How To Perform Weekly Service on a Leafy Pool

When servicing pools it’s import to have a process down.  A process can help automate the movements on servicing a pool so the technician doesn’t forget or miss certain steps.  With that being said, every pool is different and every pool may require a different process and that process may change from week to week.  With all my pools I grow into a normal process or procedure of the weekly services performed on that pool.   

Without going into detail about each different process, I will just highlight my process for pool that has a lot of debris or leaves.

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1.  When I first walk into a client’s backyard, I immediately look at the overall condition of the pool.  The “condition” of the pool depends on various attributes.  I ask myself questions pertaining to the attributes.
   
   
   1. Is the pool water level too low or too high?
      
      
      1. If the water level is too low, I will turn on the fill line or put a garden hose in the pool so I can fill it up the entire time I’m servicing.  If I start filling the pool with water, I drop my truck keys near the water source.  This is so that I don’t forget the turn the water off when I leave and the pool overflows causing hundreds of thousands of dollars of damage to the property that I am liable for.
         
         
      2. If the water level is too high, maybe this is a great opportunity for me to backwash the filter, or “vac to waste.”
         
         
   2. How does the water look?
      
      
      1. Is the water clear, cloudy, green?  Does it sparkle like it’s supposed to?  Is it better or worse than last week?
         
         
         1. Although no technician can tell you what’s going on chemically just by looking at the water (without testing), it gives me an overall feel for how the pool is doing and can help determine what chemicals I would add later.
            
            
   3. How much debris is in the pool?  What kind of debris is it?
      
      
      1. The amount and type of debris in the pool can change the servicing process.
         
         
         1. More large leaves may require more scooping with the net while dirt and smaller debris could be handled by vacuuming.
            
            
         2. Or, we may not even need to vacuum at all.
            
            
   4. Is the pump on? If the equipment is not on, should it be?
      
      
      1. If the equipment is not on, should it be?
         
         
2. If the equipment is not on and the timer hasn’t clicked on yet, I’ll turn it on or put it on “Quick Clean”.
   
   
3.  Now that we have water circulating I will immediately brush the walls. 
   
   
   1. This will loosen all the dirt and debris that can get stuck to the sides of the pool.  It will also push out all the floating debris that is stuck to the tile line of the pool.  I do this first for several reasons.  I want to stir everything up first.  I find that if I net, or skim, the surface of the pool with a net and then brush, I will always have to go back to the net.  There will always be something stuck to the walls that I missed.  Also, while this stirs up all the leaves, sticks, and debris, it is also bunching them together while getting them out of the corners of the pool.  This makes it easier and faster to vacuum up later.
      
      
4. After brushing I usually squeeze a bit of tile soap down the middle of the pool.
   
   
   1. This does a few things.  First, it will push a lot of the debris towards the sides of the pool making it easier and faster to skim up.
      
      
   2. Second, it will smooth out the surface of the water.  This helps for seeing what’s at the bottom of the pool.  Usually, in the middle of the day, the water is sparking so much that it can cause a glare that hinders the view to the bottom of the pool
      
      
   3. Lastly, sometimes it smells good.  I like that.
      
      
5. Now, I will usually net or skim the surface of the water with an oversized net.  The larger net makes it faster to cover a larger area of the pool surface.
   
   
6. When I have gotten all the floating debris in the pool skimmed out, I will take chemical levels.  This gives the debris a little more time to settle.
   
   
   1. I check pH and chlorine levels on all visits.
      
      
   2. Things like Alkalinity or CYA don’t need to be checked every time.  These don’t fluctuate as much in a short amount of time.  Once every quarter or so I have found to be a good balance between checking and over checking.
      
      
7. After I have tested the chemical levels, it’s time to vacuum. Sometimes another squeeze of diluted tile soap is necessary. 
   
   
   1. Most of the time I vacuum I use the Hammerhead vac.  One of the best investments I have made for my business.  It’s large and powerful.  It can pick up leaves and debris larger than any other vac head out there and it doesn’t put all that debris in underground plumbing lines.  But, it won’t pick up fine dirt.  It will just mix it around the water.
      
      
   2. If you don’t have a Hammerhead vac, now would be a good time to scoop up all the larger debris that will be tough to vacuum with a conventional style vac head that attaches to a skimmer and then vacuum with the vac head.
      
      
8. By now the pool is most likely looking a lot better.  The walls have been brushed and everything on the floor has been vacuumed up.  I take this time to pin point any debris that has been missed. I’ll scoop or skim them up with the net.
   
   
9. After all that, I empty the baskets. These include the skimmer baskets, pump basket and any auto cleaner catch net or basket.
   
   
10. Next, I will fill the chlorinator or floater with tabs.
    
    
11. Then, I’ll put in a cap full of yellowtrine.  This helps prevent mustard algae and really makes the water sparkle and shine.
    
    
12. When that’s all said and done, I’ll clean up my mess and put it all back in my truck.  This is when I will also grab scoops of whatever chemicals I need to adjust the pH, shock, remove phosphates or clear up the water.
    
    
13. Finally, I will jump back in my truck and pick up my cell phone.  Here I enter and document all the services and chemical levels from the weekly service in the Pool Service Log.  This helps me keep track of everything and also gives the client a database to check to see what services were performed on what day and at what time.  At this time, I am the only one in Hawaii that uses this tool.  I actually get a lot of good responses from customers about this and have even won bids for service because of it.  It takes less than a minute and has many benefits.
    
    

There's more then one way to skin a cat, and that was my generic process for servicing leafy and debris filled pools.  In other pools the process can vary.  Sometimes I vacuum first and others not at all.  It all depends on the pool and the condition that it’s in.  A regular process for a pool can really help cut down the time on servicing while hitting all the services that need to be performed.   

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