Six Pool Maintenance Hacks Using Household Items

Do you get tired of feeling like you have to buy some specialized pool formula or contraption for every problem that plagues your pool? Special pool chemicals, replacement parts and pool equipment can accumulate during the life span of your pool. Through the years we have run across some unique swimming pool hacks, using ordinary household items that will help save you money. Here are six ways to use household items to help maintain your pool.

Tennis Ball to Remove Oils

The more people who use your pool, the more likely that oil will build-up. Sweat, sunscreen, cosmetics and sebum (the skin’s natural oils) can turn your pool into an oil slick. This easy pool hack just requires that you throw three to five tennis balls into your skimmer and the felt of the tennis ball will absorb a fair amount of the oils found on the surface of your pool’s water.

Panty Hose Over Pool Skimmer Basket

Place panty hose over your skimmer basket to help catch very fine debris before it hits your filter. The panty hose does a great job of catching fine surface debris like grass, dog hair and dirt before it makes its way back to your filter. This helps your filter out quite a bit resulting in longer periods of time between cleaning your filter. This simple step also prolongs the life of your filter cartridge, DE grids or sand.

Food Coloring for Leak Detection

If you are losing water from your pool then you can use food coloring to determine the source of your leak. Common areas to pinpoint for leaks are around your skimmer, jets, liner and floor drains.

Soapy Water for Finding Air Leaks

Air bubbles in your pool is a common problem caused by air being introduced into your plumbing. The main culprit of pool bubbles is a suction leak in the plumbing going into your pump or around the lid of your pool pump. Fill a spray bottle three-quarters of the way with warm water and then add one to two squirts of soap. Use this spray bottle filled with soapy water to spray your plumbing and pump lid to find your air leak. If you see bubbles starting to form around any of your fittings or pump lid then you now know the source of your pool bubbles. To repair your air leak, check out our guide on How to Correct Swimming Pool Air Leaks.

Use Milk Jugs to Prevent Winter Damage on Above Ground Pools

Periodically we will see above ground pools get completely destroyed during the winter and consequently they are unsalvageable. Normally this severe damage happens when a water leak develops after you have closed the pool and your area is then hit by a heavy snowstorm. When closing your pool you want to keep water in the pool because the pool water exerts pressure outwards which helps keep the pool’s walls upright. When a leak occurs and there is little to no water in the pool, the wall becomes very weak. Combine this with heavy snow and ice accumulating on the winter cover and you have a recipe for destruction. To avoid this scenario you can opt not to use the traditional wire cable that comes with the pool cover as the wire cable can actually assist in pulling the wall down. Instead, place milk jugs that you have filled on the ground around your pool every few feet apart and then secure the milk jugs to your pool cover’s eyelets with some rope or string. This will prevent the cover from pulling in that will result in a pool wall collapse.

A Gym Sock for Pool Stabilizer

One of the most common chemicals added to a pool is stabilizer (also known as cyanuric acid). If you make the mistake of adding stabilizer directly to your pool water, you will instantly turn the water into a milky mess (by the way I have done this). To avoid this dilemma, take a gym sock and pour your stabilizer into the sock. Ensure to close the sock at the top by simply tying it with a piece of string and then place the sock in your skimmer. The stabilizer will slowly dissolve into your pool water over a one to two day period and keep your water nice and clear during the process.

Do You Have Any Pool Hacks?

Hopefully you can use a few of these tips to save some money. If you have any other swimming pool hacks that you would like to add to the list then please post them to the comments section below. If you like this article then make sure to subscribe to our free 125-page pool maintenance guide. Just enter your email address and we will send it directly to your inbox.