On a hot summer day, there is nothing more refreshing than jumping into a cold pool. Your backyard can also be instantly transformed into a wonderful hangout spot for kids, friends, and family gatherings by the installation of some clear, blue water. The problem is that pools don’t automatically stay pristine and beautiful. There are a lot of issues that come up with owning a pool and in order to keep them both inviting and safe, here are the things that everyone should keep in mind before they take a dip.

Choose the Right Professional

There’s a lot of regular maintenance that you can do on your own to keep your pool looking great, but it still involves a lot of complex machinery and issues that you might not be able to handle all by yourself. Pool maintenance service should be administered by a professional that you trust, and who really knows pools. With a complex system of filters, heaters, vacuums, and chemicals, you need someone who knows a bit more than how to fish out the leaves. Sure, full-fledged professional services will take care of the basics too, but as How Stuff Works points out in their guide to pool maintenance, calcium build-up can severely impact your pool’s heater, and fixing it might require some serious technical knowledge. Whether you want someone to take care of everything or to help you maintain the more complex parts, make sure you have a pool guy you can count on.

Keeping The Pool Clean

This Old House has great tips on taking care of a lot of routine maintenance yourself. Debris and algae pose significant problems to the look and enjoyment of your pool, so be sure that you keep them to a minimum with regular cleanings. One great idea that you can do to minimize this work is trimming back trees that produce a significant amount of pollen or leaves and keep the area around the pool mostly free of pollinating plant life. Also be sure to check the filter regularly and dumping it’s excess contents into the garbage.

It’s also important to know how to work your pool vacuum. This task will usually take around 30 minutes, and it’s best to use a nylon or stainless steel brush at the end of the vacuum pole to scrape off any algae that might be forming on the walls of the pool. Another thing that you will want to do on a routine basis is to test your pool’s PH level. Most experts recommend once a week and that you will want the level to be between 7.4 and 7.6. It’s easy to add chlorine, muriatic acid, or soda ash products to stabilize the PH level yourself, but constant imbalance might mean it’s time to contact the professionals.

Staying Safe

The Red Cross has some very important ways to stay safe around your pool. Sadly, there is a high number of children that drown every year in their own backyard. Erecting barriers, encouraging proper swimming lessons, and using safety covers when the pool is not in use are all great ways to make sure that no one can fall in accidentally. At the same time, any equipment or chemicals that can be dangerous should be kept well out of reach of children.