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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1977-04-14, Page 30BACKYARD PLAY. This family has created a private playground for itself with this versatile pool and brick deck -and -patio combination. Mom and Dad can easily make a long, straight swimming lane here to. get their needed exercise without leaving home. The National Swimming Pool Institute advises families considering a pool this year to plan for the kind of ac- tivities it enjoys. The two most common unin- vited guests at any swimming pool are dirt and bacteria. Add to these a sprinkling of twigs, leaves. animal fur and other air and human borne contaminants and you have the reasons behind a regular program of pool maintenance. Pool maintenance is relatively easy, according to the National Swimming Pool Institute, and most pool owners prefer the do-it- yourself approach. Self servicing requires from one and a half to four hours a week and keeps costs down to an average of around $20 per month, including parts and chemicals, for the average unheated -pool. The main requirements are vacuuming for debris, daily 'chemical treatment and weekly or bi-weekly brushdowns of pool walls. The owner's major allies in keeping the pool clean are the skimmer, the filtration system and chemical additives. In ad- dition, new innovations are ap- pearing all the time to make the job easier. The skimmer, built into almost all pools, takes leaves and other floating debris off the top of the water. A pool vacuum cleaner, operated by the owner, is used to pick uei debris off the bottom. Filtration systems ate of two main types, the • sand filter through which water passes leaving dirt particles behind, and the diatomaceous earth (DE) filter which uses minute diatomes (microscopic sea creatures) spread over a membrane to entrap the equally microscopic dirt particles. Care of the filter is relatively simple. Both types of filter must be backwashed approximately every two weeks to remove dirt • clogging. Although the DE filter requires much Tess water to backwash, after each back - washing it must be repacked with more dirt. (A season's supply of about 50 pounds costs around $8). Most pool contractors recommend that • the filtration system be in operation at least 12 hours out of every 24 to insure best results. Chemical additives are usually a daily requirement, depending upon the traffic in the pool and also upon such factors as hot weather and high winds which create conditions calling for more chemical purifiers. Chlorine is the. most widely used disinfectant, although bromine and iodine are also used. Less than one drop of chlorine in every 1,000,000 drops of pool water is enough, providing the chemical is 100 percent active. Pool owners should carefully follow the manufacturer's directions in both .u§ing and storing chemicals. The amount of chemical to add can be determined by testing pool water for chlorine residue and pH or acid -alkaline balance. Simple testing kits are widely available. Alkaline salts, used in liquid chlorine to help it maintain its limited stability, eventually build up in pool water and upset the pH balance. Periodically an alkali - neutralizer such as muriatic acid or sodium bisulfate may be added to neutralize increas,ipg alkalinity. Proper pH balance is necessary to insure that the chemical additives react properly, that • the proper bac- teria -killing "residual" is maintained. The ideal pH range for pool water is 7.2 to 7.6. A simple set of rules to follow when manually cleaning the pool are: 1. Skim the Pool's surface with a standard leaf skimmer; 2. Brushdown walls and tile with stiff -bristled tile brush; 3. Clean the skimmer's basket and hair -lint strainer; 4. Vacuum the pool bottom; 5.' Clean the filter (when suf- ficient dirt has accumulated and the recirculation flow has decreased); and 6. Hose clean the pool deck. Daily addition of chemicals can be avoided by' purchase of an automatic chemical dispenser for under . $50. The automatic dispenser eliminates the necessity of daily. testing for°pH balance and can be set to operate at a time when the pool is not in use. Other automatic maintenance devices are also available to make the pool cleaning job simpler. Among these are the automatic cleaning systems which operate on the principle that agitation of the' water keeps dirt and algae from adhering to. - pool walls and bottom, thus making it easier for the filter to process them out. NSPI recommends that anyone considering building a pool should . investigate automatic cleaning equipment. Although such equipment will. increase initial cost of the pool, it will help save both time and money later on, the pool institute claims. Portable cleaning systems, operated on the same principle and powered by a garden hose, are available for use in already constructed pools. A heavy duty vinyl pool cover, averaging around $200 for a rectangular home pool, can be a sound maintenance investment. Kept on the pool during the winter months, it will eliminate much of the spring clean up chore. A cover also makes sense in, summertime when the owner plans to be gone for two weeks or more—both to keep the pool clean and to keep out uninvited swimmers. Special problems may arise, however, even in well maintained pools. One of these in algae. Algae commonly appears in two forms: black algae, which makes unsightly spots on pool walls, and green floating algae. Both are normally taken care of by a regular maintenance program, but stubborn cases may be treated by vigorous brushing of spots, followed by afiplication of spot killer and use of special inexpensive algaecides. Another 'problem, red -brown discolored water, is caused by a high concentration of dissolved iron.. Disinfectants may oxidize this dissolved iron, leaving rust particles in the pool and giving Use oxidizing sanitizer and run the filtration system fora hours straight to clear out the particles. Should particles settle to the bottom, they,should b"e vacuumed 'up immediately to avoid staining the pool bottom. If desired, a pool specialist may be hired for the special jobs of opening and closing residential pools for the season. Depending on the pool, the cost is from $30 to $100. The specialist will check equipment such as underwater lights, heater, pumps and filter. Weekly professional pool maintenance service, averaging $60 to $80 per month, is also available . in some parts of the country. ALL HOliIUS YTHE P'RE LikELyMg EVERIMPROUEMETo NEEPT, SERVICE 0 S IOW `. ❑U1�1.�1y Mo�S( RESTORATIONS and RENOVATIONS TODAY FREE ESTIMATES • CALL jSl9j 523.9667 Grainger's Carpentry AND CUSTOM WOODWORKING Rad rLYTH. ONT.