Nothing beats the feeling of jumping into the cold waters of your swimming pool on a hot summer’s day. The expense of installation and maintenance as well as the space requirements of in-ground or above-ground traditional pools make pool ownership impractical for many homeowners. Intex pools offer a space and budget-friendly alternative. If you are working with a tight budget and a small space, an Intex pool allows you to enjoy the pool season in your own backyard.
Intex pools require no construction which makes it easy to set up in the spring and disassemble and store when summer ends. Their options range from small, easy set inflatable models to the more durable steel-framed models.
Intex Pool Care: The Essentials
You finally got a backyard oasis and are set to enjoy its cold, crisp waters for years to come, right? Realizing this vision depends on your approach to pool care and maintenance. Don’t let your pool turn into a frog pond. Just like your house or car, your Intex pool needs regular care.
Effective Intex pool care starts with knowing your pool. It helps to have a basic understanding of how your pool works and the best ways to care for it. Before you make your plan, you need to learn everything you can about your Intex pool.
Read the manual, conduct research online and seek advice from friends who have experience owning Intex pools. Find out as much as you can about the best practices for caring for your pool and the right tools to keep your pool clean and running smoothly.
Start With the Basics
You don’t need a master’s in swimology to master Intex pool care. You only need to learn the three T’s of pool care: Tools, techniques, and terminology. If you are a new Intex pool owner, take some time to familiarize yourself with your pool’s basic parts and functions. Learn how, when, and the tools to use to give your pool the love and care it deserves.
The four components of an Intex pool that require regular care are:
The pool water
The water is arguably the most crucial part of your pool. Keeping it clean and balanced is the key to an enjoyable swimming experience for you and your family. Caring for your pool water also protects corrosion and mineral build-up on other pool components, which helps your pool last longer and helps you avoid costly hardware repairs.
The pool’s interior wall
Ensure your pool’s safety and cleanliness by keeping your pool’s interior in good repair and clear of contaminants and pollutants.
The pools filter system
The filter pump circulates the pool water to clean it and distribute the sanitizer and other chemicals evenly. A functioning filter system keeps your pool clean, clear, and swimmable. Replace the cartilage filter when it is worn, or at least once a year. Care for your filter, and it will protect you from harmful contaminants.
The Pool’s systems of skimmers and returns
Pool skimmers suck water into the filter while the returns take the clean water back into the pool. Keeping skimmers and returns clean and free of obstructions gives them optimum efficacy.
Stock Up on Intex Pool Care Tools
You will be more driven to take better care of your pool if you have all the necessary tools. Take regular inventory to ensure that you have all the right tools and that they are in good condition. Using the wrong tools may damage your Intex pool. Note what is missing from your collection of tools and make the necessary replacements.
If you are a new Intex pool owner, you should stock up on the following tools:
- Telescoping pole
- Skimmer net
- Pool vacuum
- Extra hoses
- Nylon-bristled pool brush
- Water testing kit or test strips
- Chlorine or your preferred sanitizer
- Pool shock
Set Up a Pool Maintenance Schedule
As you learn to care for your pool, before you learn what to do and how to do it, you should plan when to do it. A pool maintenance schedule is the most effective way to make sure important tasks of caring for your pool do not slip through the cracks.
Do you plan to use your pool seasonally or make it a permanent fixture in your backyard? The answer to this question should inform your Intex pool care schedule. Planning helps you budget adequate time and money to invest in your pool’s care to avoid nasty surprises.
Learn Basic Pool Chemistry
Before you dive into your pool, take out your water testing kit, and test if your pool water is adequately balanced. Unbalanced pool water is gross and likely to make you sick. The first step to balancing your pool water is, understanding what is in it and what isn’t. This is basic pool water chemistry.
It may sound complicated and intimidating, but understanding basic pool chemistry is surprisingly straightforward. It is an essential part of Intex pool care and is critical to safe, enjoyable swimming.
The three crucial chemical aspects of your pool water to test for are:
- pH: The ideal pH range for your swimming pool is 7.4 to 7.6. Lower pH levels mean your pool water is acidic, and higher levels mean the water is basic. You can use baking soda to raise the pH and sodium bisulfate to lower it.
- Alkalinity: Your swimming pool should have an alkalinity level of between 100 and 150 parts per million (ppm). Alkalinity buffers your pool’s pH and prevents wild spikes.
- Sanitizer (chlorine) levels: Proper sanitizer levels vary depending on the type of sanitizer you use. For example, ideal chlorine levels should be in the range of 1 to 3 ppm.
Once you’ve tested your pool water and measured its pH, alkalinity, and sanitizer levels, you can then use chemicals to balance your pool water to ideal standards. Each chemical has a different mode of action and affects swimmers differently, so read and follow the instructions carefully before you add it.
To keep your water well balanced at all times, make testing a daily Intex pool care routine.
Shock Your Pool
Shocking is a critical aspect of Intex pool care. For optimal sanitizing adding pool shock regularly is highly recommended. Under normal conditions, chlorine gets bound up with the contaminants in your pool water, and its effectiveness is significantly reduced. Shocking your pool breaks these bonds and frees the chlorine to continue sanitizing. Shocking is effective at killing off algae and bacteria that may be setting up shop in your pool.
It is recommended that you shock your Intex pool every week, especially if many people are using your pool or when experiencing heavy rains or a heatwave. Shock your pool at night and run your filtration system for at least eight hours afterward.
Clean Your Pool
Rain and wind bring leaves, dirt, frogs, sand, and other visible debris to your pool. People will leave lotions, perfume, sweat, soap, dead skin, and bodily fluids in your pool. These pollutants and contaminants are unsightly, can clog your pool’s filter system, and change your water’s chemistry.
Clean out all the visible debris from your pool every day using a skimmer. Use a nylon-bristled pool brush to clean the walls of your pool gently. Avoid using a stainless steel pool brush as it might scratch or tear the vinyl liner.
To suck away debris and sediments from your pool, use a filter-line vacuum unit designed for Intex pools. You only have to attach it to the pool’s filter system and futz it around to clean your pool. You can also use a rechargeable manual vacuum that uses its power and filter bag.
Troubleshooting your Intex Pool
Compared to traditional in-ground or above ground pools, Intex pools have simple designs. A simple design means that you are less likely to encounter a complex problem with the pool. Problems like a malfunctioning filter pump, a torn liner, a sneaky leak, or a broken support pole have quick and painless DIY repair solutions.
Intex pool care support documents and videos can provide you with useful information to help you troubleshoot and fix your pool. You can also access help with parts, upgrades, and warranty issues.
Choose Between Winterizing and Storing Your Pool
As temperatures plunge and the pool season comes to an end, you have to choose to dismantle and store your Intex pool or winterize it in place. Choose the option that keeps your pool safe from damage until you are ready to use it again.
The Winterizing Process
If you live where winter temperatures dip below zero, stashing your pool is the best option since freezing temperatures can damage your Intex pool. Follow these simple steps to store your pool until the next summer safely.
- Remove all accessories from the pool
- Clean the pool thoroughly
- Drain the pool completely
- Dry the pool completely
- Disassemble the pool
- Apply a generous amount of cornstarch to the liner to absorb remaining water and prevent sticking
- Roll the liner to avoid creasing
- Box together the filter and any small parts to prevent loss
- Store the dismantled pool components indoors
The Storage Process
If the winter is not too freezing and you do not want to move your Intex pool, you can winterize it in place. Follow these easy steps:
- Remove all accessories from the pool and dry them before storage
- Clean the pool water and balance its levels
- Replace strainer grid
- Insert the inlet and outlet plugs from inside the pool for 10 ft and 12 ft pools
- Close the inlet and outlet plunger valve for 15 ft, 18 ft, and 24 ft pools
- Remove the ladder, dry it and store it indoors
- Disconnect the filter and pump from the pool
- Clean and drain the filter, pump, and hoses and store them indoors in a dry heated place
- Install the Intex pool cover and take precautions to keep creatures away from your pool
Customize Your Pool
Did you know that you can make Intex pool care easier and improve your swimming experience with a few strategic custom modifications? Such additions include:
Improve Circulation
Effective Intex pool care is founded on three simple concepts: Cleaning, circulation, and chemistry. Of the three, circulation is the most important. A pool with efficient water circulation is easier to clean and requires fewer chemicals to balance its waters.
You can improve your pool’s circulation by modifying its return jet with a circulation enhancer. This creates a 360-degree flaw of running water, which is more effective than one-direction flow.
Install an Intex Salt System
One of the three concepts of Intex pool care is chemistry, which involves adding sanitizers like chlorine. Adding chlorine to your pool can be a tricky process since it is a potent element that can have health implications when used wrongly. You can automate the process and make it safer by installing a salt generator system. With this system in place, you only have to add salt to the water instead of chlorine to kill bacteria and algae.
The Intex salt system extracts chlorine from the salty water running through it to produce a steady flow of chlorinated water. The system also creates pool-sanitizing oxidizers through electro-catalytic oxidation.
Install an After-market Filter Cartridge
New Intex pools have pre-installed standard filter cartilage. While these are effective, you are likely to get better performance and longer functional life from an after-market filter cartilage.
Install Solar Pool Heating
Heating your pool water improves circulation and chemistry. Warm water flows smoothly and allows chemicals to dissolve easily. The safest and most efficient way to heat your pool is to harness the sun’s power with an Intex solar pool cover, liquid solar cover, or a solar mat.
The solar pool cover warms your pool when the sun is shining and prevents heat loss when it sets. The monthly addition of the liquid solar cover into the pool water should heat it safely and conserve the heat effectively. For optimum heating, you can attach a solar mat to your pool’s filter line. The mat has a series of tubes where water flows as it is being heated.
Our Final Thoughts on Intex Pool Care
Now that you know the secrets of Intex pool care, you are ready to enjoy the pool season in 2021 and beyond.