to ensure our pool looks great and is ready to swim in all year round.

Lynne McKenzie

08:25 29 Jun 21

We have been using Handy Pools for more than 12 years and that says everything. All their servicemen are experienced, helpful and extremely professional. As well as first class monthly pool services, Handy Pools provide excellent pool advice, are great at trouble-shooting your pool problems and are always available for pool emergencies. We would not hesitate to recommend Handy Pools.

Kerri R

05:37 29 Jun 21

Andy is a pro pool-guy he stopped the pool from going green and supplied/installed a mineral sanitising system (been clear and sparkling ever since). Handy pools maintains my aunty’s pool at Pymble and Andy did some emergency pool rescue phone support with my sister in Brisbane (and recommended someone local for her ongoing maintenance). Professional, responds quickly, super high standards, good attitude.Highly recommend ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

dennis eagar

03:11 29 Jun 21

We have used Handy Pools since 2010 and have found them to be totally reliable, punctual and responsive to any of our requests. We would happily recommend them to our friends.

kristian holmberg

05:08 28 Jun 21

used Handy poools even though we are based in Port Stephens. They came up with a solution as we wanted to use our pool 12 months of the year. They provided a full solution that was cost effective and compatible with our solar system to ensure no running costs with the installation of a wifi controlled heat pump, robotic cleaner, thermal cover etc. Highly recommended as they provided a full turn key solution with extremely high quality knowledge and service

Adam McManus

00:56 12 Oct 16

We've just installed a new pool and now have Handy Pools doing our regular maintenance. Excellent service, professional staff who actually know what they are doing. Highly recommend.

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