Within the sanitation classification, there are two subsections of activity. These are cleaning and disinfection. A properly sanitized pool is cleaned on a regular basis, and a properly sanitized pool is treated with disinfectants on a regular basis. So a properly sanitized pool will have a rigorous cleaning and a rigorous disinfection program in place. In this post I am going to continue on to discuss what the cleaning process entails: the tools used and the correct way to manipulate these tools to achieve the desired effect. Disinfection will be saved for the next few posts.
The tools that you will need are a vacuum hose, a vacuum head, a pool brush, a telescoping pole to attach the vacuum head and other tools to, a leaf net, a Jandy Leaf Master (a garden hose driven leaf bag) and an automatic cleaner of some sort, if your finances and swimming pool pump can handle the extra load.
Telescoping Pole
So let's discuss the proper pole. What you are going to need is an aluminum, telescoping pole, one that when fully extended can reach completely across the bottom of the pool, with plenty of extra length for you to hold on to and manipulate as you are vacuuming, brushing, or netting up debris. I am going to strongly suggest that you purchase the type that has an internal cam that will lock rigid the two sections of the telescoping pole. Purchase a good pole, one that is used by professionals. In fact, all of these tools should be of a professional grade, they will be more usable and last a long time. The internally locking cam type of pole will be less likely to loosen up in the middle of a job. Do not buy the type of telescoping pole that uses a plastic threaded connection. This type of pole comes loose way too often and furthermore the plastic threaded connection only achieves rigidity between the two halves by having to be screwed (by hand) so tightly that it is difficult oftentimes to unscrew the the connector when the job is finished and you want to collapse the pole.
Vacuum Heads
Moving on to vacuum heads, here again aim for a professional device. You will be able to recognize the higher quality vacuum head from the other lessor types because of several differences. The higher quality vacuum head will have wheels made of a hard clear plastic, not unlike inline skates, the wheels will turn on axles supported by steel ball bearings so when you give them a spin they continue to rotate for a few seconds. This feature enables the vacuum head to glide easily along the bottom of the pool, it always been surprising to me how much this one feature eases the effort needed to vacuum. These wheels will also be adjustable up and down within the frame of the vacuum head. This feature enables you to move the wheels in a upward or downward position in reference to the pool's wall and floor. If the walls or floor are uneven then the vacuum head can get stuck, so you would adjust the wheels downward to lift the head up for more clearance, also if the pump's suction is too strong then raising the vacuum head up helps prevent it from getting stuck. In those cases where the swimming pool's pump is not very powerful or if the vacuum head is just too high off the floor of the pool and not pulling in enough dirt, you can adjust the wheels upward and lower the clearance. By experimenting around a little bit you can find what's best for your pool, making your job easier.
The last attribute of a quality vacuum head is that it is very heavy, much heavier than the cheaper models, when pushed into the pool, the cheap models will tend to be pulled up by the floating vacuum hose, whereas a heavy vacuum head will immediately sink to the bottom of the pool (where it should be!), vertically pulling the vacuum hose down, reducing tangling problems and keep itself on the floor of the pool. A cheap model is difficult to keep on the floor of a pool and can cause the vacuuming of your pool to be a frustrating experience.
Vacuum Hose
A professional higher grade vacuum hose will be different in several recognizable ways, just as the professional vacuum head was. Try lifting up the hose. The professional quality vacuum hose, like the quality vacuum head will be much heavier than it's cheaper counterpart and yet this type of hose will have an increased floating ability. This heavier hose will pull up much more, maintaining the tension between itself and the heavy vacuum head. That is a good thing!
Open up the box and give the higher grade of vacuum hose a pinch or squeeze, you will find a lot of resistance because it will be built tougher. This reduces the chance of the hose kinking up or collapsing under a vacuum load. The cheaper models can be pinched or squeezed easily and collapse much more often. The higher grade of vacuum hose will feel slicker to the touch, it will slide over itself much easier, reducing tangling problems.
The quality vacuum hose will likely come with a rotating cuff connector to be attached to the vacuum head. The rotating connector, the slicker surface, and the increase floating ability means that the hose will not get entangled with itself as often as the cheaper models.
Leaf Net or Bag
The leaf bag is attached to the end of the telescoping pool pole in the same manner as the vacuum head. I have always purchased the Aqua Pro brand of leaf bag. It is more costly than the other types, but it has a couple of features that I like, ones that the cheaper models do not have.
The first feature is that the bottom plastic trim of the bag has a projecting edge that enables you to pick up leaves on the bottom of the pool with just two little snappy pushes. The technique here is to cause a small underwater wave to form initially in front of the leaf bag, this will momentarily lift the leaf or leaves up off the floor of the pool, and timing it just right, you can again snap the leaf bag forward once again to catch the leaf or leaves, depositing them within the bag. You can even pick up small coins and rocks in this manner or even just shove the bag forward and these items will just slide into the bag via the projecting plastic edge. This technique can be learned in just a few tries. You can even scoot the bag along the whole floor in this manner.
Two other cleaning techniques that I used with this bag are as follows: When the pool is full of debris, after a strong dust or wind storm, I maximized the amount of debris that gets into the bag by throwing the Aqua Leaf Pro bag out into the pool, while simultaneously rotating the pool pole 180 degrees so that the bag will land face down in the debris, if you steadily pull the bag toward you, leaving it upside down, the bag will fill up much more quickly and easily than any other way and if there is still room in the bag, you can repeat this process several times before the bag is full. I could get the bag so completely full with this technique that is was hard to get out of the pool!
The second technique involves cleaning the tile off. Often times even if the surface of the pool is clean, debris of various types adhere to the tile along the water line. What you do in this situation is to stand next to the edge of the pool. Set the Aqua Pro leaf bag in the water and rotate the bag so that the bag is setting at an oblique angle to the tile, with the pole and attached bag vertical to the pool's surface. While holding and pressing the narrow side of the bag
against the tile, begin walking along the tile, in the direction necessary to cause a small wave to form in front of the bag as it moves along the line of tile, the debris will be then lifted off of the tile and be deposited within the bag. Whew! That was hard to describe in words, but would so easily shown in a video or in a picture. It has been suggested to me that I should put up some pictures. That I will do in the future, but for right now I want to post up as much content as I can.
The next feature that I like about the Aqua Pro leaf bag is that although it is more expensive, the bag and the frame as well as various parts when worn out can be purchased individually from the Aqua Pro dealers or the manufacturer. I do not like the smaller leaf nets that look like a large fly swatter - they are a waste of time.
Pool Brush
The pool brush is a simple and yet an important tool. This tool is used to brush off dirt, bacteria, and algae that have settled against the walls of the pool. By dislodging them, the filter can remove the dirt and debris and the disinfectant used has a second chance to kill these microorganisms.
The vacuuming that you may do, or the automatic cleaner that you may use, cannot remove or get at all the pool's dirt and living organisms. Some of these critters use the roughness of the pool wall or bottom to hide out in. The brush can. The technique here is simply to brush downward vigorously against the wall or bottom of the pool.
The brush can also be used to move dirt towards the main drain. If you have your pump on and the skimmer's divertor valve is set to draw water from the bottom of the pool, a substantial portion of that dirt will leave the pool via the main drain and get trapped by the filter.
The Jandy Leaf Master
You can think of the Jandy Leaf Master as a leaf bag that is powered by the tap water from your backyard faucet. This device again is attached to the end of your telescoping pool pole, with a regular garden hose connected to the device. Water squirts through a circular ring of holes, this draws in debris from around and under the device and deposits the debris into a lightweight bag connected to and encompassing the circular ring.
The Jandy Leaf Master is a handy tool to have around when there are a lot of leaves at the bottom of your pool. The device is moved slowly around the bottom of your pool, as it does it's job just be aware that it does stir up dirt and dust too, dirt and dust that blows right on through that bag. There are two options concerning that bag, a bag that just collects just larger objects and another that is called a silt bag, made with a finer weave.
It is a little tricky getting out of the pool. Don't turn the water off when it is still in the pool, the leaves and other stuff that has been collected will start to float out of the bag. So lift it out of the pool first, while it is still squirting water out, set it down on the pool's deck and then turn the water off at the faucet. There may be a valve to turn off the water on the device or you may be able to purchase one from a hardware store. At this point you can turn the device upside down, turn the bag inside out and empty the contents into a garbage can or bag.
Please note that this tool tends to tilt upwards, nose up. I have known pool service professionals to glue or affix a metal weight to it's forward edge, this helps quite a bit.
Automatic Cleaners
Automatic cleaners have removed a lot of the drudgery when it comes to keeping your pool clean. Before these devices came upon the scene, a pool owner or service professional had only a few options when it came to keeping a pool clean. No matter how well the swimming pool's in-floor pop up systems were working, they still had to vacuum up dirt, time to time, in the pool's "dead spots". There are three types of automatic pool cleaner: suction side, pressure side and electrically powered robotic. Automatic cleaners will be covered in the next post.
Friday, June 17, 2011
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
The Golden Triangle
What is the Golden Triangle? It is a memory enhancement image that helps us remember the three most important factors that will concern us from now on. All of the problems that arise and all the problems that are resolved concerning your swimming pool fall into one of these three classifications.
So imagine a triangle. At the very top, put the word sanitation, in the lower right the word circulation and finally in the lower left, the word filtration. Obviously, it doesn't really matter where you put the words, or if the words are inside or outside the triangle. It is your choice.
But what is really important here is that you remember that if you have good sanitation, good circulation, and good filtration, you are the proud owner of a pool that is very swimable. Conversely, if any one of these three items is deficient, then you are going to have to stay out of your pool, otherwise you could get sick, very sick.
Sanitation, circulation, and filtration, are the words that the corners of our imaginary Golden Triangle point to, let that image burn into your mind. Why is it golden? Because if you take the time to memorize this image, you will save money. You will save time. You will save work, both mental and physical.
For instance: When I went into the backyard of a potential customer whose pool had been limping along for years, I held the Golden Triangle in my mind, and automatically made the following assessments …. Does this pool have proper sanitation? Does this pool have proper circulation? Does this pool have proper filtration? The answers to these questions would lead me quickly to solutions for the customer.
I may be boring you with the repetition of these classifications, but it is that important, because from within this theoretical framework, this Golden Triangle, we will move away from ignorance and confusion and move towards having more understanding and control over your pool. So with that in mind, the next post will begin to cover sanitation.
So imagine a triangle. At the very top, put the word sanitation, in the lower right the word circulation and finally in the lower left, the word filtration. Obviously, it doesn't really matter where you put the words, or if the words are inside or outside the triangle. It is your choice.
But what is really important here is that you remember that if you have good sanitation, good circulation, and good filtration, you are the proud owner of a pool that is very swimable. Conversely, if any one of these three items is deficient, then you are going to have to stay out of your pool, otherwise you could get sick, very sick.
Sanitation, circulation, and filtration, are the words that the corners of our imaginary Golden Triangle point to, let that image burn into your mind. Why is it golden? Because if you take the time to memorize this image, you will save money. You will save time. You will save work, both mental and physical.
For instance: When I went into the backyard of a potential customer whose pool had been limping along for years, I held the Golden Triangle in my mind, and automatically made the following assessments …. Does this pool have proper sanitation? Does this pool have proper circulation? Does this pool have proper filtration? The answers to these questions would lead me quickly to solutions for the customer.
I may be boring you with the repetition of these classifications, but it is that important, because from within this theoretical framework, this Golden Triangle, we will move away from ignorance and confusion and move towards having more understanding and control over your pool. So with that in mind, the next post will begin to cover sanitation.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Mother Nature's Directive Concerning Pools
Do you know what Mother Nature is trying to do? She is desperately trying to change your clean, clear, and very swimable body of water into a green pond. Yes, a slimy green pond containing not only algae, but with mosquito larva, various forms of bacteria and viruses, tadpoles, ducks, and even fish which have been thrown into the mix by the very helpful Maricopa County Health Department. The fish eat the mosquito larva by the way. So...In the Sonoran Desert, (with it's extreme weather conditions: the day after day of seemingly unending sunlight, heat, dry air, and summer dust storms), conspires to press forward the natural agenda, which is to fill up your pool with critters of the pondie, swampie type.
All of your swimming pool's equipment, the pump, the filter, etc., and all of your personal effort and money are directed towards preventing that from happening. You are battling Mother Nature here, or the "natural elementals" if you prefer. She is a very tenacious, persistent antagonist. You will have your work cut out for you!
In dealing with many pools, I can tell you that some of the rules of swimming pool operation that are effective in a more moderate climate are useless here in the Sonoran Desert. What I have learned from "in the field" observations and experiences is going to sometimes contradict what you may read in a book, on the internet, in a product manual or in literature that was developed and printed for the areas of the country along the Atlantic Seaboard, the Midwest, or the Californian Mediterranean climate. The authors of these publications may have impressive credentials, and may be giving out correct information for their local conditions, but what I am going to tell you about is " What just simply works here in the desert" and this information will probably not be valid elsewhere.
For instance: I remember in 1983, that was the year I began my own pool service business. I had read all the educational material I could find. I followed to the letter all of the manuals that came with the major, well know chlorine test kits. I applied their rules to the servicing of my customer's pools.
Can you guess what began to happen? As the warm weather began to occur in March and April of that year, the pools that customers had placed in my trust, the pools that I claimed to be able to take care of, began to turn green. Do you want me to describe these customers facial expressions of annoyance to you? Do I need to describe the humiliation I felt? I was at a loss, incapable of explaining to them what happened.
I went to my wholesaler in Phoenix at the time, Superior Pool Products, and told my story to a counterman who was of no help, when a fellow serviceman, who had that worn out "been through it all look" turned to me and simply said "Run your chlorine levels a 3 parts per million." I said "What? All the manuals, and the testing kits say 1 to 1.5 parts per million max." He retorted, " If you run your pools at 3 parts per million, your pools won't turn green anymore." You know what? After I adjusted the chlorine levels higher by regularly adding a bit more chlorine, they never did turn green anymore! That was a revelation for me. Things are different here! Wow! But I already knew that! Car batteries wear out faster, car paint oxidizes, everyone tans or burns much easier here, the sky stays blue, sidewalks are too hot to walk barefoot on, it doesn't rain much, dust is everywhere, people vacation in the winter here and on and on. So...No Duh!
Well I began to talk to other local servicemen that have been around for a while and I began to experiment to find out what works and what doesn't and I am letting you in on what I found out. The next post will cover the Golden Triangle.
All of your swimming pool's equipment, the pump, the filter, etc., and all of your personal effort and money are directed towards preventing that from happening. You are battling Mother Nature here, or the "natural elementals" if you prefer. She is a very tenacious, persistent antagonist. You will have your work cut out for you!
In dealing with many pools, I can tell you that some of the rules of swimming pool operation that are effective in a more moderate climate are useless here in the Sonoran Desert. What I have learned from "in the field" observations and experiences is going to sometimes contradict what you may read in a book, on the internet, in a product manual or in literature that was developed and printed for the areas of the country along the Atlantic Seaboard, the Midwest, or the Californian Mediterranean climate. The authors of these publications may have impressive credentials, and may be giving out correct information for their local conditions, but what I am going to tell you about is " What just simply works here in the desert" and this information will probably not be valid elsewhere.
For instance: I remember in 1983, that was the year I began my own pool service business. I had read all the educational material I could find. I followed to the letter all of the manuals that came with the major, well know chlorine test kits. I applied their rules to the servicing of my customer's pools.
Can you guess what began to happen? As the warm weather began to occur in March and April of that year, the pools that customers had placed in my trust, the pools that I claimed to be able to take care of, began to turn green. Do you want me to describe these customers facial expressions of annoyance to you? Do I need to describe the humiliation I felt? I was at a loss, incapable of explaining to them what happened.
I went to my wholesaler in Phoenix at the time, Superior Pool Products, and told my story to a counterman who was of no help, when a fellow serviceman, who had that worn out "been through it all look" turned to me and simply said "Run your chlorine levels a 3 parts per million." I said "What? All the manuals, and the testing kits say 1 to 1.5 parts per million max." He retorted, " If you run your pools at 3 parts per million, your pools won't turn green anymore." You know what? After I adjusted the chlorine levels higher by regularly adding a bit more chlorine, they never did turn green anymore! That was a revelation for me. Things are different here! Wow! But I already knew that! Car batteries wear out faster, car paint oxidizes, everyone tans or burns much easier here, the sky stays blue, sidewalks are too hot to walk barefoot on, it doesn't rain much, dust is everywhere, people vacation in the winter here and on and on. So...No Duh!
Well I began to talk to other local servicemen that have been around for a while and I began to experiment to find out what works and what doesn't and I am letting you in on what I found out. The next post will cover the Golden Triangle.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Desert Landscaping for Desert Pools
You notice I didn't title this post: Landscaping for Swimming Pools, that's because the very best landscaping around your pool is none whatsoever. A Zen Buddhist garden would perhaps be nice. What I am getting at is don't load up the area around your pool with a lot of vegetation that is going to sooner or later get inside the pool. Nothing is more annoying than to go on a service call and into a potential customers back yard and find that their pool is surrounded by Eucalyptus or Pine trees, Bougainvillea, or Oleander bushes. These plants shed like crazy, the leaves of the Eucalyptus in particular appear to be designed specifically to plug up the pool skimmer and Pine tree needles are very difficult to scoop up off the pool bottom. Bougainvillea bushes can shed their pink fake blossoms all over the surface, Oleander leaves are poisonous. These are the very worst plants around a pool. I have asked pool owners to cut down trees and bushes, in order to make their pools usable.
The sequence of damage that can occur has been covered in an earlier post but happens often enough that I want to say it again. That is that once the skimmer becomes full then the pump begins to pull water from the bottom of the pool and/or the automatic pool cleaner. The debris either plugs the main drain or the cleaner, and then the pump becomes starved for water. Now, the pump may start to pull debris through the main drain for a while, and start to fill the pump strainer basket. But at some point that basket is going to be filled and the pump will overheat and a melt down will occur. Then you will have a warped pump housing and perhaps warped pipes. So, the more vegetation you plant around the around the swimming pool the more likely, and the more often you will have this problem. If you want some shade, invest in a large pool umbrella, if you do this, don't buy one that comes with a glass table, they do get toppled, during dust storms, onto the cool deck or into the pool, and the resulting broken glass is not easily removed from the deck or from within the pool. Another shade solution is to build a gazebo nearby, or have a portion of the pool, covered by a patio overhang.
Another problem that occurs frequently is because of the great need of non-desert plants for water. If you plant this type of vegetation and water it often, as you must, or if you plant a lawn that comes right up to the the side of the pool and water the lawn properly, what you will cause to happen ultimately, is for the cool deck to break or chip away. Water will get under the cool deck, even if there is vapor barrier, and efflorescence will occur. As the water soaks the concrete it will ultimately evaporate from the concrete's surface causing minerals to wick up from the ground and from within the concrete. This will leave a white powdery substance, between the concrete surface and the coating of cool deck. This will break the bond between the concrete and cool deck. I am sure that you have seen this white powder on sidewalks around town, that is efflorescence. That is the same process that happens to your pool deck. So again stick with desert landscaping.
Also, try to avoid using crushed rock in the area around the pool. It always seems to get kicked in and usually jams up the automatic cleaner or gets sucked up through the main drain, and sneaks pass the pump strainer basket to plug the pump's impeller.
One last item here, there always has been and will always will be a struggle between the lawn service and the pool service people, the lawn service is seemly always determined to mow grass clippings into the pool, don't allow that to happen if you are a home owner that employs these businesses. The next post will cover Mother Nature's Directive concerning pools.
The sequence of damage that can occur has been covered in an earlier post but happens often enough that I want to say it again. That is that once the skimmer becomes full then the pump begins to pull water from the bottom of the pool and/or the automatic pool cleaner. The debris either plugs the main drain or the cleaner, and then the pump becomes starved for water. Now, the pump may start to pull debris through the main drain for a while, and start to fill the pump strainer basket. But at some point that basket is going to be filled and the pump will overheat and a melt down will occur. Then you will have a warped pump housing and perhaps warped pipes. So, the more vegetation you plant around the around the swimming pool the more likely, and the more often you will have this problem. If you want some shade, invest in a large pool umbrella, if you do this, don't buy one that comes with a glass table, they do get toppled, during dust storms, onto the cool deck or into the pool, and the resulting broken glass is not easily removed from the deck or from within the pool. Another shade solution is to build a gazebo nearby, or have a portion of the pool, covered by a patio overhang.
Another problem that occurs frequently is because of the great need of non-desert plants for water. If you plant this type of vegetation and water it often, as you must, or if you plant a lawn that comes right up to the the side of the pool and water the lawn properly, what you will cause to happen ultimately, is for the cool deck to break or chip away. Water will get under the cool deck, even if there is vapor barrier, and efflorescence will occur. As the water soaks the concrete it will ultimately evaporate from the concrete's surface causing minerals to wick up from the ground and from within the concrete. This will leave a white powdery substance, between the concrete surface and the coating of cool deck. This will break the bond between the concrete and cool deck. I am sure that you have seen this white powder on sidewalks around town, that is efflorescence. That is the same process that happens to your pool deck. So again stick with desert landscaping.
Also, try to avoid using crushed rock in the area around the pool. It always seems to get kicked in and usually jams up the automatic cleaner or gets sucked up through the main drain, and sneaks pass the pump strainer basket to plug the pump's impeller.
One last item here, there always has been and will always will be a struggle between the lawn service and the pool service people, the lawn service is seemly always determined to mow grass clippings into the pool, don't allow that to happen if you are a home owner that employs these businesses. The next post will cover Mother Nature's Directive concerning pools.
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