5 Steps to Keeping Vinyl Pool Liners in Shape – If you have a pool with a vinyl liner, it is one of the largest and most important pieces of your pool, and keeping it in top condition is very important. Not performing simple maintenance tasks and taking measures to protect it can lead to costly replacements before you originally expected.
There are some easy ways to make sure your vinyl liner stays in top condition and eliminate the need for a lot of unnecessary repairs and having to replace it before its time. With the proper upkeep, a vinyl pool liner can last 20 years or more.
5 Measures to Take to Extend the Life of a Vinyl Pool Liner
Keep Sharp Objects Away from the Pool
Your yard can be a home for many different items that can puncture your pool liner. Items like fallen branches and rocks even a swimming dog all have the potential to scratch or puncture a pool liner. A good plan of attack is to routinely remove as many of these items as possible from around your pool. And keep an eye on those furry friends while they swim.
Only allow toys made for pools to be played within the pool
It may seem like some toys will be harmless to play with inside the pool even if they were not made for swimming specifically. Sometimes the wrong toys can play a role in significant damage to a vinyl pool liner. Toys made specifically for playing with inside pools are designed with the potential of causing damage to the inside of a pool in mind. Most pool toys are soft-sided or made of materials that should not cause damage to your liner. A common culprit is the water gun with its hard and tough materials and pointy edges that can scratch and eventually cause a tear.
Be careful not to expose the liner to air
If you have a vinyl pool liner is not a good idea to totally drain the pool. When vinyl liners are exposed to air they can shrink and crack as they dry. If your vinyl liner is older, it is much more sensitive to being dried out and can become weak and brittle very easily.
When cleaning the floor of the pool try and leave at least 6 to 12 inches in the shallow end to protect the vinyl liner.
Using the right pool cleaning and maintenance tools
It is not a good idea to use standard household cleaning tools to perform cleaning and maintenance tasks in your pool especially when you have a vinyl liner. Household cleaners and tools are made for specific uses with finishes found commonly in homes. Even a simple kitchen scrub brush that seems like it is made to be gentle can leave scratches and holes in a vinyl pool liner.
You also want to make sure that the pool equipment you are using is safe for use with a vinyl liner as not all pool maintenance tools are a good match for using on a vinyl liner. There are some tools made specifically for cleaning concrete pools that will cause a lot of damage to a vinyl liner.
You want to make sure that if you are using any sort of metal tool, even if it is designed to clean a pool, you are very careful with it. Metal can easily puncture vinyl liners and cause very big problems.
Take measures to help prevent fading
Fading does not necessarily mean that your vinyl liner is no longer useful but it does make it look old, tired, and unsightly. It can be one of the largest factors to making your vinyl liner seem like the pool could use a major overhaul.
There are several ways that you can help to prevent fading of your vinyl liner the biggest include providing shade as the sun is one of the biggest offenders of bleaching out the color. You can also make sure that the water chemistry is well balanced on a regular basis.
Choosing a thicker material liner with a lighter color will also help to stand up to chemical fading and the harsh rays of the sun. And picking a lighter color will make fading a lot less noticeable.
Another way to help your vinyl liner stay in its best shape and avoid fading is to keep the pool uncovered immediately after treating and balancing out the chemicals in the water. It is a good idea to leave the pool uncovered for about 24 hours after adding chlorine and other chemicals. A sealed environment under a pool cover prevents chemicals from dissipating and traps them into the water which puts them in contact with the liner.
For more information on pool maintenance help in Lake Havasu City please contact us anytime.