Pool care articles
How to keep up with leaves in your pool
Keep up with leaves by doing the weekly routine thoroughly: skim the surface, brush and vacuum, empty the skimmer and pump baskets, and compare the filter pressure with its clean baseline. Sullivan’s Pool Service does all of that on every weekly visit in Austin. Debris removal does not replace testing chlorine and pH between visits, as the CDC recommends.
When more leaves and debris land in a backyard pool in Austin, the work that keeps up with them is the ordinary weekly routine done thoroughly: skim, brush, vacuum, empty both baskets and watch the filter. None of that replaces testing the water. How much ends up in your pool depends on your own yard, so the pool in front of you is a better guide than a calendar for the whole neighborhood.
What we do on each weekly visit
We come on the same day each week, throughout the year. Every visit starts at the water's surface with a skim. Then we brush the pool walls, the steps and along the waterline, and we vacuum what has settled on the floor. Both baskets get emptied, the one at the skimmer and the one in front of the pump, and we read the filter gauge and compare it with the clean reading we recorded for that filter.
The same visit covers the water and the equipment. Our water test covers chlorine, both free and total, along with pH, alkalinity, calcium hardness and stabilizer. We correct what needs correcting, and we say so when a dose is only treating a symptom. We also look over your equipment while we are there: pump, heater, filter, cleaner and automation if you have it. You get a written note afterward listing the work, any chemicals we added and anything worth keeping an eye on.
Why the baskets and the filter matter more when debris builds
Surface cleaning, basket emptying and the filter check are separate jobs in the weekly visit, and we do each of them on every visit rather than letting one stand in for another. When more debris is coming in, the filter pressure check is how we see whether the filter needs attention.
Debris and use affect how often a filter needs cleaning, and a calendar alone cannot decide it. We compare the gauge with the filter's recorded clean pressure at the same pump speed and operating setup, and we follow the manual for the model you have.
Keep testing between visits
A weekly visit is the service schedule, not the testing schedule. The CDC's advice is to test chlorine and pH a minimum of twice a day, and more than that when the pool sees a lot of swimmers. For home pools it recommends a pH of 7.0 to 7.8 and at least 1 ppm free chlorine, or at least 2 ppm when cyanuric acid or stabilized chlorine is used.
The CDC names sunlight, and the pee, poop, sweat and dirt that swimmers bring in, among the things that lower chlorine. That is one reason a reading can change between our visits. Follow the directions that came with your test kit. The CDC also warns that a sample above 10 ppm chlorine may bleach the test and show a false low or zero, so a very low reading taken just after a heavy dose may not be accurate.
Clean-looking water is not the same as safe water
Taking visible leaves out of the pool does not tell you the water is disinfected. A clear surface and an empty basket say nothing about the chlorine or the pH. The readings are the only way to know, whether the water looks clear or not.
If the pool turns green between visits, tell us what you noticed and send any recent test results. Green water needs an assessment, because the color alone cannot identify the cause or show that swimming is safe. Any recovery work is quoted and approved before it begins.
When to ask for more
If the water, the equipment or the way the pool is used changes, talk to us about whether the pool needs more than the weekly visit. You do not have to be home for a visit. We do need a way through the gate that we have agreed with you, and pets kept clear of where we are working, so let us know ahead of time about any lock, code or key.
Sources
Where Sullivan’s works
Related articles
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.