How often to run tests?

[Mom2Czars]

I'm a newbie this summer. I test chlorine 1-2x a day, pH about once a week, maybe less. Then again, I tested pH quite a bit at first as I worked on stabilizing it. Once I reached a solid 7.2, it hasn't changed in a month. I tested Alkalinity today for the first time in a couple weeks and it's at 110, right about where it was before. Because I have a vinyl liner pool and my water was filled with trucked in water, I've only tested hardness twice (it's at 0).

I've been pretty lucky in that my chlorine level has been pretty predictable at a loss of ~1ppm per day. I have noticed a very slight increase of late which I attribute to more bathers and some rain. I tend to aim for a 4ppm range. Seems to be working so far.

[cleancloths]

When I first got my pool I tested daily. Now that I have it eight years or so I know how it reacts to various conditions and generally only test once or twice a week, although I do add bleach more often than that based on weather, bathing load, temperature.