Is Your Pool or Spa Getting Enough Care?

Summer is right around the corner, which means it’s time to get your pool and spa in tip-top shape.

How do you get your pool and spa ready for summer swim parties and backyard barbeques? We’re going to break down the regular maintenance your pool and spa need all year long.

We’ll also give you tips for getting your pool ready for the summer and whether or not a professional pool service is right for you. Let’s dive into our top pool and spa tips.

How to Take Care of Your Pool

Your pool needs regular maintenance in the following areas:

  • Pool water and chemical balance
  • Pool interior
  • Pool filter system
  • Skimmers and returns

First, it’s important to keep your pool water clear, clean, and chemically balanced. You should run your pool pump for eight to twelve hours a day. Circulating the water will keep it free from contaminants and bacteria growth. It will also keep all the chemicals properly mixed.

Speaking of chemicals, let’s talk about how to maintain your pool’s water chemistry.

Water Chemistry Maintenance

You should clean your pool and add a shock treatment once a week. As the summer gets closer, start testing your water once a week. You can get a simple pH test that will tell you how acidic levels of your pool water.

Ideally, the pH should be between 7.2 and 7.6 for the water to stay clear and not irritate your eyes. If the level is too high or low, use a pH decreaser or increase to adjust it.

Next, check your pool’s sanitation levels. How you do this will depend on whether you have a chlorine or saltwater pool. If you have chlorine, which is more popular, the levels should be between one and four parts per million.

If the chlorine is too low, you can add more. If it’s on the high side, the sun will burn it off. Shocking your pool will also help get rid of the chlorine smell.

Add pool shock weekly before the summertime hits. When you start using your pool more, shock it before and after big pool parties. You can also shock it after rain or a storm to make the water clear again.

Finally, you should add an algaecide to your pool water weekly. This will slow down the growth of pool and bacteria, which is important for keeping your pool interior in good shape. Let’s look at the other things you need to do to maintain your pool’s interior.

Pool Interior Maintenance

To maintain your pool’s interior, it needs to be regularly cleaned. If you let your cleaning routine slide during the off-season, now is the time to give it a deep clean so it’s ready for summer.

Clear away any algae, mold, or debris. Start by cleaning out debris with a neck, then vacuum the entire surface of the pool. Pay special attention to areas that don’t have great circulation since they are more at risk for algae build-up.

Before summertime, you should also repair any damaged pool tiles that could cut someone’s skin.

Pool Filter System Maintenance

Maintaining your pool’s filter system is a crucial part of keeping your pool clean and healthy. Without it, your pool water will quickly fill up with pollution that isn’t safe to swim in.

There are several different types of pool filters, so follow the manufacturer’s instructions to maintain yours. However, all pool filters need to be regularly back washed to get rid of the collected debris.

After you backwash the filter, run it for a few minutes, and then rinse it before you resume regular filtering. You should frequently check the filter’s PSI reading to know when it needs to be cleaned again. Check it more often in the summer when you’re using the pool more.

Skimmers and Return Maintenance

Skimmers are responsible for pulling water into the filter, while returns send the clean water back into the pool. They need to be kept clear to work properly. If they’re clogged, the whole pool’s filter system won’t function.

During your weekly pool maintenance, check the skimmers and returns for any obstructions. Clear out all debris and clean off any algae that could stop them from working.

 

How to Take Care of Your Spa

Maintaining your spa is similar to your pool upkeep. It needs to be cleaned weekly, so you can do it on the same day you clean your pool. You could also use our service to find the best caretaker or property manager to get on top of your aquatic obligations.

A big part of keeping your spa clean is circulating the water. Hopefully, your spa has an automatic system that circulates the water twice a day. If not, you need to manually turn it on for 15 minutes twice a day.

To clean your spa, you can use a sponge and white vinegar to wipe down the jets, shell, and water line. Before your first big summer party, you should also drain your hot tub to completely refresh the water.

Spa Filter and Water Maintenance

To keep your filters working properly for a long time, clean them with a filter cleaner every week. Afterward, rinse them off with warm water from a hose. Rinse them often during the summer.

Keeping your spa’s water balanced is the same process as your pool. The water needs to be pH tested, sanitized, shocked, and adjusted as needed before summer hits. You should test it once a week to see what it needs.

Should You Hire Trained Pool Cleaners?

As you can see, maintaining your pool and spa isn’t difficult, but it is time-consuming. Plus, it’s important to be exact to keep the water safe and your backyard oasis looking beautiful. If you want to make sure the job is done right, ensure your staff is trained to keep your pool/spa running smoothly.

Pool cleaners or a service can come every week to confirm, but with trained personnel, you can trust the job will be done right, regularly, and with your privacy a priority.

At Private Staff Group, we can help you find the best staff to service your pool and spa. Click here to request a consultation and get started today.

Winterizing Your Hamptons Pool

As summer draws to a close, it is important to make sure that your beautiful pool in the Hamptons is getting the special care it needs. Continue reading for more information on what your staff should be doing to prepare your pool for the winter and ensure ease of opening next summer. 

With fall approaching, it is important to have a plan in place for your pool’s care. Making sure your pool is covered as leaves fall is of utmost importance. Leaves can inundate the system and clog pipes, leading to much bigger problems. In addition, large amounts of debris can lead to the growth of algae and also stain the pool’s plaster.  

Although it gets cold in The Hamptons in the winter, which helps prevent algae and bacteria from thriving, care must be taken to ensure that freezing weather does not damage your pool. In addition, snow should be brushed off your pool cover to prevent damage (SwimmingPool.com).

Failure to care for your pool during the off season can create a more time consuming and expensive pool-opening process in the spring. For example, if algae gets out of hand, your pool may need to be drained (The Pool Butler). However, this can cause significant damage and should be avoided if possible. Consider hiring someone to take care of your pool and lighten your load. 

Keeping a bespoke pool in top shape year round is no small task. Cleaning should be performed weekly, like skimming debris from the surface, brushing the walls, clearing the skimmer, testing the water, and adding chemicals (Hayward Pool). Pools require many different chemicals that should be purchased from a specialty store. In addition, a sample of your pool water should be taken to a pool shop at least monthly for a full testing panel. 

Whether you summer in the Hamptons or plan to stay through the winter, make your life less complicated by simplifying your duties and reducing errands. Private Staff Group will help you find the experienced staff to care for pool and your home.

Pool Care Infographic

(SwimmingPool.com)

Summer’s Coming – Time To Assess Your Summer Household Staffing Needs

With summer soon approaching, it’s time to begin preparing your summer home for use and enjoyment. Some individuals and families have domestic staff who remain at both their winter and summer homes year around. Others have employees who travel wherever they are living at the time, and bring in additional part-time staff to supplement their core team as needed. In either case, now is the time to evaluate your household staffing needs.

If you can, speaking with household staff members provides valuable insight into what kind of support you will really need at your other home. You may not need full staff and some of the tasks required may be done remotely, or with the assistance of a year-round Caretaker or Property Manager working in conjunction with members of your year-round staff.

Using the support system you already have in place is a great starting point. Many Estate Managers network with other Estate Managers, vendors and support staff for project-based work such as landscaping, pool and/or tennis court maintenance and catering for events.

Weekend and traveling Nannies will often work on a contracted basis for several weeks, as will Housekeepers and Chefs. A year-round Caretaker, or, depending on the size of the property, Domestic Couple may be a great way to maintain dedicated household staff who can train and manage other domestic staff, as well as work with vendors, and monitor your home in your absence.

During particularly tough winters or after major storms, it may be wise to send out a trusted advisor to assess damages to the home and come up with a plan to make repairs and adjustments according to your budget. Keeping an open line of communication between your remote staff, the staff in your primary residence and any contractors and vendors is crucial to maintaining organization and efficiency.

Household staff considerations with Coronavirus include:

  • Regular testing of staffers (if possible)
  • Personal protective gear: gloves and masks
  • Wiping down surfaces, phones, door knobs, the kitchen and bathroom appliances, etc.
  • If you have a Live IN option for staff?
  • Consult other authorities and resources for home sanitizing advice

In order to have household staff in place, trained and prepared by Memorial Day weekend, contacting agencies as early as early April might be appropriate. While short-term domestic help is available, finding qualified individuals can take time.

About Private Staff Group

Private Staff Group presents you with every possible best-fit candidate for your position. Whether you are preparing to staff your summer home or planning for the future, Private Staff Group offers a guarantee period with all placements. Should the candidate leave your employment within 90 days for any reason, we will replace them at no additional charge. To learn more about what we can do we invite you to contact us today.