Pool Care Cheat Sheet (Free Printable PDF)
Every number you need on one card: ideal levels, what to add when a reading is off, the order to fix things in, and a weekly routine. Print it for the equipment pad or save it as a PDF.
Pool chemistry levels at a glance
| Reading | Ideal | Acceptable | If low, add | If high, do | Test |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free chlorine (FC) | About 11% of CYA (4 to 6 ppm at CYA 40) | Never below 7.5% of CYA | Liquid chlorine or cal-hypo exact dose | Stop dosing, let the sun burn it off | 2 to 3x a week |
| Combined chlorine (CC) | 0 ppm | Under 0.5 ppm | Nothing to do | Shock to breakpoint | Weekly |
| pH | 7.4 to 7.6 | 7.2 to 7.8 | Soda ash (pH up) exact dose | Muriatic acid or dry acid | 2 to 3x a week |
| Total alkalinity (TA) | 80 to 100 ppm | 60 to 120 ppm | Baking soda exact dose | Acid, then aerate to bring pH back up | Weekly |
| Calcium hardness (CH) | 250 to 350 ppm (plaster) | 200 to 400 ppm | Calcium chloride exact dose | Partial drain and refill | Monthly |
| Cyanuric acid (CYA) | 30 to 50 ppm | 20 to 80 ppm | Stabilizer (cyanuric acid) exact dose | Partial drain and refill | Monthly |
| Phosphates (optional) | Under 500 ppb | Under 1,000 ppb | Nothing to do | Keep FC in range first; phosphate remover is optional | Only if algae keeps coming back |
Order of adjustment
- 1Total alkalinity
- 2pH
- 3Calcium hardness
- 4CYA (stabilizer)
- 5Free chlorine
Shock when: combined chlorine is over 0.5 ppm, or after a rainstorm or a party.
Weekly pool maintenance checklist
- Daily
- Skim, empty the skimmer basket, check the pump ran and the water level.
- 2 to 3x a week
- Test FC and pH, dose to target.
- Weekly
- Test TA, brush, vacuum, empty the pump basket, check filter pressure.
- Monthly
- Test CH, CYA and salt; clean the filter if pressure is up 8 to 10 psi.
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Reference
Pick your pool type for exact targets. Print it and keep it by the test kit.
- FC scaled to CYA (chart inside)
- pH 7.4 to 7.6, TA 60 to 120
- Salt, spa and vinyl variants
Target levels, cell care and the weekly routine for a salt chlorine generator pool.
- Salt 2,700 to 3,400 ppm
- CYA 60 to 80 ppm
- Inspect the cell every 3 months
How much of each chemical moves each reading in 10,000 gallons.
- Per 10,000 gallons
- Chlorine, acid, balancers, salt
- Scale to your pool size
When to shock, how high to go for your CYA, and which product to use.
- Shock when CC is over 0.5
- SLAM = 40% of CYA
- Shock at dusk, pump on
Seasonal
Every step to open your pool for spring, with a printable sheet and the chemistry targets to hit.
- Open at 65 to 70°F days for a week
- 16 steps in 4 phases
- Swimmable in 48 to 72 hours
Winterize step by step, for freeze and mild climates.
- Close when water stays under 65°F
- Shock, wait, then algaecide
- Water level by cover type
Troubleshooting
Find your symptom, see the cause, use the right lever, dose it exactly.
- 25 problems: color, numbers, symptoms
- Cause, lever, target and what not to do
- Ranked fix plan from your readings
Calculate your shock level, log every test, and know exactly when you're done.
- SLAM target = 40% of CYA
- Dose and top-up calculator
- Printable day-by-day log
How to read the cheat sheet
Most pool charts print free chlorine as a flat 1 to 3 ppm. That number only works with almost no stabilizer in the water. Cyanuric acid (CYA) protects chlorine from sunlight, but it also holds most of it in reserve, so the more CYA you have, the more free chlorine you need. A useful rule: keep free chlorine at least 7.5% of your CYA, aim for about 11%, and shock to about 40%. At CYA 40 that is a minimum of 3 ppm, a target of about 4.5 ppm, and a shock level of 16 ppm. The ideal pool chemistry levels chart has the full table by CYA.
Alkalinity comes first in the order of adjustment because it is the buffer that holds pH in place. Fix pH while alkalinity is far off and pH just drifts back. Calcium and CYA change slowly and mostly need checking monthly. Chlorine comes last because it works best once pH is right, and you want to know your CYA before you pick a chlorine target.
Seasons change the routine more than the targets. In summer heat, chlorine burns off faster and you may need to test daily. In spring and fall, the opening and closing checklists take over. If the water turns green, the green pool recovery plan has a SLAM calculator, and what chemical fixes what maps every common problem to its fix. For exact doses, use the chlorine, pH and alkalinity calculators, or score your water with the pool health score.
Updated . Ranges follow CDC MAHC and ANSI/APSP-11, reviewed by the Skimmer editorial team. See our methodology.