Preparing your pool for spring

Investing in an outdoor pool, it’s a bed of roses, right? Wrong. Although installing a swimming pool at your property can add great value to a home, as well as giving you a fun, private place to exercise in style, it’s not quite the simple, stress-free home leisure investment that many consider it to be.

When we’re looking to buy a pool, we need to be sure it’s the right one for us – what are the key things to consider before making the big commitment?

What do you want it to look like?

Pools come in a range of shapes, sizes and styles to suit a wide range of tastes, so you should think about what will best suit the individual needs of your property. Do you want a rectangular shape for easy exercise? Or perhaps you’re looking for a round or oval profile to give a more stylistic approach to your outdoors? Either way, a pool is a big investment, so it’s essential to select a shape that suits you.

Let it drain

In the unending battle to keep a pool safe and clean, rainwater is a pool owner’s worst enemy; disrupting the pH and introducing dirt and bacteria into the water. So ensure that your swimming pool avoids as much rainwater as possible by placing it near the summit of a hill and sits in a location with adequate drainage that doesn’t allow water to fall into it.

Stay away from plants

Although it may sound terribly romantic to have an outdoor pool that’s overshadowed by a canopy of trees or an imposing classical flowerbed, it can pose a range of practical problems, as your pool will be besieged by the constant flow of dead leaves, blossom and insects from the plants. The best way to keep a pool clean is to ensure that no plants or trees hang above it.

Choose the right pool liner

Getting the correct pool liner is probably the most important part of a pool picking process – you need to be sure that it’s durable while, of course, complementing the general aesthetics of the rest of your pool. There are two types of vinyl you can choose: recycled vinyl, which is cheaper and will stretch more easily but sometimes liable to costly rips.  More reliable (but more expensive) is virgin vinyl, which is resistant to the stresses that can occur on the bottom of a pool.

Get the chemicals you need

You didn’t think we’d forget about the pool chemicals did you? When buying a pool, you need to be aware of the tester kits and chemical solutions in order to maintain your pool and ensure it’s a pleasant place to be. From chlorine and bromine treatments, protective algaecides and pH changers to testing kits and dispensers, there are many things you need for the basic upkeep of a pool. If you’re just starting out, our pool starter kits will give you all you need with that new venture into pools.