7 Easy New Year's Resolutions For Pool Owners

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It’s a New Year. And with that, comes a fresh slate to form all the good habits that’ll make your life as a pool owner, much easier going forward. This is also the time when most people are starting the commitment to their resolutions for the new year.

But while most new habits require a lot of effort to form, these New Year’s resolutions for pool owners are a bit different.

They’re a few simple improvements that can make your job as a pool owner much, much easier. Small changes that’ll help you avoid expensive bills and repairs for years to come. And they’re especially useful if you want to cut your pool maintenance workload in half, and heat your pool faster.

If that sounds good to you, check out these easy New Year’s resolutions for pool owners.

7 Easy New Year’s Resolutions
For Pool Owners
That Make a BIG Difference

1.) Test & balance your water twice a week

testing swimming pool water twice a week new years resolutions for pool owners — Image via Minot Air Force Base

Everyone knows that you need to test your pool water. It’s how you determine which chemicals are needed to keep the water clean and healthy.

And how often you test your water matters. Because testing is how you keep track of your pool chemical levels, which let you know much of a chemical is needed.

So with that said, the more time that passes in between testings, the more chemicals you’ll need to rebalance the water. And the less consistent you are, the more money you end up spending on pool chemical products.

But when you test & balance at least twice a week, you shorten the window for your water to get out of balance.

Which means your pool chemical levels will fluctuate less, so you won’t have to use as much. And the more consistent you are with testing, the fewer and fewer pool chemicals you’ll need to purchase over time.

For the best results: Choose at least 2 days a week to test & balance your water (ex. Sun & Thursday, Sat & Weds)

2.) Restore more, replace less

While a small part repair won’t cost a lot, having to replace an entire pool heater will.

And that’s the main difference between restoration and replacement: it’s spending a little now, to spend a lot less later. Regular maintenance that helps your equipment last longer and work better.

For instance, a pool heater that isn’t maintained likely won’t last more than 5 years — wear and tear add up quick. So in less than 10 years, you’re spending thousands again on a new pool heater.

But on the other hand, servicing your pool heater just once a year can easily double, if not triple it’s lifespan. Making it last 20 years or longer.

Even better, by maintaining a pool heater, you keep it’s energy efficiency and performance at a maximum. And that translates into consistently low energy bills.

This same rule of restoration applies to all of your other equipment too, including:

Your pool filter
Your pool pump
Your swimming pool

Bottom line: take the time to keep your pool equipment in good shape, it prevents tons of unnecessary work and expenses down the line

3.) Choose energy efficient pool equipment to avoid losing money

While maintaining your pool equipment is a huge plus, there’s something equally as important for a pool owner. And that’s the decision to choose energy efficient pool equipment.

Whether it’s your filter pump or your pool heater, there are plenty of great options to choose from. But they’re certainly not all created equal.

Different types of pool equipment offer different benefits over others. So choosing the right combination comes down to what matters most to you.

But if you’re like most pool owners, then reliable performance and cost-effectiveness is at the front of your mind.

So here are a few things you can do to improve your pool’s energy efficiency:

Choose a variable speed pool pump
- Variable speed pumps let you adjust water flow between multiple speed settings
  - Easy to control energy use, and offer more flexibility
- Single speed pumps only allow for one speed, which means constantly high energy pull. Choose variable speed pumps instead
Chose an energy efficient pool heater
- Pool heat pumps: these pool heaters strike the ideal balance between energy efficiency and performance. They can keep your pool heated and comfortable in rain or shine, even when it’s 40 degrees outside
- Solar pool heaters: solar heating systems offer some of the most affordable pool heating available. But when it comes to consistent on-demand heat, they’re just not as reliable as other pool heaters (like gas and heat pumps). Their dependence on constant sunlight greatly limits their usability throughout the year
- Note: if you’re using a gas heater currently, consider making it your backup heater. Pairing it with a pool heat pump or solar heater allows for more affordable and eco-friendly pool heating each month

4.) Optimize your pool heating system for cost-effective & reliable performance

The type of pool heater you use makes a big difference in what you can expect in terms of cost and reliability.

That said, once you’ve chosen a good pool heater, there’s a bit more you can do to further improve your heating system. On top of making your pool heater work better, you’ll spend way less on heating, and other related energy costs throughout the year.

But even better, with these pool heating optimization tips, you’ll never have to worry about your pool being cold. Here are the best ways to optimize your pool heating system:

Cover your pool: keeping your pool covered locks in the heat and water that would otherwise escape through evaporation. Less heat loss means less time having to run your heater. And less water loss means less water to replace. So cover your pool — it’s an easy way to keep your water at a comfortable temperature while lowering your bills in the process.
Automate your pump and heater: using an automatic timer with your pump and heater makes your life much easier in two ways. It keeps your water flowing on a steady heating schedule & powers everything on and off for you. As a result, you save the time you’d have to spend powering the equipment, all the while improving your pool’s heating efficiency
Set your temperature lower: by simply lowering your pool heater’s target temperature by a few degrees, you can drastically improve performance. You’ll have an easier time keeping your pool warm. And you’ll only have to run your heater about half as much to do it.

5.) Upgrade your pool’s safety features for better peace of mind

There are a few reasons that upgrading your pool’s safety features is a great idea:

Self-closing gates help keep children and pets away from the water, and safely within sight
Pool alarms can save lives and prevent accidental drowning by alerting you when someone or something enters the water
Pool safety covers prevent drownings by securely blocking off access to the water

But those are just a few ways to upgrade your pool and improve safety features. Check out the post below to learn more.

6.) Sweep & clean the deck once a week for healthier water

sweep and clean pool deck — Image via Offut Air Force Base

Your pool deck is easy to forget about. Because for the most part, if it looks clean, why bother cleaning it?

And even if there are a few leaves hanging around, what’s the big deal, right?

Well, the thing about your pool deck is this: the less often you clean it, the harder it is to keep your water clean.

Day by day, thin layers of dirt, pollen, dust, and debris collect on the surface of your pool deck. Especially if your pool isn’t enclosed.

And with each gust of wind, little bits of that debris get swept into your pool and mixed into the water. As your water gets dirtier, both the clarity and chemical balance get ruined.

Contaminants of any kind will soak up your pool chemicals. And the more contaminants there are, the more chemicals you’ll have to replace. Which forces you to make more trips to the pool store to resupply.

So instead of going through all that, why not just prevent that junk from ever reaching your water in the first place?

To do that, just remember to sweep and clean off the deck each week.

It’s a pretty simple process, and with the right approach, it can be done in less than half an hour. Plus, the more often you clean your pool deck, the less you’ll have to clean each week, which makes the job easier and easier.

Bottom line: clean your pool deck once a week for a cleaner, and healthier swimming pool

Related: How To Clean Your Pool Deck

7.) Use a pool cleaning schedule to avoid working harder than you have to

use a pool care schedule to avoid a short pool season — [Download FREE Pool Care Schedule]

Yes, you still you have to skim, brush, and vacuum the water. We don’t have any cool tips for helping you get around that one (unless you like the idea of pool automation).

BUT, we do have a few proven ways to make the job MUCH easier. We’ll start with the most effective one, which is using a pool cleaning schedule.

A pool cleaning/pool care schedule is pretty straightforward. It’s just a weekly schedule that tells you which days to skim, brush, vacuum, balance, and shock your swimming pool.

And you’ll find that when you use one, the amount of time you spend on pool care each week gets smaller and smaller. Until you’re barely spending more than 15 minutes to keep things in order.

Main takeaway: use a pool cleaning scheduling for more effective cleaning that keeps your workload small

Here are a few other ways to make pool care easier:

Use pool automation to automate regular cleaning jobs
Use an automatic pool cleaner instead of a manual vacuum

Recap: New Years Resolutions For Pool Owners

After reading this post it should be easy to see how a little effort goes a long way. A few changes to your pool care routine can mean big changes to your life as a pool owner.

So if you want to avoid wasting time and money, and start making your work much easier, remember these simple resolutions: