Think about it - the basic difference between having a sparkling
clear pool in your garden, versus an embarrassing green duck pond
is quite simple: (a) You’re spending a few minutes a week, doing
it right, or (b) You’re spending a small fortune on chemicals,
and wasting hours of time to rectify pool problems that should
not have occurred if you were in the (a) group, doing it right.
Swimming Pool chemical manufacturers make billions of dollars out
of the (b) group annually with a mind-boggling array of products
to fix problems that should not have occurred in the first place.
As with most things in life, doing it right for your Home Pool,
requires a bit of discipline. Note - DISCIPLINE, not WORK. So,
let’s take a look at a few of the basics:
* H2O (water) is natural stuff - don’t let it spook you.
* You have a few thousand gallons of this stuff in a container,
(your pool), and you need to look after it.
* With a chunk of water this size - Prevention is always better
than cure - and always less costly.
* Advice is free - Chemicals cost money.
Now, let’s see how the (a) group gets this right; with a few
fundamental rules:
* Rule 1 - Buy a TEST-KIT; it always amazes me how Pool owners
will spend hundreds of dollars to sort out some pool problem,
which could have been averted with the use of a $5 test kit.
* Rule 2 - Be patient; remember, your swimming pool is a large
body of water, and any substance you throw into it will take
some time to have the desired effect. After tossing anything
in, wait at least 12 (preferably 24) hours before using your
TEST KIT to gauge the effect.
* Rule 3 - Get the pH right, and always maintain it between the
upper & lower limits (7.0 to 7.4 for fiberglass pools, and
7.2 to 7.6 for plastered pools) This is so important it could
be called Rule 1A. When using pool acid or alkaline to either
lower or raise the pH, apply the patience Rule diligently.
Remember, expensive pool chemicals will have very little, or
no effect if the pH is not right. USE YOUR TEST KIT..!
* Rule 4 - Sunshine + Water = ALGAE. Don’t let this happen, algae
is horrid stuff to get rid of. Use your TEST KIT religiously to
ensure the ideal residual ppm (parts per million) as per the
instructions on whatever brand of sanitizing / sterilizing
product you’re using.
* Rule 5 - Prevention is always better than Cure. Adhering to
the above and also spending a few minutes a week on normal
maintenance routines, such as back washing your filter,
cleaning the pump and weir leaf traps, etc. will ensure a
sparkling clear pool all year round. Also, for pool water
that sparkles, use your TEST KIT to get the Total Alkalinity
and Calcium hardness of your pool water right.
* Rule 6 - Advice is Free. Besides your local Pool Shop, the
Internet is a great place to find free advice. A few of my
favorites are:
* www.poolsearch.com - the most comprehensive pool & spa site on
the web. Their discussion forums offer a wealth of useful tips
& fixes.
* www.poolmanual.com - the pool owner’s Bible. The answer to any
pool problem you’ll ever encounter can be found here.
* www.jacksmagic.com - the stain identification & fix site. Love
this web site; you’ll enjoy Jack’s humorous way of putting pool
stains & fixes into perspective.
* www.ezPoolBrush.com - this summer, spend more time in your pool
- instead of on the side brushing the darn thing. So simple -
like all great ideas that really work..!
Home Swimming Pool owners Amaze me..!
February 14th, 2005 · 2 Comments
Tags: pumps
2 responses so far ↓
1 janis_40 // Feb 15, 2005 at 7:07 pm
In a message dated 9/11/2003 6:45:52 AM Central Daylight Time,
ezpoolbrush@… writes:
Rule 4 - Sunshine + Water = ALGAE. Don’t let this happen, algae
is horrid stuff to get rid of. Use your TEST KIT religiously to
ensure the ideal residual ppm (parts per million) as per the
instructions on whatever brand of sanitizing / sterilizing
product you’re using.
* Rule 5 - Prevention is always better than Cure. Adhering to
the above and also spending a few minutes a week on normal
maintenance routines, such as back washing your filter,
cleaning the pump and weir leaf traps, etc. will ensure a
sparkling clear pool all year round. Also, for pool water
that sparkles, use your TEST KIT to get the Total Alkalinity
and Calcium hardness of your pool water right.
Good stuff poolbrush but you did not go far enough. Using chemicals to keep
the pool water sanitary is but a small part of the job…………….an
important part but a small part just the same. Proper filtration is key to
keeping that pool clean. You can dump chemicals in until you go broke but if
the
filteration system is not up to the task then the pool will still be dirty.
I cannot tell you the number of time I have seen pools that were green week
after week despite the owner spending hundreds of dollars on chemicals every
summer when a good quality and well maintained filtration system would have
prevented it. Check the flow rate and capacity of your system……it should
turn
over the total volume of the pool in eight hours. Maintenance is also
key……..when was the last time you changed the sand in your filter…….it
does
wear out. Do you run the pump enough………many electric companies give
better rates during the night and many have actually done commercials telling
pool owners to run their pumps at night. BS………in the heat of the day the
UV from the sun is burning off the chlorine on the top layers of water in your
pool and without the pump to circulate the water the chlorine will not be
replaced leaving the pool susceptible to algae. A good rule is run the pump one
hour per each ten degrees of air temp…………..besides running the pump at
night helps with radiational cooling and if you are trying to retain the heat
in the pool radiational cooling is the last thing you want.
Ken
2 Neva Marjory // Feb 17, 2005 at 11:30 pm
You listed some useful advice in this posting, despite the fact that
your message was little more than a thinly veiled effort to promote
your commercial website (www.ezPoolBrush.com). And, incidentally, I
couldn’t make your website appear so your promotional efforts were
effective in my case (might be a problem with the IP address on my
router).
In addition, you lauded www.poolmanual.com by saying “The answer to
any pool problem you’ll ever encounter can be found here.” Perhaps
you should have added, “However, the answers may well be INCORRECT!”
In my cursory review of the site, I found a number of recommendations
that were directly contradictory to the manufacturer’s (Sta-Rite)
recommendations on my equipment and some would actually void my
warranty! That’s not my idea of a helpful site.
Bob
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