If you’ve got an automatic pool cleaner then congratulations! Your summer cleaning load has already been cut down significantly! But before we start breaking out the champagne and celebrate, we have to make sure that your automatic cleaner is in tip top shape in preparation for the coming season.
Check your automatic pool cleaner’s hoses
One of the problems that commonly pop up after a long time in storage is well, it’s not working. The most common cause for this is that the hoses might have gotten damaged during storage. Check the entire length of the hose for any tears or holes, and check the connectors as well for any signs of cracking. The good thing about automatic pool cleaner hoses is you can replace the damaged section as opposed to getting a whole new set of hoses. But of course, it never hurts to have extras.
Clean your baskets and filter
For your automatic pool cleaner to function properly, it needs enough suction from your pool pump so it can create a good seal with the surface and do its job. Give your skimmer baskets, pump baskets, and pool filter a good cleaning before using your automatic pool cleaner to ensure that it has enough pressure to work properly. Rocks, leaves, and other debris will lower the suction pressure and at the same time cause excessive stress to your pool pumps! Not only is it good practice to clean it for your pool cleaners, but for the longevity of your pumps as well. Don't have a pool cleaner yet? Check out this blog post here for an in-depth discussion on which pool cleaner you should buy.
Check your flow valve and flow valve springs
Flow valves are there to ensure that the water flows towards your pump, keeping the pressure stable. Sometimes the spring (it’s very tiny btw) will get loose or may have corroded during storage to make sure to check up on it to ensure that you have a good seal when you fire up your automatic pool cleaner for summer. No need to replace the entire assembly, but if there are cracks on the flow valve itself then you may need to get a new one.
Ensure that your vacuum plates have no cracks
Your vacuum plates must absolutely have no cracks in them to maintain a good seal. The smallest crack can cause air and water to leak out giving you an improper seal and this will make your automatic pool cleaner erratic at best and basically unusable at the worst.
Note: There's no one-sized-fits-all solution to vacuum plates, check out our collection of vacuum plates to find the specific one for your pool.
Give your automatic pool cleaners an overhaul before summer
Since summer is here, we’re going to expect some heavy pool usage and some heavy pool cleaning as well. We recommend to all our readers that they give their automatic pool cleaners a good overhaul right before the season starts so that it won’t break down during the middle of the season and you’ll be left with manually vacuuming the pool. For pool cleaners with motors in them, we also have Pool Cleaner tune-up kits available to keep them in top shape.
Conclusion
By making sure that your automatic pool cleaners are in tip-top shape, you’ll be assured that your summer swimming season won’t be cut short by equipment breakdowns and algae blooms!
If you don’t already have an automatic pool cleaner or if your current one is beyond the reach of simple repairs and overhauls, we recommend getting a Water TechniX Rapid Automatic Pool Cleaner or the Water TechniX MatriX. Unlike other in-house brands that simply take existing models and slap a label on it and call it a day, the Water TechniX Rapid was designed by pool experts and made with top quality materials to ensure hassle-free and headache-free pool cleaning the whole season round.
Do you have any questions about this topic or the featured products? No worries, we're here to help! Drop us a question down below and we'll get back to you ASAP.
Happy swimming :)