Tip #1: Debris drudging.

The simplest step to maintaining your pool is to skim the surface of your pool frequently. It takes just a couple of minutes to skim your pool and empty the skimmer basket. Just be sure you don't double your work by disposing what you've drudged up appropriately. Deposit the debris from your pool where it can't be blown or tracked back into the area.

Tip #2: Trimming the fat.

While having trees and bushes near your pool can be beautiful, they can also create a lot more work for you. If your trees and bushes shed pollen and leaves into the pool, you'll be skimming more than once a day to keep your pool ready for enjoyment. Trim your plants back or consider replacing them with varieties that are more pool friendly. Using more hardscapes around your pool is an attractive as well as easy maintenance solution to a messy problem.

Tip #3: Vacuum well and often.

Most pools only take about 30 minutes to vacuum. Vacuum slowly in parallel lines like you are mowing the grass. Clean out the filter often and watch for floating hoses which indicate that there is air in the vacuum or that the filter is full. Finish off the vacuuming by brushing the sides of the pool with a nylon brush on the vacuum pole.

Tip #4: Testing, testing, one.

Test your pool water weekly to make sure the chemicals are balanced correctly. Adjust the pH of the pool first followed by the chlorine content. If the alkalinity of your pool water is less than 90 ppm, shock your pool with a pool shocker product.

Tip #5: Backwash.

Once a week, turn your filter valve to the backwash setting to redirect water flow. There are three basic types of filters for a pool system: sand, diatomaceous earth (DE), and cartridge.

Sand filters block dirt and oil from circulating through the system. The backwash setting directs the dirty water to a water waste line (like a sewage pipeline) leading to the ground or a storm drain. You don't have to do much other than change the setting and replace the filter every few years, however, this type of filter is not the best.

DE filters use the remains of marine organisms to filter the water and the backwash setting directs the dirt to a filter bag which you will need to empty ever two weeks and replace every few years.

A cartridge filter is a removable unit that you take out, hose off, and re-insert. Do this every couple of weeks to keep it running at its best.

Tip #6: Pump it up.

The last item on the list of pool maintenance is to clean the pump filter. Clean out the hair/lint catcher into a garbage during your weekly maintenance ritual. First, shut the system off and close the skimmer valve to hold water in front of the pump so you won't have to re-prime the pump before you turn it back on. Empty the filter and replace the trap's cover before you turn the pump system on again. Be sure to open the skimmer valve once the system is on.