How to Clean Your Pool After a Party
Everyone loves a good pool party. Hanging out poolside with friends and family to celebrate a special occasion — or just because — is a great way to spend a day and/or evening. However, when the party ends and it's time to tidy up, it's important to include cleaning your pool as part of the process.
Parties can be tough on your swimming pool. Equipment and other accessories may be displaced during the party, and organic contaminants and debris can wreak havoc on water balance and clarity. Thankfully, Leslie's has some tips to help you through the aftermath.
To clean your pool after a party, use the following tips:
Pick up trash, floats, toys, and accessories in and around your pool. Store all pool items.
Put back any equipment, chemical feeders, or other pool care items that you removed before the party.
Skim the pool surface, and brush and vacuum the walls, steps, and floor of the pool.
Balance and then shock your pool water to remove organic debris and other contaminants.
Run your circulation and filtration system until your water is crystal clear.
1. Pick Up in and Around Your Pool
Depending on the size and intensity of the party, your backyard probably needs some tidying and attention. Be sure to clean your pool after a party, too. Remove any items from your pool that aren't supposed to be in it, including trash, toys, and floats.
When you pick up pool floats, toys, or other accessories around the pool, make sure to store them properly so they last longer. A large deck box is a great way to keep common pool goodies stored properly, but still easily available for your next pool day.
2. Replace Pool Care Equipment and Accessories
In preparation for your party, you might have removed certain pieces of equipment and/or other maintenance items from your pool. Remember to put back automatic cleaners, floating chlorinators, and any other pool care items as soon as possible to ensure proper maintenance.
3. Skim, Brush, and Vacuum Your Pool
With all the activity in and around your pool, there is almost certainly a significant amount of dirt, debris, and other waste in your pool.
Using a skimmer, remove debris from your pool's surface. Be sure to check your skimmer basket and pump strainer basket, and clean them out if necessary.
Next, brush the pool walls and steps thoroughly. This ensures that any dirt and debris present will settle on the pool floor.
After you've skimmed and brushed your pool, use a manual vacuum or turn on your automatic pool cleaner to remove the dirt and debris from the bottom of your pool.
DIY TIP: When vacuuming your pool, always start at the shallow end and move toward the deep end.
4. Balance Water Chemistry and Shock the Pool
Even though your pool may look clean and clear after skimming, brushing, and vacuuming, there will still be a good amount of waste present.
With a larger group of people than normal enjoying your pool, the amount of sunscreen, cosmetics, body oils, sweat, and other after-party remnants will leave behind microscopic and potentially harmful organic contaminants. Left unchecked, this can lead to algae growth, as well as potentially harmful germs growing in your pool.
To stop the contaminants in their tracks, start by balancing the pool. Balanced pool water will allow your sanitizer to work most efficiently. Start with Total Alkalinity, then pH, then Calcium Hardness and Cyanuric Acid. You can find more information about water chemistry in our blog post, Pool Chemistry 101.
Once the water is properly balanced, use a powerful chlorine pool shock, such as cal-hypo shock or dichlor shock. Add enough shock to raise the chlorine level to around 10.0 ppm. Shocking the pool at night will allow the shock to work most effectively.
DIY TIP: Want to help your water recover quickly? Bring a water sample to your local Leslie's for a FREE in-store AccuBlue water analysis and treatment plan. We'll provide you with an easy-to-follow step-by-step treatment plan to rebalance your pool water and get your sanitizer levels back on track.
5. Run your circulation and filtration systems
Running your circulation and filtration systems is the last step to achieving a clean, clear, and healthy pool after a party. As simple as it sounds, the rule of thumb here is to run your pool equipment for 24 hours or until the water is completely clear. If your pool is especially dirty after a party, it might take a few days.
To speed up the process, use specialty chemicals to help your sanitizer and filtration system work most efficiently. Adding an enzyme product, such as Leslie's Perfect Weekly, before the party can help keep organic contaminants under control. After the party, use a top-of-the-line water clarifier, such as Leslie's Ultra Bright Advanced, to coagulate fine debris and eliminate cloudiness. Something like Leslie's Clear Aid can also come in handy, which combines the benefits of a clarifier and an enzyme into a single easy-to-use chemical.
Take extra care to check the skimmer baskets, pump strainer basket, and the pressure of the filter while you are running the equipment around the clock. Empty the baskets as soon as they fill up with debris, and clean or backwash your filter if the pressure gauge reads 8–10 PSI higher than the clean starting pressure. This will help keep your equipment running efficiently, and will give you a clean and clear pool in no time!
If you have more questions about how to clean your pool after a party, visit or contact your local Leslie’s to chat with one of our friendly pool experts.