What does your pool cleaning routine look like? For most pool owners, it’s a basic routine involving upkeep, skimming, testing, and the occasional shock treatment. And for the most part, that will cover what the pool needs.
But sometimes it’s too much, and your pool will start showing warning signals that point to a problem this routine cannot cope with. But the thing is, if you don’t pay attention and keep plugging away doing the same thing, the result will be a pool you can’t use and a huge bill to rectify things.
But what do you need to look out for?
Persistent Algae
Your regular cleaning will do a decent job of keeping algae at bay. However, if your algae problem keeps coming back despite constant cleaning and properly balanced chemicals, there’s something outside of your cleaning that needs addressing. It might be an imbalance in cyanuric acid levels or a filtration problem. It might even be that algae has worked its way into surfaces and grout lines, which is making your chlorine less effective and is difficult to remove.
If you’ve tried shocking the pool, brushing through, and running the filter continuously without lasting results, then it’s worth getting a professional pool service to assess what is going on and catch what your routine cleaning isn’t.
Cloudy Water That Won’t Clear
Cloudy pool water has a few possible causes. It could be a result of poor filtration, chemical imbalance, high bather load, or environmental debris. And while the occasional cloudiness is normal, if your water is staying cloudy or is only clearing for a short period, then this suggests that something is off.
Filtration issues are one of the most common underlying causes of cloudy pool water. If your filter is not running long enough, is undersized for the pool, or has a mechanical problem, you will always struggle to keep the water clear, no matter how well the chemistry is managed. Persisting cloudiness that doesn’t respond to extra filtration time and chemical adjustment is a sign of this. It’s best to get the problem diagnosed and corrected by professionals before it develops into a bigger problem.
Equipment Running Louder than Usual
Pool equipment, as standard, will make some level of noise. But if you notice any sounds that are new or louder than usual, then it’s time to pay attention. Listen for anything that sounds like grinding, rattling, or just emitting a different sound than you’re used to for your pool. This is a sign that something has changed mechanically.
It could be due to a failing bearing, debris caught in the impeller, or a motor nearing the end of its working life.
Equipment problems caught early are usually far cheaper to fix than equipment that is allowed to fail completely. A pump that seizes or a motor that burns out because a minor issue was ignored typically means a full replacement rather than a simple repair. So if your equipment sounds a bit different than normal or you’re hearing new sounds you never did before, then you need to get things looked at before things get any worse.
