Everything You Need to Know to Care for Your Pool Correctly

Maintaining pool water in perfect condition during the summer months requires understanding how the different water parameters interact: pH, free chlorine, total alkalinity, and calcium hardness. When one of these values is off, the others are affected in a chain reaction, which can turn a clean pool into an algae soup in a matter of days.

In this guide, we explain the weekly routine followed by professional technicians: the most common mistakes made by pool owners (such as adding products without measuring first or filtering for few hours on hot days), and the keys to reducing chemical costs by up to 40% with small habit adjustments.

We will also see how to correctly interpret a water test, what to do when the water suddenly turns green, and why water temperature directly affects the required dose of chlorine to maintain active disinfection.

The market for automatic pool cleaners has evolved significantly in recent years. Today there are three major product families — suction cleaners, pressure cleaners, and autonomous electric robots — with significant differences in price, performance, and maintenance that it is advisable to understand well before making any purchasing decision.

In this comparison, we have analyzed more than 20 models available in the Spanish market, evaluating their real cleaning capacity in pools of different sizes, their energy consumption, the ease of programming, and the cost of annual maintenance. We have also collected the experience of maintenance technicians who work with these devices daily in residential and hotel installations.

If you have a pool up to 60 m², suction cleaners are sufficient and economical. If your pool exceeds that surface area or has many corners, steps, or curved walls, an autonomous electric robot amortizes its additional cost in two or three seasons. We explain exactly when each type is worth it.

pH is the most important parameter of pool chemistry and, paradoxically, the most neglected. An incorrect pH not only causes irritation in eyes and skin: it also makes chlorine lose up to 90% of its disinfectant effectiveness, promotes the formation of lime scale on the walls and filter, and prematurely deteriorates the materials of the lining.

In this comprehensive guide, we explain exactly what pH is, how to measure it correctly (the difference between test strips and digital photometers can be decisive), what is the ideal range for pools (between 7.2 and 7.6), why it rises or falls depending on the type of water and the products you use, and how to correct it step by step without the risk of over-dosing.

We also address the critical relationship between pH and total alkalinity, why it is essential to correct alkalinity first before adjusting pH, and how to maintain the chemical stability of the water throughout the season with periodic measurements and preventive adjustments.

Green water is one of the most common problems at the start of the season or after several days without filtration. The cause is almost always the same: pH too high (above 7.8) that leaves chlorine without disinfectant effect. Algae take advantage of that window to multiply exponentially.

The correct solution is not to add more chlorine without further consideration. The sequence is: correct the pH to 7.0–7.2, perform a shock treatment with granulated chlorine at dawn (when there are no swimmers), filter for 24 consecutive hours, and apply algaecide. In most cases, the water returns to transparency in 36–48 hours.

Opening the pool correctly in spring makes the difference between a calm season and months of continuous problems. The order matters: first clean the filters and check that the pump starts without strange noises, then fill if necessary, measure all parameters, and correct them in the correct order before adding the initial shock treatment.

A common mistake is skipping the measurement of total alkalinity and directly correcting the pH. Without stable alkalinity, the pH returns to being out of balance in hours and the cycle repeats. This guide takes you step by step through the entire opening process so that the first week is the only complicated one.