At the begining

Let’s start at the beginning of becoming your own pro. All journeys begin with the first step. When I would service a pool, these are the steps I would take as I entered the property.

When walking up to the pool use your eyes, look around at everything inside and outside of the pool. Is there enough water in the pool, any debris, stains, discolored water etc. in the pool? Is there anything on the perimeter around the pool that could pose a hazard or effect the pool or safety in any way?

Assuming all looks good, the next step is to walk to the equipment area. On your way there continue for looking for hazards or anything that may look concerning. once at the equipment look around once again. Does everything look ok? Anything visually damaged, leaking, flashing lights, sound odd, etc.?

At the equipment location you should make a note of the filter pressure, then depending on what type of system you have you should make sure each item is working correctly. Turn on the lights (leave them on until your return to the pool to confirm they are working), run each pump, run the blower, if you have an attached spa you should switch to “spa mode” making sure the motorized valves turn in the correct direction and the heater, or heaters should be activated to make sure they work etc. Also at this point turn off the equipment and empty any pump baskets of its debris.

Once all the equipment checks out then head back to the pool check the lights if they were left on, blow off any leaves or debris around pool, clean any skimmer baskets, remove any automatic cleaner from the pool (clean out its bag, cartridge or tray), test the water for the chemistry levels (this should include your sanitizer level (chlorine ((both free and combined levels)), bromine, salt etc.) pH, Alkalinity, Calcium Hardness, Cyanuric acid, Phosphates, Metals (if using well or have known metal content) etc.), add the chemicals needed, vacuum the pool manually, brush entire pool. If the pool has an autofill device, check for its operation and see if the water is at the appropriate level and adjust if needed.

If you turned on the light go back and turn it off. and for the most part you are complete. an average visit to service a pool generally takes 30-60 minutes, assuming the pool is in good condition when you start.

This is obviously a generalization, your pool may have more, or less equipment and options, and that would add or remove certain steps. You can certainly ask questions about your specifics, and I will give you direction on what you have, I will also continue with more specifics as we travel along in this process.