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.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Inlet Placement and Direction
Your swimming pool water, after it has been sanitized and filtered returns to your pool by way of inlets that have been strategically placed around the pool's perimeter. These inlets if they have been improperly aimed will cause two or more eddies to form. The downside to this situation is that it prevents some dirt and debris from ever reaching the the skimmer area.
What you want is for all the dust, dirt, and debris that falls into your pool to keep passing in front of the skimmer area until it is drawn into the basket and none left to become waterlogged and sink to the bottom of the pool. This idealized situation can be approached if you adjust your inlets accordingly. Obviously, all the inlets have to be aimed in one direction so that they will be working in concert with each other to accomplish this objective. What you want here is for the pool water to rotate as one large whirlpool.
If the inlets are all set to move the pool's body of water in one direction you must look at the shape of the pool and decide what direction is going to be best. Sometimes the shape of the pool makes one direction better than another due to steps or a love seat alongside a skimmer.
Even if you have your inlets aimed to accomplish this, there is still the possibility that they may be aimed to high or too low. If the inlet jets are aimed too high then there will be an excessive amount of turbulence on the surface, causing dirt and debris to thrash around, becoming waterlogged or submerged almost immediately. If the inlet jets are aimed too low then the desired rotation will not occur. The proper positioning of each individual inlet jet is to aim the inlet so that the returning water to the pool just obliquely glances the surface, moving the debris along without sinking it.
Most inlet/return jets can be adjusted by loosening the ring that fixes the inlet/return mechanism to the threaded return pipe. A small pipe wrench can be used to loosen an overly tightened ring, be aware that these are plastic parts and are fragile, often times these tighten down rings will break before they loosen. Then a trip to the local pool store will be needed for a replacement. Once the inlet ring has been loosened, you can insert a philips screwdriver into the "eyeball hole" and carefully move the eyeball sideways or up and down. Again, this part is fragile too and may break.
The whole point of this post is to try and force the pool to clean itself and concentrate the dirt and debris into the skimmer basket, minimizing the service time for you the pool owner. The next post will cover Desert Landscaping for Desert Pools
What you want is for all the dust, dirt, and debris that falls into your pool to keep passing in front of the skimmer area until it is drawn into the basket and none left to become waterlogged and sink to the bottom of the pool. This idealized situation can be approached if you adjust your inlets accordingly. Obviously, all the inlets have to be aimed in one direction so that they will be working in concert with each other to accomplish this objective. What you want here is for the pool water to rotate as one large whirlpool.
If the inlets are all set to move the pool's body of water in one direction you must look at the shape of the pool and decide what direction is going to be best. Sometimes the shape of the pool makes one direction better than another due to steps or a love seat alongside a skimmer.
Even if you have your inlets aimed to accomplish this, there is still the possibility that they may be aimed to high or too low. If the inlet jets are aimed too high then there will be an excessive amount of turbulence on the surface, causing dirt and debris to thrash around, becoming waterlogged or submerged almost immediately. If the inlet jets are aimed too low then the desired rotation will not occur. The proper positioning of each individual inlet jet is to aim the inlet so that the returning water to the pool just obliquely glances the surface, moving the debris along without sinking it.
Most inlet/return jets can be adjusted by loosening the ring that fixes the inlet/return mechanism to the threaded return pipe. A small pipe wrench can be used to loosen an overly tightened ring, be aware that these are plastic parts and are fragile, often times these tighten down rings will break before they loosen. Then a trip to the local pool store will be needed for a replacement. Once the inlet ring has been loosened, you can insert a philips screwdriver into the "eyeball hole" and carefully move the eyeball sideways or up and down. Again, this part is fragile too and may break.
The whole point of this post is to try and force the pool to clean itself and concentrate the dirt and debris into the skimmer basket, minimizing the service time for you the pool owner. The next post will cover Desert Landscaping for Desert Pools
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Swimming Pool Orientation and Skimmer Placement
In the Phoenix and Scottsdale areas, for that matter in all of Maricopa County, all pools should have an East/West orientation. Actually the best direction would be in a East/Northeast to West/Southwest position. So if north were at the twelve o'clock position on a clock face, then the pool would be angled from about the two o'clock to the eight o'clock position. For most of the year, the wind comes from the west/southwest. During the summer monsoon, often the dust storms originate from the northeast or easterly mountain ranges, occasionally from the southwest plain. The whole point of this discussion is to place the skimmers in that part of the pool where the wind is going to blow debris.
Although, as I pointed out before, nothing gets blown out of your swimming pool, it sure does get blown around inside of it! So the idea is to let mother nature blow the debris towards a skimmer. So what you really want here is to have two skimmers, each one of which is located at both ends of a oval pool. During most of the year, and especially during the spring, the wind in Arizona blows from the west or southwest, this will blow most of the floating debris towards the skimmer located on the east end of the pool. Obviously, during the monsoon season, the wind will usually blow from the other direction, whereby the other skimmer will pick up most of the debris.
If both skimmers are attached to the same pump the water flow from these skimmers can be regulated by a three-way valve just prior to the pump. My choice would be for a Jandy 3-way valve to be installed here. This way the suction from one or the other skimmer can be completely shut off, or left so that there is suction from both. Having two skimmers installed in your pool is preferable for several reasons, the first is what I indicated above, the second is that they will store more debris, the third is the fact that you can, if necessary, use the second as a connection for an automatic suction type of cleaner, if you don't have a dedicated line.
The above information concerning monsoon wind direction is applicable only for the Glendale, Phoenix and Scottsdale areas, the more distant you are from these cities, the more likely your local monsoon dust storm/wind direction will diverge. Also realize this is an idealized design. A lot of and maybe most pools in the valley here are of a modified rectangular shape, with the skimmer being placed on that part of the pool that is closest to the pump and filter area. The next post will be about inlet placement and direction.
Although, as I pointed out before, nothing gets blown out of your swimming pool, it sure does get blown around inside of it! So the idea is to let mother nature blow the debris towards a skimmer. So what you really want here is to have two skimmers, each one of which is located at both ends of a oval pool. During most of the year, and especially during the spring, the wind in Arizona blows from the west or southwest, this will blow most of the floating debris towards the skimmer located on the east end of the pool. Obviously, during the monsoon season, the wind will usually blow from the other direction, whereby the other skimmer will pick up most of the debris.
If both skimmers are attached to the same pump the water flow from these skimmers can be regulated by a three-way valve just prior to the pump. My choice would be for a Jandy 3-way valve to be installed here. This way the suction from one or the other skimmer can be completely shut off, or left so that there is suction from both. Having two skimmers installed in your pool is preferable for several reasons, the first is what I indicated above, the second is that they will store more debris, the third is the fact that you can, if necessary, use the second as a connection for an automatic suction type of cleaner, if you don't have a dedicated line.
The above information concerning monsoon wind direction is applicable only for the Glendale, Phoenix and Scottsdale areas, the more distant you are from these cities, the more likely your local monsoon dust storm/wind direction will diverge. Also realize this is an idealized design. A lot of and maybe most pools in the valley here are of a modified rectangular shape, with the skimmer being placed on that part of the pool that is closest to the pump and filter area. The next post will be about inlet placement and direction.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Swimming Pool Skimmers
The most difficult job on a regular basis that you pool owners or professionals have is just keeping the pool clean. The first line of defense against the dirt that gets in the pool is the skimmer. [Warning: New knowledge ahead!]....Have you ever noticed that when the wind blows during the spring's windy season or the summer's monsoon, dirt and dust are blown around? I'm sure you have!.... thats because it doesn't stick very well to concrete or any hard surface, even other dirt. But boy does that stuff ever stick to the surface of water. Have ever you noticed no matter how hard the wind blows, it never blows anything back out of your pool? It is a one way street here, garbage in, garbage never comes out. So, the skimmer's only job is to pull dirt, leaves, insects and all sorts of nasty debris off of the surface of your pool and deposit those items into the basket. That basket gets to be emptied by you.
I've always tried to avoid doing a too close of an analysis of the skimmer basket's contents.... NOTE: [Warning: All warnings from now on are real!]....[Warning: Sometimes live/dead rattlesnakes, other colorful snakes, dogs, cats, Scottsdale rats, frogs, rabbits, skunks, birds, scorpions,and weird insects are found inside your skimmer basket! Sometimes these dead animals, and insects want to bite, or sting you, but mostly they are in the process of moving toward a bad state of decay and tend to fall apart and stink really bad!] Yuck! This is one of the reasons I gave up pool service and got into pool repair! You have to watch out for insidious plant (Triffid like) debris too: sometimes there will be a sharp thorn in the skimmer, sometimes there will be a poisonous, irritating, or blistering leaf in the skimmer. Always dread taking the lid off the skimmer. Always dread having to look into the basket. Always dread having to look into your pool, you may see something moving around, something you don't want to deal with, anyway:
Use latex or vinyl gloves to clean out the basket or use an old pool serviceman's trick, that is to have two baskets. One to pull out of the skimmer and let dry out, and the one laying around the pool equipment from last time you forced yourself to service the pool, the one that is already dried out, which now is easy to dump the contents out of, by tapping it on the fence or something. Sometimes you find the skimmer basket and diverter valve ajar. This is not a good sign. It will be covered in a later post. But just note that because of this, sometimes these critters get sucked up and stuck in the pipe running back to the pump, or get deposited and compressed into the very small pump strainer basket. Yuck #2.
There are different makes of skimmers out there for residential pools, but over the years it appears that the basic design has settled down to the following parts: there is a lid that should be flush with the cool deck, if you pull the lid off and look down you should see a basket. (NOTE: If the sun has been shining on the lid it may be hard to take off, just pour some pool water on the lid, that will cool it off and shrink it making removal easy). Go ahead and pull the basket out. Once the basket is out of the way there should be a water control valve, sometimes known as the diverter valve, below the basket. It should be about six inches wide and look like a mini flying saucer, or maybe it is the size of a flying saucer. It's job is to regulate the suction of water between the skimmer opening and the main drain at the bottom of the pool. If you turn the water valve aka diverter valve over, you will see a plastic or metal flap that may be partially covering an opening. This is the actual water control mechanism. If you don't see that flap, go buy another one. A metal one if you can. They are stronger, and don't break, just bend. That flap is an important part. Get one. Don't forget to buy the stainless steel screw that you need to attach it, any other type of screw will rust quickly and you may be hunting later for that metal flap. It will either be in the pump strainer basket or stuck in the pipe between the skimmer and pump.
If you move that flap completely over the opening at the bottom of the diverter valve, and place it back into it's original position and turn the pool on, the skimming action will be almost completely shut down and most of the water will be drawn by the pump from the bottom of the pool via the main drain. The times you may want that flap in that position is when, for instance, you have just finished brushing down the pool, or when the pool water itself has become full of suspended dust from a dust storm.
If you move that flap completely away from that opening, and place the diverter valve back into it's original position, nearly all the water will be drawn by the pump through the front opening of the skimmer and very little water will be pulled in from the main drain at the bottom of the pool. So the skimmer opening at the water line will be the only source of water for the pump. You will want the diverter valve to be set in this position, and the pool on, during windy conditions or dust storms. Many times I have set the flap to be in a in between position, so that some water is pulled from both the main drain and the skimmer at the same time. Another thing to look for is a rubber o-ring at the very bottom of the skimmer housing, against this o-ring the divertor valve should rest. If this o-ring is missing or worn, replace it with a new one.
The last part of the divertor valve that I will talk about is the hollow float in it's center. If you hold the valve upright in your hand and shake it, you will see that float is loose and not connected to the rest of the valve. When your swimming pool's water level gets too low, do to some problem and air is detected by the float, the lack of water will cause it to drop down against the bottom of the valve and shut down the skimming action. The pump will now draw water exclusively, but temporarily, from the main drain at the bottom of the pool. Hopefully, you will be around to take corrective measures. Otherwise, the water level may continue to lower and the pump may be starved for water due to debris being pulled up from the main drain and being deposited directly into the very small pump strainer basket. Depending on how long this condition lasts, that small basket will fill up. If not cleaned out in time, a melt down in the pump housing will ensue. You may get a warped pump housing, wherein or whereon there may be several water or air leaks. A very fascinating and artistic, piping situation in and around that over heated pump may present itself: you may be the proud owner of warped piping that now looks like it belongs in a famous Picasso painting.
The next part of the skimmer you need to know about is the weir. Lay down on your tummy on top of the skimmer area. Look over the side of the pool into the skimmer opening at the side of the pool. You should see a rectangular flap of plastic about six inches across. This is the weir, it is attached by screws to the walls of the skimmer opening. It happily floats to wherever the water level is. Its function is to enhance the flow of water into the skimmer (skimming action). When the pump is off, the weir should be floating partially above the surface of the water. If you turn the pool on and the weir is properly installed you should see that the position of the weir has changed. Now the weir is completely submersed below the water line with no less than about 3/4 of an inch of water rushing over the top of it. By restricting the flow of water to a smaller area, the speed of the flow/skimming is increased tremendously.
Sometimes the weir or the walls of the skimmer opening to the pool become warped through the years, because of exposure to the summer heat. The weir may get stuck in an up or down position in this case, either stopping the flow of water or reducing the effectiveness of the skimmer. Go to your local pool store and get a smaller, spring loaded weir.... if you buy a exact duplicate of what you have, it may be hard to get it screwed back in and it may just get stuck again. The downside to the spring loaded weir is: now you will have to check it on a regular basis. It has a tendency to move upward in the skimmer. Remember to install the new weir in the proper direction. The hinged part is nearer the pool itself, the other side, the one that moves up and down the most and is closest to the water's surface faces towards the skimmer basket. If you put the skimmer's weir in backwards, it will immediately rise up, seal off and block the flow of water into the skimmer, as soon as the pump is turned on. Also try to install it in the same place as the original. I have, in a pinch, temporarily replaced a weir with an appropriately sized and shaped rock or rocks! If you do this, be sure that the pool's water leveler/filler is functioning properly. Rocks do not float up and down as well as weirs.
You would be surprised at how many times I have been in a customer's backyard, doing a repair on some part of a pool, only to discover that some part of the skimmer is missing. Perhaps the weir, basket, or the diverter valve is missing, broken, or just set up wrong, or the basket is completely full of debris and restricting the flow of water to the pump.
Another problem I ran into repeatedly is that during the summer, some pool owners try to save money by not running the pump long enough. Don't you do that! Not running the pump is going to cost you in other ways, the water will not be filtered as well, the skimmer won't work properly, you or your kids or grandkids may get odd infections, and guess what?....You will be spending a lot more time cleaning your pool. You don't like doing that do you? So the skimmer must have the pump on to do it's job! If you want to save money on electricity, do it in the winter when the water is refrigerated, and the pool isn't being used, even turn the pool off in January, it will be OK.
Now, I know that the cost of the electric bill gets sky high in the summer. Running the pump eight hours a day will cost you about twenty five to thirty bucks a month. Be aware that refrigerating your house is why your bill is high, not because you are operating your pool's pump. When is the best time to run the pool in the summer? If money is no object, then all of the time, if noise is a problem for you or neighbors then adjust the time accordingly. If money is an issue, then run the pool between the hours of four in the afternoon to midnight, Why? Because windy conditions occur in the Sonoran desert during or just before this time. Why wait until all the dust, dirt and debris from the latest dust storm become waterlogged and sink to the bottom of the pool? Now that stuff is going to be harder to get out. An annoying problem in this regard, (Am I complaining too much?......Nah!) is when some pool owners subscribe to an electrical program that rewards them with a discount for using electricity during certain parts of the day. Run your pool during the evening anyway. Remember: The skimmer is your first line of defense against a dirty pool. Use it! The next post will cover skimmer placement and pool orientation.
I've always tried to avoid doing a too close of an analysis of the skimmer basket's contents.... NOTE: [Warning: All warnings from now on are real!]....[Warning: Sometimes live/dead rattlesnakes, other colorful snakes, dogs, cats, Scottsdale rats, frogs, rabbits, skunks, birds, scorpions,and weird insects are found inside your skimmer basket! Sometimes these dead animals, and insects want to bite, or sting you, but mostly they are in the process of moving toward a bad state of decay and tend to fall apart and stink really bad!] Yuck! This is one of the reasons I gave up pool service and got into pool repair! You have to watch out for insidious plant (Triffid like) debris too: sometimes there will be a sharp thorn in the skimmer, sometimes there will be a poisonous, irritating, or blistering leaf in the skimmer. Always dread taking the lid off the skimmer. Always dread having to look into the basket. Always dread having to look into your pool, you may see something moving around, something you don't want to deal with, anyway:
Use latex or vinyl gloves to clean out the basket or use an old pool serviceman's trick, that is to have two baskets. One to pull out of the skimmer and let dry out, and the one laying around the pool equipment from last time you forced yourself to service the pool, the one that is already dried out, which now is easy to dump the contents out of, by tapping it on the fence or something. Sometimes you find the skimmer basket and diverter valve ajar. This is not a good sign. It will be covered in a later post. But just note that because of this, sometimes these critters get sucked up and stuck in the pipe running back to the pump, or get deposited and compressed into the very small pump strainer basket. Yuck #2.
There are different makes of skimmers out there for residential pools, but over the years it appears that the basic design has settled down to the following parts: there is a lid that should be flush with the cool deck, if you pull the lid off and look down you should see a basket. (NOTE: If the sun has been shining on the lid it may be hard to take off, just pour some pool water on the lid, that will cool it off and shrink it making removal easy). Go ahead and pull the basket out. Once the basket is out of the way there should be a water control valve, sometimes known as the diverter valve, below the basket. It should be about six inches wide and look like a mini flying saucer, or maybe it is the size of a flying saucer. It's job is to regulate the suction of water between the skimmer opening and the main drain at the bottom of the pool. If you turn the water valve aka diverter valve over, you will see a plastic or metal flap that may be partially covering an opening. This is the actual water control mechanism. If you don't see that flap, go buy another one. A metal one if you can. They are stronger, and don't break, just bend. That flap is an important part. Get one. Don't forget to buy the stainless steel screw that you need to attach it, any other type of screw will rust quickly and you may be hunting later for that metal flap. It will either be in the pump strainer basket or stuck in the pipe between the skimmer and pump.
If you move that flap completely over the opening at the bottom of the diverter valve, and place it back into it's original position and turn the pool on, the skimming action will be almost completely shut down and most of the water will be drawn by the pump from the bottom of the pool via the main drain. The times you may want that flap in that position is when, for instance, you have just finished brushing down the pool, or when the pool water itself has become full of suspended dust from a dust storm.
If you move that flap completely away from that opening, and place the diverter valve back into it's original position, nearly all the water will be drawn by the pump through the front opening of the skimmer and very little water will be pulled in from the main drain at the bottom of the pool. So the skimmer opening at the water line will be the only source of water for the pump. You will want the diverter valve to be set in this position, and the pool on, during windy conditions or dust storms. Many times I have set the flap to be in a in between position, so that some water is pulled from both the main drain and the skimmer at the same time. Another thing to look for is a rubber o-ring at the very bottom of the skimmer housing, against this o-ring the divertor valve should rest. If this o-ring is missing or worn, replace it with a new one.
The last part of the divertor valve that I will talk about is the hollow float in it's center. If you hold the valve upright in your hand and shake it, you will see that float is loose and not connected to the rest of the valve. When your swimming pool's water level gets too low, do to some problem and air is detected by the float, the lack of water will cause it to drop down against the bottom of the valve and shut down the skimming action. The pump will now draw water exclusively, but temporarily, from the main drain at the bottom of the pool. Hopefully, you will be around to take corrective measures. Otherwise, the water level may continue to lower and the pump may be starved for water due to debris being pulled up from the main drain and being deposited directly into the very small pump strainer basket. Depending on how long this condition lasts, that small basket will fill up. If not cleaned out in time, a melt down in the pump housing will ensue. You may get a warped pump housing, wherein or whereon there may be several water or air leaks. A very fascinating and artistic, piping situation in and around that over heated pump may present itself: you may be the proud owner of warped piping that now looks like it belongs in a famous Picasso painting.
The next part of the skimmer you need to know about is the weir. Lay down on your tummy on top of the skimmer area. Look over the side of the pool into the skimmer opening at the side of the pool. You should see a rectangular flap of plastic about six inches across. This is the weir, it is attached by screws to the walls of the skimmer opening. It happily floats to wherever the water level is. Its function is to enhance the flow of water into the skimmer (skimming action). When the pump is off, the weir should be floating partially above the surface of the water. If you turn the pool on and the weir is properly installed you should see that the position of the weir has changed. Now the weir is completely submersed below the water line with no less than about 3/4 of an inch of water rushing over the top of it. By restricting the flow of water to a smaller area, the speed of the flow/skimming is increased tremendously.
Sometimes the weir or the walls of the skimmer opening to the pool become warped through the years, because of exposure to the summer heat. The weir may get stuck in an up or down position in this case, either stopping the flow of water or reducing the effectiveness of the skimmer. Go to your local pool store and get a smaller, spring loaded weir.... if you buy a exact duplicate of what you have, it may be hard to get it screwed back in and it may just get stuck again. The downside to the spring loaded weir is: now you will have to check it on a regular basis. It has a tendency to move upward in the skimmer. Remember to install the new weir in the proper direction. The hinged part is nearer the pool itself, the other side, the one that moves up and down the most and is closest to the water's surface faces towards the skimmer basket. If you put the skimmer's weir in backwards, it will immediately rise up, seal off and block the flow of water into the skimmer, as soon as the pump is turned on. Also try to install it in the same place as the original. I have, in a pinch, temporarily replaced a weir with an appropriately sized and shaped rock or rocks! If you do this, be sure that the pool's water leveler/filler is functioning properly. Rocks do not float up and down as well as weirs.
You would be surprised at how many times I have been in a customer's backyard, doing a repair on some part of a pool, only to discover that some part of the skimmer is missing. Perhaps the weir, basket, or the diverter valve is missing, broken, or just set up wrong, or the basket is completely full of debris and restricting the flow of water to the pump.
Another problem I ran into repeatedly is that during the summer, some pool owners try to save money by not running the pump long enough. Don't you do that! Not running the pump is going to cost you in other ways, the water will not be filtered as well, the skimmer won't work properly, you or your kids or grandkids may get odd infections, and guess what?....You will be spending a lot more time cleaning your pool. You don't like doing that do you? So the skimmer must have the pump on to do it's job! If you want to save money on electricity, do it in the winter when the water is refrigerated, and the pool isn't being used, even turn the pool off in January, it will be OK.
Now, I know that the cost of the electric bill gets sky high in the summer. Running the pump eight hours a day will cost you about twenty five to thirty bucks a month. Be aware that refrigerating your house is why your bill is high, not because you are operating your pool's pump. When is the best time to run the pool in the summer? If money is no object, then all of the time, if noise is a problem for you or neighbors then adjust the time accordingly. If money is an issue, then run the pool between the hours of four in the afternoon to midnight, Why? Because windy conditions occur in the Sonoran desert during or just before this time. Why wait until all the dust, dirt and debris from the latest dust storm become waterlogged and sink to the bottom of the pool? Now that stuff is going to be harder to get out. An annoying problem in this regard, (Am I complaining too much?......Nah!) is when some pool owners subscribe to an electrical program that rewards them with a discount for using electricity during certain parts of the day. Run your pool during the evening anyway. Remember: The skimmer is your first line of defense against a dirty pool. Use it! The next post will cover skimmer placement and pool orientation.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Pool Vessel Shape
It is an old joke in the industry that you only tell your enemy to get a swimming pool! That's because it takes a surprising amount of effort to keep your pool properly maintained, and once it has been installed it is not going anywhere. So... let's start with the design of what is termed the pools vessel, or simply that part of the pool that actually contains the water.
You pool owners or professionals out there know that the most annoying part of your swimming pool maintenance program is the cleaning of the pool, it is hard to do and takes up a lot of your time. So the vessel design or shape that is going to be the easiest to clean is going to be a simple circle with the deepest part in the center of that circle, with the whole thing approaching the shape of the bottom half of a sphere, Why? Because if all of the inlets are set in one direction then the water will move with a circular "whirlpool" movement, and all of the dirt and debris that gets into the pool will tend to move towards the center and/or drop out by the deepest part of the pool, thereby concentrating the debris and dirt into a small area, making netting and vacuuming a much less time consuming process for you the pool owner. Gravity is our friend this time!
Another helpful feature of having a circular pool is that obviously that it does not have any corners! In a boxy, rectangular pool, corners interfere with the circulation of the water, and dirt and debris tend to bunch up in the corners and fall to the the bottom under each corner. You can't clean corners easily. Automated cleaners can't clean corners easily. So no corners allowed.
Now, how many of you out there have or want a circular pool? .... Nobody? Well, thats because circular pools are ugly. Proof of that statement is: how often have you seen an in ground circular pool? I have only seen a couple in my life. You do see many above ground pools in that shape but that is because it is a strong shape for that type of pool. But still, you want to avoid getting a rectangular, box shaped in ground pool, for the reasons stated above. So the compromise, one that I would recommend is a an oval. It is a pleasant shape to look at, especially one that is constructed with the Golden Ellipse in mind, http://jwilson.coe.uga.edu/emt669/student.folders/frietag.mark/homepage/goldenratio/goldenratio.html. Happily, there are many of them around and you may own one. With an oval pool you will still basically get the same benefits of a circular pool, one that is esthetically pleasing.
Unfortunately, usually the bottom of an oval pool is not in the center, but off set to a large degree to make the pool more usable.
What if you already own a rectangular pool? Well that would be not be something that can be fixed easily and would come under my classification of a swimming pool with a guess what?... a "structural problem" However, an owner of a rectangular pool can still aim the inlets in a circular direction and force the water to flow in a whirlpool like motion to a certain extent, thereby modifying the structural problem somewhat. Inlet positioning will be covered later. The next post will cover skimmers.
You pool owners or professionals out there know that the most annoying part of your swimming pool maintenance program is the cleaning of the pool, it is hard to do and takes up a lot of your time. So the vessel design or shape that is going to be the easiest to clean is going to be a simple circle with the deepest part in the center of that circle, with the whole thing approaching the shape of the bottom half of a sphere, Why? Because if all of the inlets are set in one direction then the water will move with a circular "whirlpool" movement, and all of the dirt and debris that gets into the pool will tend to move towards the center and/or drop out by the deepest part of the pool, thereby concentrating the debris and dirt into a small area, making netting and vacuuming a much less time consuming process for you the pool owner. Gravity is our friend this time!
Another helpful feature of having a circular pool is that obviously that it does not have any corners! In a boxy, rectangular pool, corners interfere with the circulation of the water, and dirt and debris tend to bunch up in the corners and fall to the the bottom under each corner. You can't clean corners easily. Automated cleaners can't clean corners easily. So no corners allowed.
Now, how many of you out there have or want a circular pool? .... Nobody? Well, thats because circular pools are ugly. Proof of that statement is: how often have you seen an in ground circular pool? I have only seen a couple in my life. You do see many above ground pools in that shape but that is because it is a strong shape for that type of pool. But still, you want to avoid getting a rectangular, box shaped in ground pool, for the reasons stated above. So the compromise, one that I would recommend is a an oval. It is a pleasant shape to look at, especially one that is constructed with the Golden Ellipse in mind, http://jwilson.coe.uga.edu/emt669/student.folders/frietag.mark/homepage/goldenratio/goldenratio.html. Happily, there are many of them around and you may own one. With an oval pool you will still basically get the same benefits of a circular pool, one that is esthetically pleasing.
Unfortunately, usually the bottom of an oval pool is not in the center, but off set to a large degree to make the pool more usable.
What if you already own a rectangular pool? Well that would be not be something that can be fixed easily and would come under my classification of a swimming pool with a guess what?... a "structural problem" However, an owner of a rectangular pool can still aim the inlets in a circular direction and force the water to flow in a whirlpool like motion to a certain extent, thereby modifying the structural problem somewhat. Inlet positioning will be covered later. The next post will cover skimmers.
Friday, April 15, 2011
Swimming Pool Maintenance in the Sonoran Desert
Welcome to my Swimming Pool Maintenance in the Sonoran Desert Blog. My name is Nick Owens and I have been in the swimming pool repair and maintenance business here in the Scottsdale and Phoenix areas since 1983. I am now retired from the business, however I am still interested in the field. It is my intent to explore all the facets of swimming pool ownership here in Arizona, and in particular the rather unique problems that occur with swimming pool ownership in the Sonoran Desert. Please note that all of this content is Copyrighted 2011 by Nick Owens and is not to be used in or by any other website except for small excerpts with a credit and link back to this blog.
The first topic that we need to discuss is that of swimming pool design. If you are a Arizona resident and an owner of a pool here, you already know of some of the problems that occur on a repeated basis: extremely high temperatures and high water evaporation rates, repeated trashing the pool by dust storms during the summer monsoon season, blooming of the pool into a green pond, seasonal overloading of the swimming pool, sometimes poor maintenance by professionals, repair problems, and the list can go on. As the years went by and my experience grew, I became convinced by my "in the field" observations of customers swimming pools that there sometimes are what I call "structural problems". Some pools just cannot be fixed without perhaps ripping the whole thing out and starting over.
I remember one lady in north Scottsdale who was nearly in tears because the pool was just too complex. The pool equipment was below the water line and the piping was a rats nest. The pool was one with an negative edge, and the water flowed over the side of the pool into a trough. The home was new and very expensive, and the pool was designed by an architect which explained a lot. As an example, because the filter, pump and most of the piping was below the pool's water line, every time she wanted to clean out the pump strainer basket she would have to turn two large valves to keep the water from squirting out of the pump, another problem was that the water (due to the extreme hardness of tap water here) had already deposited white calcium onto the waterfall area and to top it off the whole pool was controlled by a remote control system that was difficult to use, with a user manual written and printed overseas.. Unfortunately, I had to tell her that there was not much I could do for her....so optimal swimming pool design will be the first topic that we will explore.
The first topic that we need to discuss is that of swimming pool design. If you are a Arizona resident and an owner of a pool here, you already know of some of the problems that occur on a repeated basis: extremely high temperatures and high water evaporation rates, repeated trashing the pool by dust storms during the summer monsoon season, blooming of the pool into a green pond, seasonal overloading of the swimming pool, sometimes poor maintenance by professionals, repair problems, and the list can go on. As the years went by and my experience grew, I became convinced by my "in the field" observations of customers swimming pools that there sometimes are what I call "structural problems". Some pools just cannot be fixed without perhaps ripping the whole thing out and starting over.
I remember one lady in north Scottsdale who was nearly in tears because the pool was just too complex. The pool equipment was below the water line and the piping was a rats nest. The pool was one with an negative edge, and the water flowed over the side of the pool into a trough. The home was new and very expensive, and the pool was designed by an architect which explained a lot. As an example, because the filter, pump and most of the piping was below the pool's water line, every time she wanted to clean out the pump strainer basket she would have to turn two large valves to keep the water from squirting out of the pump, another problem was that the water (due to the extreme hardness of tap water here) had already deposited white calcium onto the waterfall area and to top it off the whole pool was controlled by a remote control system that was difficult to use, with a user manual written and printed overseas.. Unfortunately, I had to tell her that there was not much I could do for her....so optimal swimming pool design will be the first topic that we will explore.
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