When’s the last time you cleaned your pool? We mean really cleaned it. Could it be that your pool is in need of a good scrubbing right now, and you’ve been putting it off because—let’s be honest—cleaning the pool isn’t nearly as fun as swimming in it? Look, we all slack off from time to time. We’re human. But here’s the thing: if you’re not cleaning your pool on a regular basis—and the right way—there will come a day, sooner rather than later, that you simply can’t swim in your pool because it’s too dirty. And then what’s left? Running through the sprinkler? There’s a reason cleaning is one of our 3 Cs of pool care along with circulation, and chemistry. With the right equipment and a little elbow grease, you can skim, brush, and vacuum your way to a sparkling clean pool in no time. Why Do You Need to Clean Your Pool? Right now you’re probably thinking, why do I have to bother with scrubbing or cleaning my pool when I add chlorine or other sanitizing chemicals to the water? It’s a valid question, and we have an answer. Think of it this way. When you shower, you use shampoo and soap, which are cleaning agents. But does your tub stay clean indefinitely? Of course not. Shampoo and soap are meant to clean your body, not tile, porcelain, or fiberglass. After a while, you’ll start to see buildup and icky soap scum. And then, because your tub and shower walls stay wet much of the time, it’s possible mold will start to grow in there. If you don’t clean your tub regularly, you’ll be trying to bathe in a swamp after a while. Won’t that be fun?! It’s the same for your pool. Chlorine, bromine , and other chemicals help keep your water clean and yes, to a degree, they also help keep the walls, floor, and surrounding areas of your pool clean too. But chemicals won’t keep leaves and bugs out of your water, nor will they keep the walls and floor of your pool clean indefinitely. So no excuses. In addition to using chlorine or other chemicals to keep your pool clean, regular, thorough cleaning is also absolutely necessary. Pool Cleaning Equipment Before you get started, you’ll want to make sure you have all the necessary tools on hand. Having the tools you need will make pool cleaning much easier on you. And if it’s easier, you’ll be more apt to do it more often. Come on, you know it’s true. So head out to your pool shed and take inventory. First, inspect the tools you already have. Are they still in good shape? Or do you need new ones? Next, take note of what’s missing from your collection. What do you need to add? And if you’re a new pool owner, maybe you’re just not entirely sure what pool cleaning equipment you need. Don’t worry—we’ve got you covered. Ah, the Swiss Army knife of pool cleaning. You can attach all kinds of things to the end of a telescopic pole . Skimmer nets, brushes, vacuum heads, puppets for a pool puppet show. Just a suggestion. As its name suggests, a telescopic pole can be extended to different lengths. We recommend buying an 8-foot pole that extends to 16 feet. That should allow you to clean the walls and the floor of the pool when necessary. This is one of the tools you’ll probably use more often than any other. Attached to a telescopic pole, a skimmer net allows you to collect debris that’s accumulated on and below the water’s surface. Leaves, bugs, twigs, hair ties—all of them can be scooped up in a skimmer net. Skimmer Net You have two options when choosing a skimmer net: a flat skimmer, or a bag skimmer. We recommend the flat skimmer because it’s easier to shake off the debris you collect from the pool. While a bag skimmer may hold more, it’s a pain to empty, especially when it’s wet. Also, buy a heavy-duty skimmer net. As is true with almost everything, cheaper ones tend to break often, and you’ll just be wasting money by having to buy skimmer nets all season long, year after year. Break out that telescopic pole again. Once you attach a pool brush to it, you can scrub your pool’s walls and floor, removing dirt, and detaching algae before it can really take hold and grow. But what kind of pool brush should you use? In order to answer that question, we must ask another: What is your pool surface made of? The type of material will determine the type of brush. Unpainted Concrete: Use a brush with both stainless steel and nylon bristles. Gunite: Use a brush with stainless steel bristles . Fiberglass, Vinyl, or Painted Concrete: Use a brush with nylon bristles only. Just like skimmer nets, it’s wise to purchase a heavy-duty pool brush since you’ll be using it frequently, and cheaper brushes tend to break due to, well, cheapness, but also the frequent exposure to pool chemicals. At least twice a week, brush the walls, ladders, and corners of your pool. Be sure to get into every nook and cranny possible to brush away any lurking algae formations. Brushing will push the algae into the water, making it easier for chlorine or other sanitizer to kill it. Note that if your pool has developed a serious algae problem, brushing isn’t going to remedy it. You’ll need to take more drastic steps to get rid of pool algae. Manual Pool Vacuum What’s the first thing you’ll need? You guessed it—the good ol’ telescopic pole. Maybe you should get a couple of those , huh? Then add just a few more things: a vacuum head ; a vacuum hose long enough to reach every part of the pool; and a skim vac or vacuum plate (if needed). Unless it’s warranted more often, it should be enough to vacuum your pool about every other day. Note that vacuuming a pool manually can be pretty labor-intensive, especially if, say, you’re cleaning the pool after a big thunderstorm, and your pool floor looks like a forest of leaves. There may be times when a manual vacuum can come in handy, but we highly recommend you consider investing in a robotic vacuum to make your life easier. Robotic Pool Cleaner What’s this? A robot that will clean your pool for you? Yes, please! OK, it can’t do all the cleaning, but it can sure do a lot of it. If you’ve never seen one, a robotic pool cleaner—also called an automatic pool cleaner—is a small, self-contained unit that essentially drives around your pool sucking up debris while you sit poolside, sipping a cocktail. The only downside to a robotic vacuum is the cost. They’re more expensive than suction-side or pressure-side cleaners (unless your pressure-side cleaner requires a booster pump), and cost more to repair should anything go wrong. Our recommendation is to buy a high-quality robotic pool vacuum with a good warranty. Suction-Side Pool Cleaner This device functions similarly to a manual pool vacuum. A suction-side pool cleaner attaches to your pool skimmer. As the skimmer draws in water, it creates a siphon to your filter system. For this reason, we don’t recommend suction-side cleaners. The potential damage to your filter should the cleaner pick up something like a rock isn’t worth the risk. Pressure-Side Pool Cleaner Conversely, this device works to clean the pool with the help of the water coming from your filter system. A pressure-side cleaner attaches to your return jet, and creates a water vortex that pushed debris into a mesh bag. Once the pool’s clean, you just have to empty the bag. While this isn’t as risky to your filter system as a suction-side cleaner, it’s still not as effective or ideal a solution as skimming and vacuuming your pool to keep as much debris as possible out of your filter in the first place.