Pool care articles
Caring for an Austin pool through the summer
Summer pool care needs routine water checks between service visits. CDC recommends testing chlorine and pH at least twice a day, and more often during heavy use. Sunlight and material introduced by swimmers can reduce chlorine. Sullivan’s Pool Service provides weekly cleaning and balancing, while the homeowner still needs a plan for those between-visit checks and for unexpected changes in water or equipment.
Routine checks come before the next event
Do not wait for a party, storm or missed pump cycle to begin testing. CDC recommends checking chlorine and pH at least twice daily, with more frequent testing during heavy use. The weekly visit balances the water; a quick test between visits catches a change early. Arrange who will take the readings and follow the test kit’s instructions so the results are useful.
Record what was measured and when. If you contact us about a change, provide the actual results, any chemical additions and whether the equipment was operating normally. “Clear” and “smells like chlorine” do not substitute for water readings.
Use the right chlorine guidance
For home pools, CDC recommends a pH of 7.0 to 7.8 and free chlorine of at least 1 ppm. If cyanuric acid or a stabilized chlorine product is used, its minimum free-chlorine recommendation is 2 ppm. These are CDC’s disinfection recommendations, not a complete treatment prescription for every finish, device or product. Follow the applicable product label and equipment instructions.
CDC identifies sunlight and substances brought in by swimmers, including dirt and sweat, as reasons chlorine can decrease. Nor does a hot day tell you how much chemical to add: use measurements and the product instructions.
Keep water loss in perspective
EPA’s pool guidance lists evaporation among the largest uses of pool water and notes that pool water builds up dissolved solids over time. Splash-out removes mixed pool water instead, so the two losses are not the same process. If water loss seems unexplained, record the change and request an assessment rather than diagnosing it from the weather alone.
The water used to top up the pool matters. The utility’s published quality report is useful context, but testing the actual supply and pool is how you compare them. A neighborhood’s soil type does not determine the treatment your pool needs.
Use equipment instructions for the schedule
Keep the pump, filter and control manuals available. The correct schedule depends on the installed system and the tasks it must perform. A generic instruction to run every pump continuously or to choose one speed for all pools ignores those differences. If you want a schedule reviewed, send the model labels and current settings.
Changes in sound, loss of circulation or a control fault need an equipment assessment. Do not open energized equipment or a pressurized filter to investigate. A cleaning visit, a repair and recovery of a pool that has turned green can be different scopes of work; tell us which condition you are seeing.
A practical summer plan
Keep routine testing in place, keep records of changes and arrange an assessment when results or equipment behavior are unexpected. Our weekly service page explains the visit, while the chemistry guide separates disinfection readings from equipment-specific water balance. Sources: CDC home-water treatment and testing, EPA pool-water guidance and Austin Water reports.
Where Sullivan’s works
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Sullivan’s Pool Service maintains pools in and around Austin, including Northwest Hills, South Austin, West Lake Hills, Tarrytown, Great Hills, River Place, Crestview, East Austin, North Austin, West Campus, Hyde Park, Downtown Austin and St. Johns, and in Bee Cave, Cedar Park, Georgetown, Leander, Pflugerville and Round Rock. See every service area.
Weekly residential service has one fixed monthly price, set by pool size: see pool service pricing for what each size tier covers.
Tell us about your pool
Tell us your service location and whether you need weekly care, help with equipment, or a one-time service. Call or send the quote form. We’ll confirm availability and the next step for your pool. Repairs and other separately quoted work are discussed before approval.