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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 :14,,4044.4.4A10i0440.1?4:14,' • ,,:;,X:ipi4OV(••iffi.,:.f.,••••• • Select Any Barrymore Frame In Any Fabric And Save 20% •••:.:KV.VAS:V.VvW.. ItiNkAlv POPROMOOMINIMISIMA .00NO, _ORM 04.4041i; !J "4. , ':•••• ••• • ••••• pHONE