HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1983-04-27, Page 264
The two , most common
uninvited guests at any
swimming pool are dirt and
b,acteria, Add to these a ;
Wrinkling- 4-41Vigst lea:veal
animal,fur and other air and
tounan borne contaminants
and you have the rat:Onus
behind a regular program Of
p pool maintenance.
Pool maintenance is
-b..• relatively easy, according to.
the National Swim rning Pool
Institute, and most pool
owners prefer the do-it-
yourself approach. Self
servicing requires from one
clean, cooi, blue.. pool this, summer.
an4 a half to •four hours a
week and keeps -costs down
to at average of around $20
per month, Including parts
f the
4_44r
cbernleaLs,
aVeragotmliiated pool,
The main requirements
are vacuurniflg 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 ad-
dillixra.s. In addition, new
innovations are appearing
all the time to make the job.
easier.
The skimmer, built into
almost all poo Is, takes leaves
and other floating debris off
the top .of thawater. A •pool.
vacuum cleaner, operated
by the owner, is used to pick
up debris off the bottom.
Filtration systems are of
two . main types, the sand
filter. through which water
sSes,leaving dirt particles
behind, • and the
diatomaceous earth (DE)
filter which uses ..minnte
diatomes (nticros.cepic -sea
creatures)' spread over a
membrane to entrap the
equally micr9scopic dirt
partie les.
Care of the filter is
relati_velysiniplet.13,41) t/Pes
of filter must be backurashed
approximately every two
weeks to remove dirt
clogging. Although the DE
filter requires much less
water to backwash, after
each backwashing it must be
repacked with more dirt. (A
season's supply of about 50
pounds costs around $8).
Most pool contractors
1
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
chernicals is 100 percent
active.
• Pool owners should
carefully follow the
manufacturer's directions in
both using 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-netttralizer such as
muriatic acid or sodium
bisulfate ' may be added to
neutralize increasing
alkalinity.
Proper pH balance is
necessary to insure that the
chemical additives react
properly, that the proper
baekteria-killing "residual"
is maintained. The ideal pti
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 skim-
mer;
2. Brushdown wails and
tile with stiff -bristled tile
brush;
• 3. Clean the skipmer's
basket and hair -lint
strainer;
4. Vacuum the pool hot -
tom;
5.. Clean the filter (when
sufficient dirt. has ac-
cumulated and the recir-
culation 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 be set to
operate at a time when the
pool is not in use.
Other automatic main-
tenance 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 equip-
ment. Although such
Turn to page 7
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