FREE POOL SERVICE TOOL

Free pool maintenance checklist

A weekly pool stop is five things in order: test and balance, clean, empty the baskets, walk the pad, log the chemicals. Enter readings below and each one flags against target: free chlorine 1.0 to 3.0 ppm, pH 7.4 to 7.6, TA 80 to 120, CYA 30 to 50, calcium hardness 200 to 400. Print the customer summary before you leave.

What should a weekly pool service checklist cover?

A pool stop is fifteen to twenty-five minutes if the route is tight. The checklist is what keeps every one of those stops the same.

Water testing. Free chlorine, pH, total alkalinity, cyanuric acid and calcium hardness, plus salt on a salt pool, every reading written down
Water clarity. Clear, hazy, cloudy or green, because a note this week explains the shock next week
Skim, brush and vacuum. Surface, walls, steps, benches and the waterline tile, then the floor
Baskets. Skimmer and pump baskets emptied, pump lid o-ring lubed and seated, cleaner bag emptied
Filter pressure. Current reading against the clean starting pressure, which is your earliest warning on the pad
Equipment walk. Pump, heater, salt cell, timer or automation, valves, lights, and the safety items
Water level. Mid-skimmer, topped off if low, and the customer told if it keeps dropping
Chemicals added. Product and amount, so the next tech and the next invoice both know what went in
Photos. The water, the pad, and anything you flagged, which takes ten seconds and settles most disputes
Customer summary. Readings, what was added, what you saw, left every visit

What are the target numbers on a pool service route?

Five numbers, and they are checked in a specific order. Chasing them out of order is how a tech spends three visits on one pool.

Test total alkalinity before you touch pH. TA at 80 to 120 ppm is the buffer that holds pH steady, so a pool that swings pH every single week is usually a low-TA pool, not a pH problem. Fix TA and pH stops fighting you.

Then pH at 7.4 to 7.6. Above that, chlorine loses effectiveness and scale starts on the tile and the cell. Below it, the water gets aggressive on plaster, grout and metal. A swing of more than about 0.6 units is worth dosing in stages with the pump running rather than all at once.

Free chlorine at 1.0 to 3.0 ppm on a residential pool, and cyanuric acid at 30 to 50 ppm outdoors to keep the sun from burning it off. CYA is the one that bites you: nothing removes it except dilution, and a pool at 90 ppm needs a partial drain and refill, not another chemical. If the customer has been running trichlor tabs all summer, check CYA before you diagnose anything else. Calcium hardness at 200 to 400 ppm protects plaster on the low side and prevents scale on the high side.

PHTA publishes the recommended operating ranges the industry works to, and a commercial pool under a local health code may have tighter ones. The pool chemical dosing calculator turns a reading and a pool volume into an actual dose in ounces or pounds, so nobody is guessing at the tailgate.

How does the checklist make the route more profitable?

Three ways, and none of them are about cleaning faster.

It finds the repair before the customer does. A weeping pump seal noted in May is a scheduled repair with a quote. The same seal in July is an emergency call, an angry customer, and a green pool you clean for free
It kills the "did you even come" call. A summary with readings and chemicals added, sent every visit, ends the most common reason pool customers cancel
It makes a new tech productive in a week. The route standard lives on the sheet instead of in the head of whoever has run it for six years
It protects you on chemical cost. Logging what went in every stop is how you find out that one pool is eating four gallons of chlorine a week and needs a price change or a CYA correction

Filter pressure trending is the single most underused line on the sheet. Write the clean starting pressure after every backwash, then compare weekly. A rise of 8 to 10 psi over clean means service. A drop means a suction-side problem, usually a basket or a low water level, and catching that early is what keeps a pump from running dry.

For what a route stop should be priced at, the pool service pricing calculator builds it from your real minutes, chemical cost and drive time, and the pool service and build cost guide has the market ranges. Claver for pool service companies keeps the checklist, the route, the photos and the invoice on one record, and pricing starts at $1 for 14 days, then $19/mo.

Related pool service tools

Pool chemical dosing calculator Pool volume and test readings in. Doses for chlorine, pH, alkalinity, calcium, and CYA out. Pool service pricing calculator A monthly recurring price per pool. Pool size, services, chemicals, and labor set it. Customer lifetime value calculator What one customer is worth over the years they stay with you, from revenue per visit, how long they stay, and your margin.

Keep the numbers when the job is booked

Inside Claver the same estimate becomes the quote you send, and the quote becomes the invoice you get paid on, so nobody retypes a price between the driveway and the bank.

Start for $1

$1 for 14 days, then $19/mo. Card required. Cancel any time.

Pool maintenance checklist FAQ

What should be on a weekly pool maintenance checklist?

A weekly pool service checklist covers five things in order: test and balance the water, clean the water and surfaces, empty the baskets, check the equipment, and record what you added. Test free chlorine, pH, total alkalinity, cyanuric acid and calcium hardness. Skim, brush the walls and steps, vacuum, empty skimmer and pump baskets, read filter pressure, and walk the pad. Then log the chemicals and leave the customer a summary.

What are the target pool chemistry numbers?

For a residential pool, free chlorine 1.0 to 3.0 ppm, pH 7.4 to 7.6, total alkalinity 80 to 120 ppm, cyanuric acid 30 to 50 ppm outdoors, and calcium hardness 200 to 400 ppm. Test alkalinity before you chase pH, because a pool that swings pH every week is almost always fighting low TA. PHTA publishes the recommended operating ranges the industry works to.

How often should a pool be serviced?

Weekly is the standard for a residential pool in season, and twice weekly for a heavily used pool, a pool under heavy tree cover, or a commercial pool where health code requires daily testing. Chlorine burns off faster in summer sun, so a route that works in April will fall behind in July. If a customer wants biweekly service, price it higher per visit, not lower, because the pool is twice as dirty when you get there.

Why does filter pressure matter on a pool service checklist?

Filter pressure is the cheapest diagnostic on the pad. Write down the clean starting pressure after every backwash or cartridge cleaning, then compare each week. When pressure rises 8 to 10 psi over clean, the filter needs service. A pressure drop instead usually means a suction-side problem: a clogged basket, a low water level, or an impeller starting to block. Trending it weekly is what turns a callback into a scheduled visit.

What should I check on the pool equipment pad every week?

Walk the pad and use your eyes, ears and hands. Look for leaks and drips at the pump seal, unions and valves, and puddles under the heater. Listen for cavitation or bearing noise. Check the pump lid o-ring and basket, the heater for error codes and corrosion, and the salt cell for scale and its output reading. Confirm the timer or automation schedule matches what the customer expects and that the water level sits mid-skimmer.

Should I give the customer a summary after each pool visit?

Yes, every stop. A one-line summary with the readings, the chemicals added, and anything you saw is what keeps a customer from wondering whether you came at all. It also protects you: when a heater dies in August, the record showing you flagged corrosion in June is the difference between a warranty conversation and a blame conversation. Photos of the pool and the pad take ten seconds and settle most disputes.

How much should I charge for weekly pool service?

Weekly residential pool service prices per stop, and the number depends on route density, chemical cost, and whether chemicals are included or billed. Price it from your real minutes on site plus drive time, and treat chemicals as a separate cost line so a hot summer does not quietly eat the margin. A route with stops five minutes apart supports a lower price than a route with twenty-minute drives, and that is a routing problem, not a pricing problem.

Is this pool maintenance checklist really free?

Yes, the pool maintenance checklist is free with no signup, no credit card, and nothing saved to a server, so the customer and equipment details stay on the device. Work it on a phone at the pool or print blank copies for the truck. Nothing is uploaded and nothing is tracked.