A home with an in ground pool is one of the best ways to relax and enjoy your backyard. Building a custom pool has never been easier than it is now days. Whether you are looking for muscle relaxation and massage jets or LED lights that dance to the rhythm of music a custom design, a pool can be customized to your specifications and budget requirements. Backyard pools and landscape can turn an ordinary home into a paradise of fun however the commitment to keep up on cleaning and maintaining the pool is a huge responsibility and one that should not be taken lightly. Here are some steps to ensure that your backyard pool is maintained after it has been installed or resurfaced with fresh pool plaster.
One part of pool maintenance is to drain the pool. In order to drain your pool you will want to check with local municipalities to see where the water can be properly drained. Most often you cannot drain your pool into the road way as this can cause bigger issues. There are two places that people ordain their pools into; a clean out or into the lawn. A clean out is the most preferable place as most landscape cannot tolerate the chlorine or salt water from pool being drained.
Plaster pools need to be resurfaced every seven to ten years. Some newer plastering products such as Hydrazzo can allow the pools plaster surface to last upwards of twenty years. You won’t see this type of plaster on many pool surfaces however; as the expense is double that of regular gunite pool plaster.
Resurfacing requires that the old plaster be chipped off and separated from the gunite. The gunite is the concrete base of the inground pools structure. A mixture solution of muriatic acid and triple parts water should be used to clean the pool. After the pool is thoroughly cleaned a new base of plaster will be installed by a professional pool plastering company.
After the pool plaster is dry the pools water can be refilled. A pool can be refilled using a garden hose, faucet or a bulk water delivery. If using a hose make sure to wrap a sock or piece of clothing to the end. This will help to trap the larger pieces of sediment so that they will not enter the pool and ruin the surface. When the pool is filled it important that all the right steps are taken in keeping the chlorine levels correct and the pool filter system working. A clean, balanced pool is one that will endure the test of time.
Now that the pools structure, plaster base and water are in order the next step is to maintain this level of clean. The best way to ensure that you are keeping the pool in new condition is to know exactly what you are doing when you are cleaning the pool. Hire a pool cleaning professional to come in and give you step by step instructions on how to keep up with what you have started with. The clean slate that comes from draining, resurfacing and filling a custom pool is something that can last a lifetime with careful upkeep.