Pool season has arrived, and it's time to get ready for those long summer days. One of the most frustrating things pool owners face is a cloudy or green pool, but there are many reasons for this. We're here to help you prevent this from happening.

The most important part of pool maintenance is ensuring that there's always enough chlorine in your pool. Checking the levels in your pool daily, either in the morning or after dinner, will eliminate the chances of your pool going green or cloudy due to low chlorine levels. Use drops or test strips to check the levels and add chlorine pucks or sticks into your skimmer or chlorinator to add chlorine constantly. However, after a big party or having many people in your pool, you may need a granular chlorine option to give your pool the boost it needs. Our favorite options are Bioguard's Power Chlor and Super Soluble.

Circulation is another essential factor in keeping a pool clean and clear. Keeping your pump running at all times is the easiest way to ensure that your pool is constantly circulating, and swimming in your pool is a great way to get the water moving. Circulation is the easiest step to keeping a pool clear, but it's also one of the most important.

Filtration is key to maintaining a clean pool. For sand filters, make sure you backwash whenever the filter starts running at a higher pressure than usual. Here are the instructions on how to backwash:

First, find your normal running pressure:

• Check to make sure your pressure gauge works by turning off the pump and reading the pressure gauge, which should read zero. If it does not go to zero the gauge does not work.
• When changing the filter to backwash or rinse make sure to turn the pump OFF beforehand. Turn the pump back ON afterward.
• Backwash the filter for 3-5 minutes if it hasn’t been backwashed in the last week.
• Check your pressure gauge after backwash. This reading is your normal pressure.

Regular backwashing:

• When the pressure gauge on your filter raises 8-10 lbs above normal pressure then backwash for 3-5 minutes.
• Rinse the filter for 30 seconds.
• Backwashing is only necessary when the pressure gauge goes up 8-10 lbs

For a cartridge filter, a deep clean is necessary twice a season. Use a spray nozzle on your garden hose to spray down the cartridge, making sure to get between the pleats. Also, put your filters in a container filled with water that's large enough to soak them in Bioguard's Filter Brite overnight.

Bioguard has many products that you can use weekly to help keep your pool clear. The most important is Bioguard's Smart Shock, which oxidizes your pool when used. A new product this year is Solei Liquid Oxidizer, which is a game-changer when oxidizing a pool. This solar reactant oxidizer is added weekly and oxidizes your pool whenever the sun's rays are hitting your pool. Other extra add-ons that greatly help keep your pool clean and clear are Bioguard's Pool Complete, Optimizer Plus, Phos Free, and SilkGuard Complete Chlorine pucks and sticks. For more information about these products, check out Washington Pools' Facebook and Instagram, which have written descriptions and helpful videos on all these products and more to come!