Helpful Hints to New (and experienced) Pool / Spa Owners
If you are a new pool owner, as soon as the pool is filled (or as soon as you move in), take a water sample (approx. 1 qt. to a half gallon, is enough); use a clean jar or bottle & get a water sample from a foot beneath the surface because surface water can give deceptive readings. Hold the container upside down, as you submerge it, until about elbow depth and then turn right side up allowing the water to run in. It is important to chemically balance the water in your pool for economy & clean, clear water. Damage to plaster & equipment can result from improper Alkalinity & Calcium levels. Algae needs phosphates for nutrient, so if you have high levels, algae will be a problem unless you reduce the levels. Also, for the health of everyone who swims in the pool, an effective sanitizer must be used.
The following tests should be done on your pool water periodically (weekly during pool season, bimonthly during cold seasons).
TESTS .............................. CHECKS
**these tests are generally too expensive (or impractical) for the average home-owner to maintain reagents, so regular testing by a professional pool store is necessary. (SEE ALSO "IDEAL WATER BALANCE PARAMETERS" FOR EASY REFERENCE)
Pools must be treated individually; no two are exactly alike. Each has different swimmer loads, yard conditions, etc. Differences between types of pools, such as gunite (plaster), fiberglass, vinyl, wood, and acrylic can also require slightly different chemical ranges due to surface material differences. If you are ever in doubt, bring in a water sample to your local pro for a professional analysis. Realizing that all pools are different, we must have some underlying principles that are common, simply to deal with certain common problems! Amazingly enough, these three concepts can control a lot.
Sound familiar? It should. Basically that's exactly the same three things that maintain both people AND swimming pools! But we all know that you can't take your spa jogging! So how do you keep a pool healthy?
1. Let's examine the first of the three, CIRCULATION. Many pool professionals don't realize the importance of circulation, let alone the average pool-owner! Pool builders for years have pointed the returns in the pools upward for the sole reason that "the people like to see the bubbles." When questioned further, they will claim that the "surface agitation helps to aerate the water and help the floating debris to sink." Granted, these are valid reasons (only for a person who doesn't stop to realize the full potential of the pool's circulation.), and we dearly hate to rock the boat, but what if we pointed the return downward at about 45 degrees? And aimed them all in a complementary direction? Well, the answer quickly becomes obvious. By stimulating the deep water circulation, chemical balance is more uniform, maintaining even a cleaner pool by keeping the shallow areas swept clear by not allowing anything to settle until the main drain can pick it up. Surprisingly enough, we found that some pools actually stayed cleaner by merely adjusting the flow returns (and getting rid of an ineffectual "cheap-o" economy automatic pool cleaner!) By simply adjusting the returns and adding a truly efficient automatic pool cleaner, we have found absolute minimal maintenance necessary as far as cleaning goes. And as an added bonus, we found that these test pools seem to clear faster due to the improved circulation. By the way, just about everything sinks eventually anyway!
To adjust the returns, first walk around the pool and "spot" each of the returns and determine if clockwise or counter-clockwise would be best. Remember, you can always reverse it later if you decide the other direction is possibly better, but the flow must be one or the other in most cases (some kidney shaped pools have no alternative because the returns are pointed in such a manner as to create a "figure eight" type pattern). Many times a right angle type of "eyeball" is needed to make the pattern hit exactly the right place (like a swim-out), but care should be used in how many are on a system, as they can raise the filter pressure and actually inhibit the circulation if all of them are 90 degree. Most returns are easily adjusted, but some are permanently attached. The ones that are adjustable usually have a method of locking it into place. These locks range from a single large nut holding the return in place, to multiple screws in the face of the return that must be loosened before the eyeball can be moved. Place a screwdriver into the orifice and attempt to un-stick it. Once unstuck, direct with the aid of the screwdriver. If any return eyeball is broken or missing now, is the time to replace them.
Suction is an important part of circulation that is also ignored too often. Only so much water can flow through a pipe of a set size diameter, REGARDLESS OF HOW BIG A PUMP IS USED! This is referred to as Flow Rate. Some people try to fake any real knowledge of hydrodynamics by claiming that if you put a large enough pump on the pool that you won't have any problems, and then put a 2 HP pump on a single 1.5 inch diameter suction pipe and act surprised when the pump motor burns up two months after warranty (!?!); Because the behemoth pump can't pull any more water than a 1 HP pump (that won't be straining and overheating to do the same job) the monster pump doesn't get enough water to keep it cooled down, it overheats regularly, the bearings and the seals start going and it didn't have to happen.
2. The second of the three, FILTRATION, is of course as important as circulation (in fact, it relies on circulation to be efficient). There are basically three types of filters commonly used with pools. The CARTRIDGE, SAND, or D.E. all have their pros and their cons, and, each, are very good for specific applications.
CARTRIDGE filters, can be nice in certain applications like spas, hot tubs, areas where water conservation is at a premium and backwashing is not allowed. Cartridge filters work best with a Mechanical type sanitizing system that does not create a build-up of residual chemicals. A Nature2 purifier (a passive ionizer) with an Ozone Generator can help eliminate the annual draining of the pool (monthly with spas) for too much stabilizer or calcium, that is usually needed with cartridge type systems. Cartridge filters remove a particle between 8 and 10 microns in size, should not be cleaned with acid (it can melt the synthetic fibers according to the manufacturer), and car wash pressure washers can rip them apart if used to clean them. Commercial cleaning solutions (and household DISHWASHER detergent) can clean them without any problem, though, so not being able to soak one in acid, then torturing it at the car wash is not as much of a handicap as it may seem. Allow a way to drain the debris from the tank when installing, or particles will blow back into the pool that fall from the cartridge when it is removed from the housing to be cleaned.
The SAND or PERMANENT MEDIA type filter is without question the easiest filter to maintain. Sand lasts on the average from 2 to 3 years . Needless to say, commercial pools change sand yearly (occasionally more often), above ground pools should change sand yearly and pools with trees overhanging have oily sap that fouls sand quickly. Sand is usually easily changed though, and as seldom as it is done (backwashing cleaning most of the impurities and trash out of the filter) makes the sand filter an ideal filter for almost any pool. To backwash a filter can occasionally take more water that a spa contains, so it is not usually the best choice for a spa that is 1000 gallons or less. The sand filter removes particles of 20 microns or larger from the water and has a need for somewhere to backwash to. Some communities require all backwashes be done to the sewer and not on the yard or into the streets and alleys. Others will demand that you backwash your pool water onto your yard and into the street! But don't get any into the creek or they will ticket you! Check with your local community laws before you install!
The D.E. or DIATOMACEOUS EARTH filter is by far the superior filter in most cases. It combines the best ideas of both the sand filter and the cartridge filter. The convenience of a sand filter, by having a backwash valve, and the filtering efficiency of a cartridge filter (actually, it has BETTER filtering efficiency). The D.E. filter consists of tank, synthetic cloth covered framework for the filter grids, pressure gauge, air relief valve (VERY nice to have on ANY filter), backwash valve (preferably a multiport type), a sight glass in the backwash line, and a few pounds of diatomaceous earth, fossilized remains of DIATOMS, a plankton-like life form in the ancient (and present) oceans. (SEE "WHAT IS ALGAE?") The way d.e. filters work, is when you pour a specified amount of D.E. into the skimmer (the usual method of adding d.e.), it coats the filter grids and is the actual filter media itself! Since the 1 micron size of a particle is so small, few other filters can even hope to keep a pool as clear as a D.E. filter. Even after being off for extended periods of time (such as in the case of a pool being down for the winter]) the D.E. filter can save MEGABUCKS when clean-up time comes around! It can also save untold hours of labor and frustration just in dealing with potentially problem area type pools in an area under construction, lots with trees, lots of sand close to the pool, pools with large open areas that allow access to the four winds, pools with animals that have access to it, pools that seem to resemble the Sargasso Sea ( everything in the yard ends up there! ), etc. Admittedly, the d.e. filter does need to be backwashed, usually once every month or so, (or if the pressure raises 50% over normal, whichever comes first) and it does need to be dismantled occasionally to be thoroughly cleaned (usually at the beginning and ending of the swim season; usually not very difficult and often mastered by the second time done!) but the advantages seem to far outweigh the disadvantages, and is usually the better choice in most situations for the filtration. Although the D.E. filter does require backwashing, it can be fitted with a separation tank so that it may be backwashed, with the water returning to the pool! However, a "closed" system with a D.E. filter does have the same problem that cartridge filters do with build up of residual chemicals and should consider mechanical sanitizer systems also, so if you can backwash out of the pool, allow that option to be usable even if a separation tank is used.
3. Finally, the last of the three concepts, CHEMICAL BALANCE. notice there are TWO words present. Chemicals without balance means an imbalance and no matter how good the equipment your pool has, if the pool is not in balance, it can turn green, stain the pool, eat up the expensive equipment, eat up the people that dare to get in, etc. Many things are necessary for this balance to be achieved, most are able to be tested with your home test kit, but some should be tested by your pool professional (this is also a good time to pick the pros' brains on tips, new ideas and new market items that could make your pool care easier!).
An Afterword:
Keeping good records, regular maintenance, and just plain ol' paying a little attention to the pool (not even 20 minutes once a week), can be enough to catch a problem BEFORE it becomes a problem, and save your VERY EXPENSIVE INVESTMENT (your pool). Noting a trend toward high stabilizer, for example, is easy if you have the last 10 tests in front of you. If something should go wrong with a piece of equipment that should be in warranty, it is much easier, to support the fact of proper maintenance, if it is documented.