DIY · equipment care

Keep your equipment alive longer.

Filter cleaning, salt cell service, and the early warning signs that a pump seal is about to go.

Pool equipment maintenance

Video coming soon

Video walkthrough coming soon.

Filter care by type

A neglected filter is the second most common reason for a cloudy pool (after low chlorine). Different filters, different routines:

01
Cartridge filter — clean every 4–6 weeks
Pop the top, pull the cartridge, hose it top-to-bottom with high pressure — no spray tip needed, just a garden hose thumb. Every 3–4 hose-outs, soak overnight in a filter cleaner (Leslie’s Filter Aid, BioGuard, etc.) to break down oils. Replace cartridges annually for smaller pools, every 2 years for lightly used ones.
02
DE filter — backwash + add DE
When filter pressure is 8–10 psi above clean baseline: turn pump off, set valve to Backwash, run for 2–3 min until sight glass runs clear, then Rinse for 30 sec, then back to Filter. Add fresh DE powder through the skimmer per your filter’s spec (usually 1 lb per 5 sq ft of filter area). Deep-clean the grids annually — pull them out and hose them.
03
Sand filter — backwash monthly
Simpler than DE: backwash for 2–3 min when pressure climbs 8–10 psi. No DE to add. Sand itself lasts 5–7 years before it starts channeling and needs replacement — you’ll notice it can’t hold pressure anymore.
04
Salt cell — inspect every 3 months, acid bath as needed
Unscrew the cell from the plumbing (pump off, drain the pressure). Look at the plates: shiny is good, crusty white scale means it needs an acid bath. Recipe: 4 parts water to 1 part muriatic acid in a bucket, submerge the cell, let it fizz for 15–20 min, rinse thoroughly with fresh water. Scale-eaten cells produce less chlorine and eventually die — plan on replacement every 3–5 years.

Pumps rarely die suddenly — they warn you for weeks. Signs to watch:

Grinding or growling noise — bearings. Fixable ($150–$250 for a rebuild) if caught early; full motor replacement if you wait ($600–$1,200).
Water leaking under the pump — shaft seal. Usually a $50 part but requires pulling the pump apart. Ignore it and water eats the motor bearings.
Pump loses prime frequently — air leak on the suction side. Check pump lid o-ring first, then union o-rings, then the drain plugs.
Motor hums but doesn’t spin — capacitor. $30 part, DIY-able if you’re comfortable with basic electrical.
Trips the breaker — motor windings are shorted. Motor replacement time.

See the pump repair page for pricing on the fixes if you don’t want to DIY.

Winterize gas heaters annually — condensation kills the heat exchanger over time.
Clean the heater manifold every 2 years — scale on the copper tubes cuts efficiency by 20%+.
Watch for rust streaks below the heater — that’s the heat exchanger corroding from low pH pool water.
Error codes are your friend — write down what the display says before power-cycling. See the heater repair page for common codes.

Chemical only

Chemistry, handled.

You just clean.

Weekly photon-reader testing and all chemicals included — flat $150/mo. You keep doing the physical cleaning.

Doing it yourself

With Chemical Only

Chemicals

$110–$140 / mo at Lowes

Included — tabs, shock, acid, stabilizer, algaecide, whatever your pool needs

Water testing

Strip test (drifts every 6 mo) or monthly supply-store dip

Photon reader — same weekly, on-site

Your time

30–60 min / week

None — you just clean

Monthly total

$110–$140 + your time

$150 flat

Text me about Chemical Only