Ever wondered How to Clean a Pool Without Emptying It? Many residents in Perth have swimming pools on their properties to help them stay cool in the summer heat. Like any other area of your home, your swimming pool will need occasional cleaning, especially if you leave it stagnant for months. You likely assume that you must first drain a pool to clean it, but that’s not necessarily true.
It’s possible to clean a pool using effective cleaning methods without water removal. It is not only expensive and complicated to remove water from a pool, but it can also be non-permissible if the city is experiencing a drought. Learn more about cleaning your Perth swimming pool without removing the pool water using the guide below.
How to Clean a Muddy Pool
If heavy rains wash dirt, leaves, and other debris into the water, your pool can become muddy, brown, and full of skin-irritating particles. Pool water can also become murky if you fail to winterise the water feature and leave it unattended for months.
Before taking your first swim of the season, it’s crucial to clean the pool to avoid skin irritation and possible illness. Instead of draining the pool and scooping out the debris, you can use pool chemicals like liquid chlorine and a vacuum to clean the water. You can follow these steps if you need to clean a pool full of mud, algae, and leaves.
Helpful Guide – How to Add Salt to Your Pool
1. Clean Pool Surrounds
Before cleaning a pool, it’s a good idea to clean its surrounds as the surface around the pool can also get dirty. Plus, you can quickly contaminate a clean pool if dirt and debris from the surrounds go into the pool water while cleaning it.
2. Skim the Water Surface
Manually remove any solids floating in the water using a pool skimmer. Leaves, twigs, and litter can be too big for a pool vacuum and clog the line. Skimming the pool makes the vacuuming process more manageable, and it keeps the pool’s skimmer basket clear.
3. Add Plenty of Chlorine to the Water
Removing organic debris growing in pool water requires a significant boost in chlorine levels. Liquid chlorine helps prevent leaves and other debris from staining the pool’s surfaces. When adding this pool chemical, ensure its levels are between 10 ppm and 30 ppm for maximum effectiveness.
4. Use a Vacuum to Clean the Pool Floor
Some debris will settle on the pool’s floor, but you can vacuum the surface. Using a long-handled pool brush to loosen the dirt before vacuuming makes the process easier.
5. Run the Pool Filter
Pool filters will collect small particles while larger debris flows into the systems’ skimmers. Run your filter frequently to help clear muddy pool water. Your filtration system might have a sand, diatomaceous earth, or cartridge filter to trap unwanted particles and return clean water to the pool. Clean or backwash your filter and continue running it to clean your pool’s water.
6. Put Floc in the Water
Even after vacuuming and running the pool filter, the water might not be transparent due to suspended particles in the water. These particles can give the pool a cloudy appearance, but you can add flocculant to the water to address this issue. Flocculant binds to dirt particles and creates large clumps that sink to the pool’s floor for easy cleanup.
7. Test the pH Balance
Pool water should be clear after following the previous steps. Before taking a dip in your pool, test its pH level to ensure it has the right amount of chlorine and alkalinity.
Additional resources – What Pool Chemicals Do I Need, & How Much?
Stain and Scale Build-Up Removal Using a No-Drain Acid Wash
Acid washing is another way to clean a pool. Usually, the process involves water removal and spraying a thin layer of acid-water solution on the pool’s surfaces. The washing solution will remove most stains and scale build-up by peeling off the surfaces’ outer layer.
During a no-drain acid wash, you keep the water in the pool. Instead of spraying the pool’s walls and floor, you reduce the water’s pH level to make it acidic with no alkalinity. Then, scrub the pool’s surfaces to peel its out layer manually.
Preparation for the No-Drain Acid Wash
Preparation is necessary for an effective no-drain acid wash because you must carefully alter the pool water’s chemistry. To prepare for the cleaning, follow these steps:
- Wait for a three-day window when the local forecast doesn’t have rain, thunderstorms, or high winds.
- Shock your pool and over-filter it to clean the water as much as possible.
- Remove all pool accessories, like the ladder, rails, and pool lights, to avoid corrosion or other damage.
- Scrub the pool’s surfaces.
- Overfill the pool to cover all its surfaces and turn off the pool pump.
Steps of a No-Drain Acid Wash for a Pool
When you’re ready to acid wash your pool without draining its water, closely follow these steps:
- Put pH down or sodium bisulphate in your pool water. Every 20,000L of pool capacity will need about 4kg of sodium bisulphate to achieve the appropriate pH level of one and zero alkalinity.
- Ensure that the sodium bisulphate disperses throughout the entire pool, and scrub its surfaces immediately to help dissolve the powder.
- Scrub the pool every few hours for three days, and test the pool water to ensure low pH levels.
- Add pH increaser to boost the water’s alkalinity after three days of scrubbing. Apply three equal doses every six to 12 hours to avoid cloudy water.
Costs
If you are not interested in cleaning your pool yourself, maybe getting an expert in the best choice. the best place to start would be a pool cleaning price guide that would allow you to get a gauge.
Turn to 1Pool Care for Your Pool Cleaning Needs
Enjoy Perth’s beautiful weather and climate by splashing around in a clean pool. 1Pool Care is one of Perth, Western Australia’s leading pool service providers. Our fully trained team uses advanced swimming pool equipment and techniques to service pools of all sizes.
You can expect exceptional service and affordable prices with 1Pool Care. We offer comprehensive pool cleaning services that include inspections for leaks and replacement of worn and damaged parts.
1Pool Care is your pool cleaning experts, so call us today at 0456 75 75 75 to request the best pool cleaning service in Perth.