Pre-monsoon Tips
Monsoon season can make it hard to use your pool if you don’t take the time to clean and restore the water to make it usable. Here are some pre-monsoon maintenance tips to help keep your pool prepped for swimming this summer.
- Keep up with filter backwashing and cartridge cleaning. Dirt and debris brought in by monsoon winds can build-up and clog filters making it hard for the equipment to clean the water. Murky or hazy water can indicate filters need cleaning. Backwash only when needed, a single backwash for an average size swimming pool can use between 250 to 1,000 gallons of water.
- Regularly skim debris from the surface water and clean all skimmer baskets. Depending on monsoon frequency, this may need to be done daily.
- Perform yard maintenance by pruning loose branches and leaves from plants and trees around the pool. It’s best to have pool-friendly plants and trees that drop less debris.
- Maintain pool chemicals. Dirt and rain can change the chemistry of the water making it harder for the chemicals to maintain the water quality.
Post-monsoon Tips
After a monsoon rain, check the pool water level. If it has overfilled, you will need to return the water level back to normal. An over-filled pool can submerge the float on the autofill valve, allowing it to run continuously. Due to the design of most pools, they don’t overflow. Instead, the water seeps underneath the pool decking. Two easy ways to bring the water level back to normal:
- Turn off the autofill valve for a few days (up to a week), and let natural evaporation bring the pool back to its normal level. Once the pool level is where you want it, turn the valve back on. If the pool level increases without a rain event, you may need to adjust the float level of the autofill valve.
- Backwashing your pool consumes 250 to 1,000 gallons of water during cleaning depending on the pool and should bring the water level back to its normal state. Only use this method if the filter needs to be cleaned.