Fiberglass Pools Use & Care Manual
The surface of your fiberglass pool is the finest available and the easiest to maintain if you follow these simple directions.
Above the Water Line
The “bathtub” ring, caused by body oils, suntan lotions, and contaminants from the air, is easily removed with warm water and an approved swimming pool surface cleaner for fiberglass, vinyl liner or painted pools.
Do not use abrasive cleaners, steel wool, metal scrapers, wire brushes, or metal tools as these will permanently damage the gel coat finish.
Dulled spots can be restored by first using a body compound (Dupont #7 or similar) followed by a coat of wax (Fiberglass boat wax or similar).
The gel coat finish on your fiberglass pool can be scratched, just like any other gloss surface. This finish is seven to eight times thicker than a normal coat of paint, so it is not likely that scratches will be more than superficial. Generally you do not need to concern yourself with them.
Hairline cracks in the gel coat finish of your fiberglass pool are not uncommon. Patch and repair kits are available from your authorized fiberglass pool dealer.
Below the Water Line
More brushing and circulation is our recommendation, rather than vacuuming. A large percentage of the dirt, dust, soil, etc. that sinks to the bottom can be caught by your skimmer and filter by continually circulating your pool on low speed. If you run your pool on a timer, simply brushing the sediment will often allow the circulation system to remove dirt from your pool. Heavy excesses, after a storm, heavy rain, etc., should be vacuumed out (see below). Use your leaf rake to remove leaves. Vacuuming your pool removes all debris from the pool. The following steps are the recommended method of vacuuming. If you have questions concerning this, contact your authorized fiberglass pool dealer for help.
1) Remove skimmer lid from skimmer.
2) Attach vacuum hose to vacuum head on your pole. Sink vacuum head and pole into pool.
3) Fill vacuum hose with water by holding hose in front of return inlet until all bubbles stop coming out of the vacuum head under water.
4) Vacuum hose must be full of water before plugging it into the skimmer.
5) Insert vacuum hose into the suction outlet of the skimmer or into the vacuum plate.
6) Vacuum pool. Do not remove vacuum head from water until you are finished vacuuming pool. Vacuum from the shallow end to the deep end. Do not vacuum metal caps or large leaves as they may clog the plumbing lines.
7) After vacuuming is complete, disconnect the hose from the skimmer. Remove the vacuum head and pole from the pool. Rinse the vacuum hose with fresh water (not from the pool). Do not hang the vacuum hose in sunlight as this will shorten the life of the hose by about 50%. Coil the vacuum hose and store it in the garage or storage room. A large garbage can makes an ideal outdoor storage container for the vacuum hose and vacuum head.
8) Empty skimmer basket and replace lid on the top of the skimmer.