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Aug 31

Setting Up Your Above Ground Swimming Pool – Part 1

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3731026649 d44ac88693 m Setting Up Your Above Ground Swimming Pool Part 1

If youve been thinking about getting a swimming pool for your backyard, but arent sure about the costs associated with doing such a thing, heres a tip: you can have an above-ground swimming pool for less than what it would cost you to buy a used car. Thats right you get everything that an in-ground pool could offer, but at about a third (or less) of the cost. And you can buy and install it yourself, saving money on contractors!An above ground swimming pool, while offering you the same enjoyment as something thats built into your backyard, costs far less to purchase and install. You arent digging up the backyard, youre not paying for contractors to pour a cement base, you dont have to pay for someone to install non-slip surfacing around the outside and thats all apart from the cost of the pool itself. An above ground pool is fraction of the cost and it wont hurt your homes resale value. Why? Because youll still have an intact backyard you can uninstall the pool and take it with you when you move!Whats the Best Pool to Buy?For families with small children, splasher pools or plastic pools are the best option. They wont last as long, but they are the most inexpensive and can be replaced once the children get older and if you dont want another pool when the kids grow out of it, no problem! Just take the pool down and they can spend time in the whole backyard!What Kind of Care Does it Require? Other tasks include conditioning and stabilizing the water in the pool, which is done by first getting your calcium hardness and alkalinity levels in the water in balance with the waters pH, for safety reasons. This allows the chlorine to work effectively, which you will need to apply to the water in order to disinfect and sanitize the swimming environment. It will also assist in controlling the growth of algae.

Jul 05

Keeping Your Pool Clean and Safe

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536401768 60c53b99c5 m Keeping Your Pool Clean and Safe

The attraction and relaxation provided by a swimming pool is nothing short of impressive. On a hot summer day, a pool can be a blessing. Then again, a swimming pool can also be an annoyance if it is not cared for as it should be. Swimming pools require a lot of maintenance, including time and money. Regardless of what type of pool you have, you need to perform regular maintenance on it.

If you own a swimming pool, you must assume the task of keeping your pool clean and safe for yourself and anyone who swims in it. Maintaining your pool does not have to be a difficult task or consume a lot of your time, if you know what you are doing. If you perform regular maintenance on your pool, you will keep it healthy year round.

You need to check on your chemical balance once in a while, and make sure that the water is safe for swimming. You should ensure that you keep debris out of your pool, and that the water remains healthy. If you filter your water on a regular basis, you can keep the chemicals moving about and keep the water safe for swimming.

The weather outside and how often you use your pool will significantly contribute to the condition of your water. If you do not have your chemicals balanced properly, the sun can quickly turn your water to a green, musty color. If you live in an area that is known for hot weather, you must make sure that you keep your chemicals properly balanced all the time.

A swimming pool will naturally attract leaves, insects, dust, hair, and other forms of debris. Regardless of what you do about it, you can never prevent things from getting in your water. If you do not clean your pool frequently, the pollutants that get in the water can lead to bacteria and algae, which will quickly destroy your water. If you sanitize and clean your pool on a regular basis, you will help to keep it clean and free from bacteria and algae buildup.

If you do not have the time to clean your pool yourself, you can always leave it to a professional. Professional pool cleaners are not cheap, although they will clean your water and your pool, and ensure that your chemicals are properly balanced.

You can schedule a time for a cleaner to do his job, normally once a week or so. Once you have started using a professional, you may find his services great and never want to go back to cleaning your pool yourself. With the help of a professional – you can rest assured that your pool will stay clean year round.

Jul 04

Swimming pool care: Pool maintenance tips to keep your water sparkling – Part 1

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364086112 0dd860ec63 m Swimming pool care: Pool maintenance tips to keep your water sparkling Part 1

Most of us dream of owning a swimming pool in our backyard. After the dream turns true the pain of pool maintenance comes up. Many of them consider pool maintenance a strenuous job. Pool cleaning becomes easy when the chemical treatment and the filtration system are used simultaneously and if the pool is not located amidst trees and bushes. Maintenance of swimming pool not only ensures a level of hygiene but also protects the equipment. Here are some simple and easy steps for maintaining a residential swimming pool:

Check the chlorine level everyday because algae begin to grow when there is a dramatic drop in the chlorine level. This makes the pool slimy leading to difficult cleaning. Using floating chlorine canisters are the easiest means of maintaining the supply of chlorine. The canister will begin to float when it runs out of chlorine after a month and this can be replaced immediately.

Cover the pool when not in use. This will ward off leaves and debris from entering the pool and will make vacuuming quicker and easier.

Manually brush and vacuum the pool walls and floor once in a week as automatic systems do not reach certain areas of the pool.

Shock the pool fortnightly to exonerate the bather waste. As this makes the bather comfortable and prevents wear and tear of the filtration system thereby saving money.

To avoid bacterial growth chlorine products must be used to sanitize the pool.

An algae protective product must be used to prevent the growth of algae.

Always keep a lookout for elements that could troubleshoot the pool. Certain problems like:

Listen if the pump is making excessive noise or not, as this could result in electrical shorts or bearing failure.

Replace pumps after 7 years. As newer pumps means fewer requirements of swimming pool chemicals and lower utility bill.

Keep checking the pressure gauge, as high pressure would mean needless pressure on the pump leading to inefficient filtering system.

Always keep the filter clean.

To maintain the correct level of acidic water, use ph increaser and a ph decreaser for alkaline water.

Follow a strict schedule. Every alternate day test the pool, check for chlorine level, alkalinity and ph level. Swimming pool chemicals must be added if required. Add pool shock and algaecide once in a week. Remember water should never be added to chemicals. Devoting just 40 to 50 minutes in a week will keep the pool sparkling, clean and crystal clear.

For proper Pool care a pH kit and sanitizer kit should be used throughout the year. Swimming Pool that is adequately cared will always raise pH in a pool.

Jun 12

Swimming Pool Filter Troubleshooting

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5017730242 f50770b462 m Swimming Pool Filter Troubleshooting

Your Swimming Pool Cartridge Filter will not clear algae from the pool

The three filter types will clear up algae, provided it is not in a live state. Consult http://www.1800 Pools.com for the proper chemicals to help rid the algae. Most cartridge filter problems are caused by dirty, clogged or abused elements. Either clean the elements, or replace if torn or damaged.

Your Swimming Pool DE filter has short cycles when vacuuming

This is normal if the pool contains very dirty water. Backwash or regenerate and recharge more often. If there is a presence of live algae, add enough chlorine sanitizer to control this growth, then vacuum. The presence of alum or flocking agents will clog the filter. Vacuum so as to bypass the filter. Do not use flocking agents with DE filters.

Your Swimming Pool DE filter is leaking back into the pool

Be sure that the suspected material on the pool floor is actually DE. Pollen, chemical residue and plaster dust often look like DE. You may have a tear in your filter elements, replace if necessary. Make sure that you assemble the internal parts properly! Check for air leaks, as this will cause the system to leak DE back into the pool. If there are air leaks, install a check valve between the pump and the filter valve.

Your Swimming Pool DE filter is running at high pressure

The DE filter is loaded with too much debris or algae and needs backwashing or regeneration. If this problem persists and you notice the filter gauge pressure rising from 7 – 10 psi above your beginning pressure, you need to regenerate your filter.
Refer to your Owner’s Guide for further instructions or consult your pool dealer for service.
Your pump output might exceed the design flow rate of the filter. Make sure the pump is correctly sized for your filter.

If there is algae in the pool, super chlorinate, backwash or bump/drain and recharge as needed. Make sure you are properly backwashing on your vertical grid filter.
Refer to your Owner’s Manuals for instructions.

Your Swimming Pool DE filter short cycles even after I backwash

The filter elements may be clogged because of an accumulation of chemical deposits. Clogging is accelerated if chemicals are fed through the skimmer, operating your filter too long without DE after starting the pump, or operating the filter without DE. DE must be added as soon as the filter is full of water, and the pump is putting out a steady stream of water. Refer to your Owner’s Guide for the amount of DE your filter requires. Biguanide based sanitizers (i.e. Baquacil, SoftSwim) can cause short cycling.

Your Swimming Pool Filter is noisy

An oversized pump may cause noise in your filter valve due to excessive flow. To test, hold your hand partially in front of any returns at the pool wall. If the noise subsides, this will confirm that the problem is excessive flow. It can be remedied by installing smaller eyeball fittings in the return(s), changing the pump impeller size in the pump, or change to a 2-inch control valve.

Your Swimming Pool Flow Valve leaks to Waste

The valve seat gasket inside the valve has become worn or loose. You may choose to do this yourself or contact your local pool dealer for service. How do you replace the gasket? You will need a new gasket, obtained from your local dealer, some Krazy Glue, and a sharp 1/8-inch wide flat bladed screwdriver.

NOTE: Mark the top and bottom of the valve with a marking pen. It’s very important that you do not change the location of the cover when re-assembling. Remove the cover, usually six screws. Using the screwdriver, scrape out every last part of the gasket and cement, in order to get back to a clean flat surface. Put a fair amount of crazy glue on the flat side of the gasket. Place the gasket, flat side down, back into place let dry for one hour minimum.

Your Swimming Pool Sand Filter is running at high pressures

Follow the backwashing instructions in your Owner’s Manual. The sand bed may be clogged with mineral deposits that will not backwash away. Some calcium based chlorines and other alternative sanitizers will build up in your sand bed, and will require more frequent backwashing and changing of the sand.
Before you replace all the sand in your filter, try removing approximately 1″ of the top layer of the sand, replace with the exact amount of sand you removed.
Normal life span of the sand is about 4 – 5 years.

You may have to clean your filter system with a special filter cleaner, check with your pool dealer for proper procedures.

Check to see if there is a closed or partially closed valve along your return piping, open the valve.
Your pump may be too small to provide sufficient flow for proper backwashing. Your filter will function, but a lower design flow rate will cause your system to backwash improperly. Check the output of the pump to be sure that it equals your filter’s design flow rate. Replace the pump if it is too small.
S.Merillat(r)

Visit http://www.1800pools to learn more about Pool Filter Care.

Feb 02

The benefits of converting your swimming pool to a saltwater system – Part 2

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450739223 c390882850 m The benefits of converting your swimming pool to a saltwater system Part 2

To start off I would like to say that chlorine pools are ok, but they do have countless drawbacks that have prevented my family and I from truly enjoying them such as, the irritated eyes, the irritated skin, and overall if you accidentally get a mouthful of that water… let’s just say the after effects are not pleasant.

I have nothing against them, but they not only make swimming more of a manmade hassle, but they are also high maintenance and require constant attention. I cannot tell you the number of times I have found my grandparent’s pool turned completely green with algae after one summer rain. It’s downright dispicaple and such an annoyance to be forced such a lengthy waiting time to go buy an expensive amount of chlorine, come back, and go through that process of cleaning that accursed thing… only to find it staying clean for another day. An alternative is to get those pool covers but dear god! You’ve spent so much to maintain this annoying object to keep it looking sparlky and beautiful, why cover it up so the neighbors can’t be awed by its presence? There is a simpler solution that you might be interested in and that is a salt water pool.

Salt water pool systems have become a little more and more popular as time passes. Not because it sounds more natural or because it sounds like you can bring a little piece of ocean home, but because it’s cost effective, it’s efficient, it doesn’t irritate the skin in fact it is much more softer to the skin than chlorine. Salt is cheaper than chlorine chemicals, plus… WHY CHOOSE CHEMICALS WHEN SALT CHLORINATES JUST THE SAME. Plus salt’s chlorination effects don’t add to the burning eyes and itchiness of your skin so you feel more at home in your pool.

Why cover your saltwater pool up if it self cleans and removes unsightly algae? I can think of no reason not to choose a saltwater swimming pool, it sounds so much more low maintenance than a regular chlorine swimming pool.

Which sounds better; maintaining a chemical induced money consuming nightmare, or having a little slice of mother nature in your own backyard to swim in?

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