subject: 5 Easy To Follow Tips For Holiday Pool Care [print this page] If you're heading off on holiday, you don't want to return to a green nightmare of a pool. That situation means hard work, possible expense, and a lot of it. There's only so much the best pool cleaners can do, and the rest is hard labour. The best approach is to plan in advance for pool care, and take care your pool is being looked after properly. Make sure your pool is looking just as you left it by following these easy tips:
Can't someone else do it? If you've got a pool care routine, is there someone else you can rely on to do it for you?
This is a great way around the problem, particularly if you've got a friendly fellow pool owner who's experienced and knows the proper routines for pool care. Any pool owner will sympathize, and understand why you need to be sure the pool's getting the care it requires.
A few pointers, when asking:
Give your friend plenty of notice.
Explain what needs doing, if required.
Make sure the person can get in contact if necessary.
The pool will be ready to jump in, the minute you get back.
Pool cleaning services. Expensive, sure, but you'll know it's professional.
Pool cleaning is actually a very good option, if you want to do some maintenance while you're not using the pool. This allows the professionals to check out your pool, and if there are problems, they'll spot them. This is something that needs to be done from time to time with older pools anyway.
Pool cleaning may be expensive, but nowhere near as expensive as recovering a 'post holiday disaster'. The pool can go on holiday, too, and come back good as new.
Shock your pool into staying clean. Chemicals can be the answer here.
The 'shock' approach, which means strong cleaning agents, is recommended for many pools, particularly the older pools which may have accumulated algae, etc. over time.
Note: Shock treatment is great, but if you haven't used this approach before, get some advice about the chemicals you're using and any issues which might affect your pool.
Setting timers
Modern pool timers are extremely reliable (a standard feature on most salt chlorinators). Just do a run through of setting the timers before you go, to make sure they're being set properly for your holiday. The only real issues with timers and automatic chemical controllers are very basic, but important. Simple mistakes, like forgetting to add chemical cartridges, can sabotage the process.
This is another case where getting someone to keep an eye on the pool is a good idea. Any problems are likely to be pretty easy to fix, and you can also be sure that someone's checking.
Double-checking when you return
When you come back, start by doing a water test. This is quick and very simple. You can get a good basic idea of the condition of the pool, and be sure everything's OK. Then you can just jump in, and go on holiday in your own pool
