1. Pool Filter should run at least 8 to 10 hours per day. Set your pool timer or remember to run the pool manually. It is best to have it running during the late afternoon hours so the sun doesn’t “eat” the chlorine being produced by a salt chlorinator.  Also running your filter at night, you can take advantage of cheaper off peak electricity rates. (Running times can be halved in winter.)
2. Make sure your skimmer baskets are empty and clear of leaves or other debris.
3. Chlorine must be added to the pool daily in one of the following ways:

* Best method is to have a saltwater pool and use a salt chlorinator. This is by far the cheapest & easiest way to sanitize your pool. The salt chlorinator makes chlorine and ends the need for the purchasing & storage of chlorine.
* Next best method is to place 3 Inch Slow Dissolving Stabilized Chlorine Tablets in the skimmers once per week (4-6 tablets are normal for 4M x 10M pool).
* Next best method is to use an Automatic Chlorinator. Make sure the unit is full and that the dial is set to a level that gives you a good daily chlorine reading depending on how long you run your system.
* Next best method is to use a Chlorine Floater with Slow Dissolving Chlorine Tabs inside it. Keep Floater in pool at all times and refill it weekly or as needed.
* Next best method is to manually add either Granular Chlorine or Quick Chlorine Tabs to pool skimmer every day. Don’t forget !!!

If you don’t have one get yourself a 4 in 1 test kit. They are very simple to use and come with full easy-to-follow instructions. Water testing should be carried out on a weekly basis in summer.

Weekly Pool Maintenance

1. Completely backwash filter
2. Test water for Chlorine, pH and Alkalinity.
3. Adjust pH and Alkalinity as needed.
4. Add Chlorine to pool (see Daily Pool Operation).
5. Vacuum pool floor and walls if needed.
6. Shock pool and add Algaecide.
7. Check and adjust water level as needed. Water should be half way up the skimmers.

Basic Water Chemistry Terms

* CHLORINE – Is acting as the main sanitizer to kill algae and bacteria in the pool water. The level should be between 2.0 and 3.0 on your test kit. During hot weather, high readings are better.
* pH – Is the level of how acidic the pool water is. You must maintain a good pH level or your chlorine will not work effectively. The level should be between 7.2 and 7.6.
* ALKALINITY – Is a pH stabilizer. It helps to keep the pH within the proper levels so that the chlorine can work effectively. It reduces pH “bounce”. The level should be between 100 – 150.
* STABILIZER – Also known as Cyanuric Acid, this chemical forms a protective bond around the chlorine, making it more resistant to being burned off by the sun. Makes chlorine tablets last longer. Stabilizer levels should be checked and adjusted each season. Also, pools should be stabilized whenever a large amount of fresh water has been added. The level should be 35 ppm and is adjusted by adding Stabilizer / Conditioner (Cyanuric Acid).
* REMEMBER – Good water chemistry can only be achieved when all four of these chemical levels are kept constant. Good Alkalinity helps keep the pH in the right range so that the chlorine can do its job properly. Stabilizer keeps more of the chlorine in the water instead of being wasted !

admin | Pool Cleaning | 11 21st, 2009 | No Comments »

Cloudy Water

High pH and high total alkalinity tend to cause cloudy water. If the pH is above 7.6 it should be lowered to 7.2 – 7.6 with Dry Acid . Inadequate filtration may also cause cloudiness; the filter may need cleaning or backwashing. We have available an excellent clarifier here.

Algae

Algae are widely regarded as a pest organism in swimming pools and enter the pool from rain, wind and dust. Although not directly harmful to people, dead algae cells do provide food which can sustain more harmful organisms. Algal photosynthesis also causes chlorine in your pool to be consumed more rapidly, reducing the chlorine available in your pool to kill other harmful organisms. Long filtration times are required to remove algae from the pool water and the algal cells are often the main component of the rubbish which blocks filters, requiring them to be backwashed more frequently. Even small amounts of algae can make a pool look cloudy and unclean.

Some types of algae exist suspended in your pool water, however most algae form green-black spots on the walls and floor of the pool. The latter type builds a protective barrier of impervious wax around itself. Chlorine is prevented from entering into the barrier and therefore cannot kill the algal colonies. One of the active ingredients of algaecide will break down this protective coating, allowing chlorine and the other ingredients to kill the algae. Treatment of very bad cases of pool algae involves the owner scrubbing the top layers of dead algae off alga clumps; therefore exposing the algae, which can then be affected by the algaecide and chlorine.

It is important to note that algae in highly unlikely to form if the free chlorine residual has been maintained at a satisfactory level at all times and the circulation is adequate.

There are two ways of eliminating algae from your pool – prevention and cure. All current treatment aimed at eliminating algae use some kind of poison e.g… chlorine or algaecides. The better way to ensure your pool is algae-free is to starve it of the nutrient which is what causes it growth – phosphate. Growing algae feed on the phosphate in pool water and dead algae release phosphate back into the water. By removing the phosphate from your water with a starver, existing algae will be starved of food. Spores entering a pool which has no phosphate will not flourish.

Eye Irritation

Although eye irritation is commonly blamed on an excess of chlorine in the water, it usually results from too little free available chlorine and too much combined chlorine. Super chlorination will eliminate the combined chlorine and convert all the chlorine present into free available chlorine – in the process nitrogen compounds called chloramines, which are the main cause of eye irritation will be destroyed. Also low total alkalinity (a common problem) can cause this. Your water can become very corrosive. By adding Buffer will fix this problem.

Unpleasant Odors

Bad odours, usually like chlorine, are closely associated with burning eyes – the cause is the same – insufficient free available chlorine in the water. These odours are caused by chloramines – the cure is to super chlorinate with Granular Chlorine or Stabilized Chlorine to insure that all the combined chlorine is present as free available chlorine.

UV (ultra-violet) radiation is a form of energy emitted by the sun. Just as high doses of UV can cause severe burns and skin cancers, UV radiation also has debilitating effects on unstabilised chlorine in pool water. Just as you protect your skin with suntan creams, it is also possible to protect the chlorine in pool water from the effects of the sun’s harmful rays. Without an effective sunscreen for your pool, the UV radiation will penetrate the water and destroy the active chlorine, thereby decreasing the water’s disinfecting capacity.

The active ingredient of a pool stabilizer is cyanuric acid, which attaches itself to a portion of the active chlorine, preventing it from being destroyed by the UV radiation. This greatly reduces chlorine loss and ensures that the outdoor pool owner will save money on sanitizer in the future. In a saltwater pool, the chlorine output on the saltwater chlorinator may be reduced, allowing for a greater cell life! A pool “stabilized” in this way typically requires half the amount of chlorine compared to “unstabilized” pools.

admin | Pool Cleaning | 11 21st, 2009 | No Comments »