My First Season Managing A Pool - Lessons Learned.

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LotBoy47
Posts: 104
Joined: Thu Jan 31, 2019 12:40 pm
Location: SW France

My First Season Managing A Pool - Lessons Learned.

Post by LotBoy47 »

All you on-site pool owners probably knew this already, but here’s what I’ve learned in my first season as Pool Maintenance Technician 2nd Class.

In no particular order:

* Get a winter cover. Even if it’s just a net one to catch falling leaves. Saves mandays worth of cleaning in Spring.

* Don’t let the water level drop below that of your skimmers. The pump will start to suck air in as well as water and this micro-aeration can make the water look cloudy. You can also lose prime on the pump and put extra wear on the impeller.

* If you live onsite and service your own pool, get some removable skimmer baskets and use Net & Skim nets. You might have to clean them out twice a day, but they’re trapping all that just before the pump and the filter. Less wear on your pump’s impeller and less filter backwashes.

* Don’t over-backwash your filter. Note the pressure in the filter when clean and don’t Backwash again before the pressure is 8-10 psi over “clean” pressure. The caveat to this is when you can see that the filter is full of junk looking through the inspection port.

* Shock every week. Add algaecide every week.

* Don’t shock during daylight hours - the sun will burn off 1/4 to 1/2 the chlorine you’re adding.

* Don’t add chemicals if the pH is above 7.4 as they effectiveness will be greatly reduced.

* Run your pump long enough to circulate water twice a day.

* Use daisies/ scum-bugs to soak up suntan cream/from the water.

* Run your pool robot as often as you can. Daily if possible. Remember to clean it’s filter regularly as well.

*** Most important :Don’t mess about with the chemical balance once you have everything in the Ok zones on your test strips.

Keep using the same chemicals in the same amounts without any experiments.

Hope this helps someone else out.
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teapot
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Location: Loire valley

Re: My First Season Managing A Pool - Lessons Learned.

Post by teapot »

LotBoy47 wrote:
Hope this helps someone else out.
Sadly you have already learnt bad habits and some.
People don't like to be told so I am saying nothing else unless requested.

That other thread is also poor on fact but high on bad practice.
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LotBoy47
Posts: 104
Joined: Thu Jan 31, 2019 12:40 pm
Location: SW France

Re: My First Season Managing A Pool - Lessons Learned.

Post by LotBoy47 »

teapot wrote:
LotBoy47 wrote:
Hope this helps someone else out.
Sadly you have already learnt bad habits and some.
People don't like to be told so I am saying nothing else unless requested.

That other thread is also poor on fact but high on bad practice.
What am I getting wrong? I’m always open to constructive criticism and advice.
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bornintheuk
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Joined: Sun Jun 12, 2011 11:18 am
Location: Southern Charente

Post by bornintheuk »

+1 to teapot

Its easier to list what your getting right - it would be a shorter list.
What would Plato do ?
LotBoy47
Posts: 104
Joined: Thu Jan 31, 2019 12:40 pm
Location: SW France

Post by LotBoy47 »

bornintheuk wrote:+1 to teapot

Its easier to list what your getting right - it would be a shorter list.
Care to enlighten me?
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bornintheuk
Posts: 538
Joined: Sun Jun 12, 2011 11:18 am
Location: Southern Charente

Post by bornintheuk »

LotBoy47 wrote:
bornintheuk wrote:+1 to teapot

Its easier to list what your getting right - it would be a shorter list.
Care to enlighten me?
Frankly, no.

If you search through this section of the forum you will find some idea of "best practice". There is also a forum called "Trouble Free Pool".
Google is your friend.
What would Plato do ?
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