How To Clean a Very Neglected Intex Pool
A dirty, neglected pool is not only ugly and depressing, it is also very unsanitary. Before anyone attempts to swim in a neglected pool, it should be cleaned thoroughly, ridding debris. It is also important to have the right chemicals in the pool and keep up with cleaning regularly. With a few steps, and some patience, you can have a clean, sanitary pool.
- Remove all leaves and debris. Using a pool skimmer (a net used for cleaning pools), skim the debris from the pool. Place the debris in a bucket or trash bag to discard later. If you are able to skim debris from the middle of the pool with the skimmer, do so. Skim until you have taken out as much debris as possible. This is often a time consuming process, but very important.
- Brush the sides of the pool. Using a pool brush, run it along the inside walls of the pool. This should loosen the dirt so the pool's skimmer can pick it up.
- Vacuum the pool. Using a vacuum made for Intex pools, vacuum the bottom and sides of the pool. The vacuum should pick up debris that has settled at the bottom of the pool.
- Replace the pool filter. For very dirty pools, you'll want to fit the pool with a new filter so that the pool's water can be cleaned effectively. Too much dirt in an old filter will keep the pool from reaching its maximum cleaning potential.
- Put chlorine in the pool. Fill an Intex chlorine container with the appropriate amount of chlorine crystals for your pool size and place it into the water. Another option is to put chlorine tablets into your filter basket. If you do not know how much chlorine to use for your pool, ask an Intex professional or consult your Intex pool manual.
- Shock the pool. Buy a bag of shock and pour the appropriate amount into the pool. Remember: with some types of shock you cannot swim in the pool immediately.
- Repeat the cleaning process as often as needed. You may need to skim and vacuum the pool daily while replacing chemicals weekly or monthly in order for the pool to stay clean and sanitary.
- Use a pool cover. When the pool is not in use, it is important to cover the pool to keep debris and animals out. When a pool is left unprotected it can become dirtier much quicker and a lot worse.