Swimming pools and health and safety
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Alan Knighting
- Posts: 4120
- Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2004 7:26 am
- Location: Monflanquin, Lot-et-Garonne, France
MadDogWoman,
I assume you are Nicola and not Paul. Whatever, your translation software is about as good as the one I use.
The way I read it, “gite� swimming pools should not be regarded as public pools and therefore are not subject to the same regulations.
Fraise,
A pool which is as clear as mud is not a thing of beauty, whatever the regulations might say. A good shock dose of chlorine followed by some floc and a backwash will clear it up. When I bought my property I was faced with the problem of converting brown Windsor soup into gin, in two days. The job got done because one learns very quickly when one has to!
I think there is a lot of nonsense talked about pool maintenance. OK, I‘m on site and that helps a lot but with religiously regular testing and treatment it’s simple.
Alan
I assume you are Nicola and not Paul. Whatever, your translation software is about as good as the one I use.
The way I read it, “gite� swimming pools should not be regarded as public pools and therefore are not subject to the same regulations.
Fraise,
A pool which is as clear as mud is not a thing of beauty, whatever the regulations might say. A good shock dose of chlorine followed by some floc and a backwash will clear it up. When I bought my property I was faced with the problem of converting brown Windsor soup into gin, in two days. The job got done because one learns very quickly when one has to!
I think there is a lot of nonsense talked about pool maintenance. OK, I‘m on site and that helps a lot but with religiously regular testing and treatment it’s simple.
Alan
I agree with you on this one Fluffy.I've got friends who are totally against pool ownership because of all the expense and hassle- old wives tales -OR put around by "specialist " pool people to keep themselves in business 
The fact that you are on site does make an enormous difference though and you do have to understand a bit about how the chemical/salt balance thing works.
The fact that you are on site does make an enormous difference though and you do have to understand a bit about how the chemical/salt balance thing works.-
Alan Knighting
- Posts: 4120
- Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2004 7:26 am
- Location: Monflanquin, Lot-et-Garonne, France
Before I came to France and ownered and maintained a pool I was in the camp of "they are very expensive to run and very difficult to maintain". Having had to convert a dark brown pool to gin in two day with no previous knowledge and having run a pool for seven seasons I have changed my mind entirely.Fraise wrote:I agree with you on this one Fluffy.I've got friends who are totally against pool ownership because of all the expense and hassle- old wives tales -OR put around by "specialist " pool people to keep themselves in business
They're not expensive to run and it's not rocket science, it's common sense.
Fluffy
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MadDogWoman
- Posts: 63
- Joined: Sat Dec 11, 2004 2:39 pm
I suppose I am a bit in the opposite camp to you, Alan. I owned a pool in the UK many, many years ago and the constant manual testing and dosing became more and more of a pain in the butt, especially after it was covered with an arbri and the temperature inside went through the roof in summer. I think that's why this time I opted for the automatic system which makes the pool virtually maintenance free apart from checking the chlorine and pH containers have enough in them to dose correctly. I would really recommend it for a pool novice and it does take the worry away completely.
Nicola
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Alan Knighting
- Posts: 4120
- Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2004 7:26 am
- Location: Monflanquin, Lot-et-Garonne, France
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MadDogWoman
- Posts: 63
- Joined: Sat Dec 11, 2004 2:39 pm
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cromercrabholiday
- Posts: 797
- Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 10:24 am
- Location: North Norfolk
- Contact:
I'm slightly surprised - we had a cloudy pool a few years back and got the local pool doctor in. His very strong advice was to turn off the filter after putting in the floc and to clean it all to waste. His comment was that you could damage the filter if you filled it with floc.Alan Knighting wrote:
A pool which is as clear as mud is not a thing of beauty, whatever the regulations might say. A good shock dose of chlorine followed by some floc and a backwash will clear it up. When I bought my property I was faced with the problem of converting brown Windsor soup into gin, in two days. The job got done because one learns very quickly when one has to!
Alan
John
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Bellywobble
- Posts: 1262
- Joined: Thu Jan 19, 2006 7:40 pm
I've got a grotty, green pool and have guests arriving on Wednesday. 
My husband has gone off to work and won't be back till Saturday, so I'm left with the job.
Do I put the shock chlorine in before the floc, or both together?
When the floc has settled, do I backwash and hoover?
I'd be grateful for your help.
My husband has gone off to work and won't be back till Saturday, so I'm left with the job.Do I put the shock chlorine in before the floc, or both together?
When the floc has settled, do I backwash and hoover?
I'd be grateful for your help.
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Alan Knighting
- Posts: 4120
- Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2004 7:26 am
- Location: Monflanquin, Lot-et-Garonne, France
John & Kayley,
If the pool is a grotty green is almost certainly algae. What I would do is the following:-
1. Adjust pH to between 7.2 & 7.4 and then give a double strength shock treatment.
2. Brush the walls and floor of the pool.
3. Run the filter for 24 hours or until the water is clear.
4. If there are very fine deposits remaining on the pool floor then add floc.
5. Brush the pool floor and run the filter long enough to distribute the floc.
6. Allow the deposits (now captured by the floc) to settle.
7. Vacuum the floor of the pool to waste. Do it slowly to avoid stirring up the deposits too much but don't waste any time because you are losing a lot of water. I would suggest 10 minutes should suffice.
8. Backwash the filter thoroughly.
9. Top up the pool with fresh water.
10. Run the filter for two days but do not use the pool. The chlorine needs to dissipate down to an acceptable level.
I recommend the use of multi-function tablets throughout the season. They contain chlorine, anti-algae and floc.
Hope that helps.
Alan
If the pool is a grotty green is almost certainly algae. What I would do is the following:-
1. Adjust pH to between 7.2 & 7.4 and then give a double strength shock treatment.
2. Brush the walls and floor of the pool.
3. Run the filter for 24 hours or until the water is clear.
4. If there are very fine deposits remaining on the pool floor then add floc.
5. Brush the pool floor and run the filter long enough to distribute the floc.
6. Allow the deposits (now captured by the floc) to settle.
7. Vacuum the floor of the pool to waste. Do it slowly to avoid stirring up the deposits too much but don't waste any time because you are losing a lot of water. I would suggest 10 minutes should suffice.
8. Backwash the filter thoroughly.
9. Top up the pool with fresh water.
10. Run the filter for two days but do not use the pool. The chlorine needs to dissipate down to an acceptable level.
I recommend the use of multi-function tablets throughout the season. They contain chlorine, anti-algae and floc.
Hope that helps.
Alan
Alan, I think those multi purpose tablets are great and I was looking after my pool on my own last year but the guy who was looking after the rental pool advised against them - he said they cause build up of cya-something- acid !! I still think they're great!!My pool was beautiful to swim in right until mid October when it had to go into hibernation.
www.thepetitmanoir.com
www.thepetitmanoir.com
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MadDogWoman
- Posts: 63
- Joined: Sat Dec 11, 2004 2:39 pm
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Alan Knighting
- Posts: 4120
- Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2004 7:26 am
- Location: Monflanquin, Lot-et-Garonne, France
Cyanuric Acid is a mild acid of low toxicity which has little effect on pH levels. It is often added to pool water to retard the loss of chlorine caused by sunlight. Chlorinated isocyanurics are chlorine mixtures which contain cyanuric acid.
The ideal test reading for a pool are
Free chlorine – 1.0 to 3.0 ppm
pH – 7.2 to 7.6
Total Alkalinity – 80 to 120 ppm
Calcium Hardness – 200 to 1,000 ppm
Cyanuric Acid – 40 to 50 ppm
I’ve never heard of a pool suffering from an excess of Cyanuric Acid but, if it is something which concerns you, use chlorine and multi-function tablets which don’t contain it. It doesn’t occur naturally, it is introduced.
Alan
The ideal test reading for a pool are
Free chlorine – 1.0 to 3.0 ppm
pH – 7.2 to 7.6
Total Alkalinity – 80 to 120 ppm
Calcium Hardness – 200 to 1,000 ppm
Cyanuric Acid – 40 to 50 ppm
I’ve never heard of a pool suffering from an excess of Cyanuric Acid but, if it is something which concerns you, use chlorine and multi-function tablets which don’t contain it. It doesn’t occur naturally, it is introduced.
Alan