Pool water is pumped to a filter, dirt is then trapped/filtered and
"cleaner" water returns to the pool.
Pool water is treated/sanitized 98% of the time with
chemicals, maintaining healthily levels of PH, Chlorine,
Alkalinity and Hardness is the goal.
Pool
Opening
In the upper northeast many people open their pools on Memorial
Weekend. This is a good time to get the pool up and running.
This involves:
Remove any
debris that may have accumulated on the top of
the cover, use of a leaf net attachment on the end of your
pool
service pole should work fine. But do not fully extend your service
pole if you are getting even half full bags of debris, or your pole
will be ruined/bent. (skimmers are for suckers), say it with me,
skimmers are for suckers, very good. Always use a leaf net.
Now you should pump off
water that has accumulated on your solid
pool cover (mesh safety covers will not have this concern). There are
several good cover pumps available for under $80.00. It is most
important to get any debris that might fall into the pool, anything
left on the cover with water is going in the pool and will need to be
cleaned out. It is usually easier to do a good job of cleaning off the
cover, than getting crap out of the pool!
Do a ritualistic pagan dance
for
the gods, and pray the water is clear
under the cover.
Remove the cover!
Begin adding water, filling
the pool to the correct level
(usually the center of the skimmer).
Now remove all winter plugs
and skimmer Gizmos. All skimmers
should have some kind of plug that needs to be removed, as well as all
the jets on the pool walls.
Reconnect pump and filter
housings if they were removed, and plug
in the pump.
Prime the pump by removing
the pump cover and pouring in a bucket
of water.
Open valves and turn on the
pump. If you have a DE or Cartridge
filter, they should be disassembled and cleaned before use.
Check water balance, usually
the PH and the Alkalinity are low to
start. Low or high, use appropriate chemicals to adjust to proper
range. (I like Namco's ABC pool balancer for low alkalinity)
Super chlorinate the pool
water. This means putting in a lot of
chlorine. Read packages for proper use, amounts to use, and
application. Powder chlorines can pile up on the bottom of your pool
and damage your liner, (you should carefully *mix powders in a bucket
of water before disbursing into the pool).
Vacuum your pool thoroughly
- I HIGHLY suggest you vacuum for the
first time to waste, you will lose a lot of water, but the pool will be
ready in a week or even days to swim in!
Install hand rails and
ladder, The part of the ladder that
presses on your pool walls should have rubber fittings (pools with
vinyl liners will cut and leak if rubber ends are missing from
ladder).
The only chemical I
recommend using at closing besides line
anti-freeze, is algaecide.
Blow all lines out with
air (a shop vac will suffice for all but the bottom line) you will most
likely need compressed air (once you get air bubbles from the bottom
line close valve to trap air in the line), if you do not believe all
the
water is out of upper lines, pour pool line anti-freeze in. Water
trapped in a line or
skimmer will expand when frozen, and crack your lines or skimmers.
Put caps or plugs on all
jets on pool walls. If pool returns are
still under water, blow air through till bubbles come and stuff a
rubber plug in while still bubbling.
Put cap or screw a gizzmo
into skimmer inlet pipe under basket.
Drain filter and pump
housing (look for and remove all drain
plugs). If you can disconnect these and bring them into the basement
all the better, if not be sure to cover them with at least a trash bag..
Remove chairs and tables
that would be in the way of a pool cover
Remove hand rails and
ladders.
Put in / string up
appropriate winter air
pillows/ ice pillow, I recommend using these on in ground pools too.
Above ground pools there is no option, put in a air pillow.
Now you are ready to cover
the pool, If you are using a tarp
style cover make sure there is enough slack in it. Remember the cover
will collect rain water and will pull into the pool some. If you have a
mesh safety cover, use the appropriate allen tool and turn the safety
cover anchors counterclockwise till the are raised 1 - 1/2 inches. You
could keep some buckets of water around to hold safety cover in place
while it is being installed.
Check hardness and
alkalinity every 6 weeks after they are set.
Many home owners don't ever bother with these two. If you have well
water it might be more of an issue.
Keep your chlorine level
above 2ppm and you will never have algae
problems.
I recommend keeping a chlorine tablet in the skimmer for every 10,000
gallons of pool water to maintain a healthy level. (You will hear some
people say not to put them there, but they are stupid)
If you get a lot of rain or
have heavy swim loads (namely little
kids that pee in the pool) super chlorinate with a high dosage of
chlorine.
Maintain PH Level as well,
low ph and really high chlorine are
the reasons your eyes may sting.
Vacuum once a week for a
super clean pool and by weekly for
average.
How to Vacuum Pool
Your pool should be running.
Put your vacuum head on your pole, then put the hose on the vacuum
head, some hoses should only go on one way, read your hose end, if it
does not say, then is should not matter. Now put the vacuum head under
water and put the entire hose in the pool, take the other end not on
the vacuum head and put it over a return jet on the side of the pool
and fill the hose with water, you should see all the air leave the hose
as it fills with water from the pool jet. Once all air is out of the
line, you have the line primed. Now take the same end you filled the
hose with and bring it to the skimmer (basket should already be
removed), put the hose through the opening in the pool and right into
the hole in the bottom of the skimmer, some skimmers have to holes,
only one will be sucking water from the pool. Now either you had to
much air in the line and lost the prime at the pump or all the water is
now being sucked through the hose along with the dirt. If you have two
skimmers plug or shut off the second skimmer, same goes if you have a
bottom drain shut it off. This will concentrate all the pools water
through the vacuum and give you powerful suction. Move the head slowly
so you don't disturb the dirt, if you move to fast you wont suck the
dirt out of the pool, you will only mix it into the water.
If you see any green spots forming between vacuuming, take a brush on
the end of a pole and scrub it mixing it with the pool water, this way
it has a chance to mix with chlorine and die or get cleaned in the
filter. If you have these green spots, maintain chlorine at higher
levels. algaecide s are for suckers.
How
to Clean a Green Pool /
Kill Algae / See The Bottom of Your Pool in 3 hours - 4 days, Super
clarity
in
a week
Ok, so you have a crazy swamp forming and or heavy algae all over the
place. Maybe you have been doing battle for weeks or months and you can
not get the dam thing clear? If you can still see the bottom of your
pool it will help, if not, it still is not that bad. You have probably
spent a small fortune on clarifier and algaecide s, and brought your
water to be analyzed by the so called pro's. I am going to tell you the
straight truth, and if in your undying gratitude you want to send me a
small gift (please no more than five dollars), Mail it to: Mike Kern 51
James St, Tewksbury, MA 01876, if you have a Paypal account simply use
my email mike@poolservicema.com. Also please leave us a review on Google
Maps
Through out test strips and only use a chemical test kit, for ten
dollars you can buy one that does Chlorine, PH, Alkalinity, and
Hardness. Now test the water!
Over fill the pool, go right
to the top edge of the skimmer, but
no higher.
Now balance the PH, do what
you have to: use ph increase
(recommend Namco's ABC product) or ph Decrease to get proper ph balance.
Shut the pool off for 24
hours! Yeah stop running it, your
mixing
the dirt into the water. Please for the love of all things good, let
the crap settle to the bottom.
Do not stir the pool by
brushing the bottom or the sides! Do not
stir the stuff on the bottom anymore than you have to.
Before you can complete my
process, you have to know one simple
truth. How much shit is really on the bottom of that pool. Take your
longest pole and put on a leaf net / bag. Now slowly drag the deepest
part of your pool, very slowly. If you have a lot of leave on the
bottom, you may want to drag that leaf net blindly until you get most
of them up. This will stir a ton of dirt and algae into the water, but
if you skip this step you may have to stop vacuuming every 2 minutes to
clear the leaves from the pump basket.
Ok, not to many leaves?
Good! Or, Holy shit I think i got most of
them out and waited 24 hours? Proceed to next phase of the plan.
Here is the plan via the
scorch the earth I don't care about the
environment, I want a clean pool.
Dump in five gallons of liquid shock (don't use powder) per ten
thousand gallons of pool water, do not dump it all in one spot, walk
around the pool slowly and carefully pouring it in (I assume you are
aware of all safety precautions and are wearing all necessary
protections). I don't use any precautions but, I know what the hell I
am doing too. hint:
chlorine
will bleach your shoes and clothes, or burn your eyes out! (be
smart)
Now the most important part!
Vacuum the pool very slowly, but not
to slowly, move just fast enough so you are not stirring the crap into
the water (do not use a robot!). heres the trick though, vacuum
straight to waste, or with the bottom filer drain open and the pool
return lines closed! This way, all the crap we let settle to the bottom
is sucked straight out of the pool, along with a shit load of chlorine
we added. Start in the shallow end where visibility is likely better,
and be time you get to the deep end you may be able to see better. You
should be done vacuuming by the time the water level reaches 1/4 of the
way up from the bottom of the skimmer.
Run the filter and keep
filter media clean (media = sand, DE, or
cartridge), also maintain high chlorine level and regulate ph balance
as necessary.
When I show up on the job, I have already asked the home owner to over
fill their pool and leave it off for a day or two. I bring my own pump,
vacuum accessorys, ph adjusters, and a shit load of chlorine. I can
usually see the bottom before I leave, if not I will follow up the next
day with more chlorine. The pool will not be swim-able for about 3-7
days (to much chlorine). But the suckers clear. Keep in mind it is
really difficult to over chlorinate a pool, but if you keep it that way
for to long you run the risk of bleaching your pool liner. If you are
not clear with in a day or two, you my friend have a filter issue!
Here is the plan while
"not"scorching the earth. (Green Pool
Cleaning Method)
Do everything the same
except, put the chlorine in after the
vacuuming. This is the way I like to do it, it takes the pool 2-3 hours
longer to clear, making the vacuuming a little tougher, because you
can't see what your doing as well come the second hour of vacuuming.
Here's the deal, if you looked at the earth under a microscope you
would see tiny holes in the earth. As the water from the pool passes
through these tiny holes it traps dirt. When the holes are clogged with
dirt your filter pressure will rise. When the pressure is high (7-10
pounds high than when you put in fresh earth), you need to either
replace the earth (Back wash & Put in new earth at the
skimmer), or
regenerate the earth in side the filter. Read instructions on filter
house for proper regeneration.
If you do not know what your pool PSI (pressure) should be. Replace the
earth in the filter and record PSI. When PSI goes up 7-10 lbs, back
wash or regenerate. If you regenerate and it goes right back to the
high PSI, replace your earth.
When opening the pool, your earth may need to be replace 2-3 times in a
8-12 hour period.
Once the pool is clean and clear, you may not need to replace your
earth for a month.
Close or cap all the lines
coming from or returning to the pool
(especially above ground).
open vent (on top of the
filter housing)
Open discharge line. If you
have a bump/regeneration handle, I
recommend bumping and letting gravity empty the filter, refill, bump,
and gravity drain 3 times. If you have a multi-position valve, turn to
backwash and run pump until site glass is clear or 1 minute, then turn
off pump, turn valve to rinse, run pump for 10
seconds, repeat this process two more times. (shut off pump in
between steps).
Now that we have the dirty
earth out of the pump, we need to
replace it (With multi-position switch filters, make sure switch/valve
is set to filter). Run pump and put in the appropriate amount of earth
(read filter for specifications). About 5-7 coffee cans should suffice
with most DE Filters. The earth is added at the skimmer, do not
disperse earth into the pool water. Now record PSI (pressure) and
monitor. on average the pressure/PSI in a filter with new earth is
about 7-13 lbs. A dirty filter runs at a pressure above 17-20 lbs
depending where it started.
DE filters should be
disassembled and cleaned at least one a
year. I will usually do this once a year at my house, and it happens
after I open and clear my pool.
Sand filters are probably the most common type of pool filter. The sand
does not need to be replaced for about 8-10 years. The way these
filters work is by grabbing the dirt with sharp edges. Once the edges
of the sand become rounded or are not sharp, the sand will become
ineffective, and should be replaced. Small sand filters hold on average
50-100 lbs of sand, and large sand filters about 250-400 lbs. Sand
filters are the least efficient, so opening and clearing a pool may
take a while, be sure to back wash and rinse often. One advantage to
sand filters are you do not have to replace the media, so you can clean
it as often as you like and you only loose some water.
Cleaning and maintenance of a
sand pool filter
Turn off the pump.
Close or cap all the lines
coming from or returning to the pool
(especially above ground).
Turn multi-position valve to
backwash, and run pump till site
glass is clear or 1 minute.
Turn off pump.
Turn multi-position valve to
rinse for 10 seconds and run pump.
Repeat this process at least one more time and turn multi-position
valve to filter.
Cartridge filters are the most effective filters types for maintaining
a already clean pool, especially when combined with variable speed pool
pump, however these filters can be the hardest to clear a dirty pool
with. To clean them, you have to disassemble the filter housing, and
wash the filter. These filters, often made of a paper product
trap
the dirt on there surface. There is no media to replace except the
filter cartridge it-self, and replacement is only required if there is
a rip or tear.
Cleaning and maintenance of a
cartridge pool filter
Turn off the pump
Close or cap all the lines
coming from or returning to the pool
(especially above ground).
Open vent at the top of the
filter.
Drain Filter.
Disassemble and clean filter.
Reassemble (making sure to
lube all rubber o-rings).
If you have any questions or need clarification on any point, please
email mike@poolservicema.com
or call 978-973-6048. I will help when I have the time.
What equipment will I need to maintain my pool? With so many people
purchasing new homes in the last year (2009), I get this question a
lot. Everyday I got a call by at least one person who said, "I just
bought a house, can you clean my pool and tell me what I will need to
maintain it" (literally).
So heres a list.
Pool service pole, leaf net, vacuum hose, vacuum head, Chemical test
kit (not dipping strips) chlorine tabs, Ph increase, and shock. For
opening and closing you may also need PH Minus, and algaecide.
Disclaimer and Warnings
* Working with pools can be extremely dangerous, even explosive (mixing
certain pool chemicals will cause a explosion). Remember you are often
working with chemicals. Proper use and a thorough reading of all
instruction is a must to prevent damage to you, your loved ones, or
even your pool.
This page is meant to be informative, it is completely based on the
experience of one man, and is not complete, or comprehensive. There are
to many different pool types, treatments and situations for this page
to be anything more than informative, we out line in a general way pool
care and maintenance, this information should not be viewed as
instructional or definite. Use the information provided here at your
own risk. MGK pool service, poolservicema.com or any of it's writers
shall be held liable for any damages caused because of information
provided here, we recommend checking with a local expert, before
attempting to manage your pool your self.
