Swimming Pool Cleaning Equipment, Test Kits and Tools for the Do It Yourself Homeowner
I often get asked by new pool owners what they need as far as equipment to maintain their swimming pool each week. The straight answer is that you really don't need that much. All you really need is a pool pole, pool brush, a leaf rake, a vacuum hose, and a vacuum head. As part of your basic pool equipment, you will need a test kit also to keep your pool water balanced. The equipment you need to clean your pool is actually very basic.
This is basically all you need to clean and maintain your pool each week:
A Pool Pole
A Pool Brush
A Leaf Rake
A Vacuum Hose
A Vacuum Head
A Test Kit
You don't really need anything else and you can get all of this online or at your local pool store. I suggest investing in high-quality professional equipment, but if you are on a budget cheaper equipment is perfectly fine in most cases.
As far as test kits you can go pretty basic and just use test strips or go with a really advanced kit like the ColorQ Pro7. If you have a small Kiddy Pool or a small above ground pool you can use test strips without any real issues. These will give you a good ballpark reading on your pool and since you are dealing with 3,000 gallons or less you don't need to worry about too much. Just keep the chlorine at 3.0 ppm or higher and the pH above 7.2 to avoid burning eyes or itchy skin. If you have a regular in-ground pool or a large above ground pool you may want to invest in a more professional test kit.
I do suggest investing in a good automatic cleaner to help save time with your overall pool cleaning. If you are not paying for pool service and you have some extra money in your budget you can pick up a good automatic cleaner for as low as $160. For higher en,d Robotic type cleaners expect to pay $600 to $1,000 for a good unit. An automatic cleaner will clean your pool for you each week and will cut down on your cleaning time as well as chemical usage. They will also leave your pool very clean each day so if you use your pool frequently it will be in ready to swim shape all the time. I have my top automatic cleaner in every category listed on my website.
