Brushing and Skimming Your Pool

Brushing The Walls Of Your Pool

Attach brush to your pole and rev’ up the ol’ arm muscles. As simple as you would think this should be, there is definitely a right and wrong way to brush your pool.

The wrong way: Brushing in an up and down motion. I have seen many people do this and I get tired watching them. Just don’t do it this way!

The right way: With pole firmly in hand and tilted at a 45 degree angle, apply even pressure on brush against the wall and slowly walk around your pool, brushing in an even, steady motion of 3’ - 4’ lengths. I have found that by walking and brushing at the same time, it is a lot easier on your arms and back. Be careful and watch where you walk so you don’t trip (watch for steps). By brushing this way, you will find it much more efficient. Pay close attention to trouble spots and brush them a bit harder. Remember, a 45-degree angle works better whether you are standing or walking.

Next, walk around your pool with brush in hand and brush the upper tile to push any debris away from the wall. If there
are stains on the tile, don’t kill yourself with this brush; we will get to that in minute. Be sure to scrub any ladder steps in your pool. By getting deep into the nooks and crannies, you will prevent algae from discoloring the steps.

Brushing The Pool Tile

Let’s do some fine-tuning. Extend your tile brush and pole to a comfortable position, wet the brush and pour a silver dollar size of tile soap onto the brush. Choose a small area and brush your tile in a back and forth motion. If your tile is very dirty, or you have turquoise colored tile from the 60s and 70s, focus on this dirt by moving the brush in an up and own motion. You are almost done!

Netting Palm Fronds

Despite all the TV shows and movies that show towering palm trees in neighborhoods lush with greenery, what you never see is the variety of debris they drop into a pool over the course of a year. Long thin palm fronds are particularly troublesome to net out of a pool and any one who has tried to do so has found this a frustrating experience as they continually fall out of the net and/or rip holes in it. Here’s a trick: With your wall brush attached to your pool pole, gently put the brush under the center of the palm frond and slowly lift out of water. As it begins to come above the water level, do a quick jerk with the pole to throw the strand outside the perimeter of the pool.

Netting Your Pool

When you have brushed the walls and tile of the entire pool, attach the net to your pole and skim any leaves or debris from the surface. Empty net frequently if necessary. Perform this procedure as you did while brushing by walking around the edge of the pool. I like to net in the opposite direction of the way I just brushed the wall as the debris flows a little better into your net. Before we finish, let’s do ... The Very Last Step!

I’ll assume that this is the first time you’ve really given your pool a good cleaning for a while. Let’s start fresh and clean the filter and pump basket. You shouldn’t have to do this every time you vacuum your pool but I do recommend a monthly filter.