Pool maintenance schedule

Daily (peak summer)

• Test FC and pH. The CDC recommends testing chlorine and pH at least twice a day, and more often when many people use the pool. For a lightly used home pool, once a day in the evening is the practical minimum in hot weather.
• Add chlorine to bring FC back to your target. Evening is best: sunlight is not breaking it down while it mixes. The right amount is your daily loss (see below), not a fixed cup.
• Skim the surface and empty the skimmer basket if leaves or bugs are collecting.
• Check that the pump is running and the water level is in the middle of the skimmer opening.

In spring and fall, when water is cooler and the pool gets less use, every other day is usually enough. Your own chlorine loss tells you when you can test and dose less often.

Weekly

• Full test: FC, combined chlorine if your kit reads it, pH, and total alkalinity (TA). A drop kit once a week catches what strips miss; see how to read test strips for the daily ones.
• Correct pH and TA if they are out of range, in the right order (alkalinity before pH).
• Brush walls, steps, and floor, then vacuum. Brushing removes the film where algae starts, especially in corners and behind ladders.
• Empty the pump basket and check filter pressure. Write down the pressure when the filter is clean. Filter manuals give a cleaning point relative to that number: Hayward, for example, says to backwash when pressure rises 8–10 psi above clean on its Pro Series sand filters, and 6–8 psi on its S200 series. Follow your own filter's manual.
• Look at your log. If your daily chlorine top-up keeps growing, something is using chlorine: see chlorine not holding.

Monthly

• Test calcium hardness (CH) and stabilizer (CYA). Both change slowly. CYA creeps up if you use tablets or dichlor; it only drops when water is replaced.
• Test salt in a salt pool, and compare with your generator's display.
• Clean or rinse cartridge filters if pressure says so, and inspect O-rings and the pump lid.
• Check equipment: leaks at the pump and filter, heater operation, timer settings. The pump run time calculator tells you how many hours your pump needs for one full turnover.

Seasonal

• Opening: cover off, equipment on, full test, start-up doses. Our opening checklist covers it.
• Closing: final chemistry, water level for your cover, lines and equipment winterized: how to close an inground pool or close an above-ground pool.
• Deep filter clean once or twice a season, per the filter manual.
• Salt cell inspection for scale, per the manufacturer's schedule.
• Test your fill water once a year for calcium, CYA, and metals, so you know what topping up adds.

How often to add chlorine: find your own loss rate

There is no universal "add X per day". Sun, heat, swimmers, rain, and your stabilizer level all change how fast chlorine disappears. The reliable method is to measure it for a few days:

1. In the evening, test FC and add chlorine to reach the top of your target range. Write down the FC after dosing (retest after 30 minutes).
2. The next evening, test FC again before adding anything.
3. Subtract: yesterday's FC after dosing minus today's FC is your loss for one day.
4. Repeat for 3–4 days and take the typical value. That is your daily dose, in ppm.
5. Convert ppm to product with the table below or the liquid chlorine calculator.

Two checks make the number more useful. First, an overnight test: FC in the evening after sunset and again before sunrise. With no sun, a healthy pool loses little. A drop of more than 1 ppm overnight is a widely used warning sign (a guideline from pool-owner communities, not a standard) that algae or organic debris is using chlorine, and a shock is the usual next step. Second, if your daily loss is high only on sunny days, check stabilizer: below 30 ppm, sunlight destroys chlorine much faster.

Salt pools work the same way, except the generator replaces the loss. Your "dose" is the generator's output setting: if FC falls day after day, raise the percentage or the pump hours.

Inground vs above ground differences

• Volume and swings. A 5,000-gallon above-ground pool needs one third of the chlorine of a 15,000-gallon inground pool, but the same amount of rain or the same three swimmers changes its readings much more. Test above-ground pools at least as often, and measure doses carefully rather than by eye.
• Calcium. Vinyl liners, fiberglass, and above-ground pools do not need the 200–400 ppm calcium that plaster needs; 150–250 ppm is our default range. Monthly calcium checks matter most for plaster and pebble pools.
• Brushing. Plaster needs it to prevent algae spots and scale. Vinyl needs a soft brush only; stiff brushes can scratch the liner.
• Equipment. Many above-ground pools run smaller pumps with cartridge filters, so the filter needs checking more often in heavy use. Details in above-ground pool care.
• Hot tubs are a different routine: small volume, hot water, heavy use per gallon. See the hot tub maintenance schedule.

Printable schedule

FAQ

How often should I add chlorine to my pool?

Every day or every other day in summer, in the amount your pool actually loses. Measure FC after dosing one evening and again the next evening; the difference is your daily loss. In a 15,000-gallon pool, each 1 ppm of loss is about 19 fl oz of 10% liquid chlorine.

How often should I shock my pool?

Not on a calendar. Shock when combined chlorine is 0.5 ppm or higher, after a party or heavy storm, when the water turns cloudy or green or smells strongly of chlorine, or when chlorine drops more than 1 ppm overnight. Use a product labeled for shocking pools; the amount comes from its label, usually given per 10,000 gallons. If the label says 1 gallon per 10,000 gallons, a 15,000-gallon pool needs 1.5 gallons. Swim again once free chlorine is at or below the label's swim limit (often 4 ppm).

How often should I test pool water?

Free chlorine and pH daily in summer (the CDC recommends at least twice a day for pools in use), total alkalinity weekly, and calcium hardness, stabilizer, and salt monthly.

Sources

• CDC, Home pool and hot tub water treatment and testing: cdc.gov
• Hayward, Pro Series Plus sand filters manual (backwash at 8–10 psi above clean): PDF
• Hayward, S200 series sand filter owner's manual (6–8 psi above clean): PDF
• Taylor Technologies, K-1005 treatment tables (liquid chlorine per ppm): PDF
• PHTA fact sheet, Sodium hypochlorite (strength loss in storage): phta.org