Swimming pool cleaning before you refill
A drained swimming pool shows everything. The waterline picks up a hard band of scale and body oils, the shallow end gathers a slick of algae, leaf tannin stains the floor where debris has sat over winter, and the surrounding paving is invariably greener and more slippery than the owner remembered. Getting all of that off before refilling is a job that rewards doing properly, because whatever is left on the shell is what your water chemistry has to fight for the rest of the season.
Sam & Son Jet A Drive cleans domestic and small commercial pools throughout Sussex and the South East. We are pressure washing specialists rather than pool engineers, which is exactly the point: our part of the job is the physical cleaning of an empty shell, the waterline, the steps, the surround paving and the coping stones, done carefully and at pressures appropriate to the finish.
Pool work is priced after a look at the pool. Tiled, painted, rendered, liner and fibreglass pools all need different handling, and there is no sensible way to quote that blind. The visit and the quotation are both free.
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How we clean a swimming pool and surround
1. Assess the finish
We identify the pool finish and check its condition — tile grout, paint adhesion, render soundness or liner integrity — and test a discreet area before committing to an approach.
2. Clear and pre-treat
Silt, leaf litter and debris are removed from the shell, then the waterline, floor and stubborn algae areas are pre-treated with a suitable cleaner and given time to work.
3. Wash the shell and waterline
The shell is washed methodically from the deep end up, with the waterline band and steps given individual attention, keeping pressure well within what the finish can take.
4. Surrounds and detailing
Coping stones, surround paving, steps and the plant room approach are cleaned, everything is rinsed down, and residues are removed so the shell is ready for filling.
The waterline is the real work
Anyone can wash a pool floor. The band around the waterline is where the skill is, because it combines three different problems in one narrow strip: mineral scale precipitated out of the water, an oily film of sun cream and body oils, and a stubborn calcium-bonded grey deposit that has usually been there for several seasons.
Each of those responds to something different, and getting them off tile grout or a painted render without damaging the finish means working at controlled pressure with the right cleaner, checking constantly, and accepting that some passes need repeating rather than turning the machine up. On tiled pools we pay particular attention to the grout lines, which is where the discolouration is most obvious once the water is back in.
The shallow end and steps are the second focus. Algae accumulates fastest there because the water is warmest, and the horizontal surfaces of steps hold a slick that is both unsightly and genuinely dangerous. Both areas get worked over individually rather than with a single pass of the surface cleaner.
- Empty pool shells — tiled, painted, rendered, fibreglass and liner pools
- Waterline scale, tide marks and grout discolouration
- Steps, ladders, benches and shallow-end algae
- Coping stones and pool edge detail
- Surround paving, terraces and pathways
- Pool covers, plant room floors and outbuilding approaches
Surrounds, coping and safety underfoot
Pool surrounds are usually laid in exactly the materials that need most care: natural limestone, porcelain, sandstone or specialist non-slip pool paving, all of which we treat as we would a high-end patio. That means matched pressure, appropriate detergents, protection for planting and furniture, and attention to the joints, which are frequently washed out around a pool because of the constant splash-out.
Slip resistance is the practical reason to do it at all. A green film on smooth pool paving beside a full pool is a genuine hazard, particularly with children about, and it is exactly the sort of thing that creeps up gradually enough that nobody notices until somebody goes over. Removing the biological film restores the intended slip resistance of the paving without needing anything applied to it.
While we are there we clean the things that get forgotten: coping stone tops and edges, the underside lip where algae hides, steps down to the pool, the shower or changing area, and the paving in front of the plant room. It is a noticeably better result than cleaning the pool alone.
Timing, water and working with your pool engineer
The natural time for this work is at either end of the season: after closing down in autumn, so the shell does not sit dirty all winter, or immediately before opening in spring so the pool is filled onto a genuinely clean surface. Spring is the busier slot, so it is worth booking early if you have a firm opening date in mind.
We do not drain or refill pools, and we do not handle water chemistry, pumps, filtration or heating — that is properly your pool engineer's territory, and we are happy to work alongside them. What we need is the shell empty and accessible, and we will coordinate around whatever schedule they have set.
We are conscious of where run-off goes. Waste water and removed debris are directed away from planting, and we will discuss with you where it can safely discharge before we start, particularly on properties with soakaways or ponds nearby.
Insured, careful and honest about condition
Pools are expensive things to get wrong, so we survey before we quote and we are candid about what we find. If pool paint is already flaking, if grout has failed, if a liner is nearing the end of its life or if render is hollow in places, cleaning will reveal it and can accelerate it. You will hear that from us at the quotation stage, not on the day.
We are a family-run local firm covering Sussex and the South East, fully insured, and used to working on private properties where care and tidiness matter as much as the finished result.