What are my legal obligations as a pool owner?

Whether you are thinking of buying or building a pool, or buying a property witha pool, always check with your local council. Your area will have specific requirements for the fencing of pools and spas. The following are the most common general requirements:

How do I calculate how much water is in my pool?

It is very easy, all you need to know is the measurements and the depth of your pool. The table below will help you to calculate how many litres your pool holds.

How do I test my water at home and what does my Pool Pro Professional need to know about my pool?

Firstly you must purchase a Test Kit or Pool Check test Strips

Your Pool Pro Stockist has a full range of test kits and testing strips which you can use to check your water at home, they can advise you of the most effective for you. Your test kit will have full instructions on how to use it. Ask your Pool Pro Stockist for a Pool Pro Water Test Bottle you can use to take your samples to the store.

What is sanitation?

The reason for using sanitisers in pool and spa water is to keep it bacteria free which can make swimmers ill. These bacteria can cause infections in ears, nose and throat and possibly contribute to more serious illness like meningitis. The primary source of bacteria is of course swimmers themselves, as well as other debris such as leaves, dust and seeds etc. Animals can contribute significantly and while it may be fun to let “Fido” splash in the pool, he can contaminate up to 20 times the volume of water that his owner can!

What is pH?

pH is the term used to express the acidity or alkalinity of pool water. It is measured on a scale of 1-14

Test pH twice weekly. The recommended range is 7.2 to 7.8 depending on the surface of your pool. Ask your Pool Pro Stockist what the correct pH is for your pool.

What is Total Alkalinity?

Total Alkalinity refers to the amount of certain minerals in the water. The concentration of these have an effect on pH. The desired range is 80ppm – 160ppm depending on the pool surface. Ask your Pool Pro Stockist what the correct range is for your pool.

How do I know what range my pH and other water readings should be?

That’s easy, simply follow the chart below or ask your Pool Pro Professional to balance your water for you and then use this chart to check your water balance.

TIP: Make sure your test reagents, tablets and strips are stored away from sunlight in a cool dry place. If exposed to heat dampness or sunlight your readings will not be accurate.

What is Water Hardness?

Water hardness is the quantity of Calcium and magnesium in the water. The natural hardness of water varies from source to source throughout Australia and naturally other countries.

High levels cause cloudy water, and scaling of equipment and pool surfaces.

How much salt do I add to a salt pool?

If you have a salt water pool, you will have a chlorinator to make chlorine. The amount of Pool Pro Salt needed for the salt chlorinator to produce sufficient chlorine varies, depending on the type of chlorinator. Most models require only weak salt solutions of between 0.3% to 0.7% (3000ppm to 7000ppm) (ppm means parts per million) to effectively chlorinate a pool. These levels are between one fifth to one tenth the level of salt in sea water. Pool Pro Salt Chlorinators operate on LOW SALT 3000ppm or 0.3% -0.35%

What is Algae?

Many pool owners have problems from time to time with algae. What is it and what can be done to get rid of it? What can we do to avoid the problem recurring?

The following may help answer these questions and help dispel some of the misunderstandings about the how and why of the appearance of algae in swimming pools.

Why does my pool smell strongly of chlorine?

That is a very easy one to answer, it’s because you don’t have enough chlorine in the pool!

It is a common fallacy that if you can smell chlorine there is too much in the pool, in fact the opposite is true and here is why.

People bring into the pool, wastes that the filter has difficulty filtering out, mainly because they are not solids.

What are Shock Treatment and Superchlorination?

Shock Treatment: Is an additional boost of Chlorine every two weeks. This will help with the chlorine levels in chlorine or salt pools especially during very hot weather or following heavy bather loads. Shock Treatment is adding double the normal dose of chlorine. Always add chemicals in the evening.

How can I tell if my salt water chlorinator is working properly?

Firstly we need to understand the process of salt water chlorination. The action of brine (salty water) passing through the salt cell causes electrosis which in layman’s terms creates chlorine that is then returned to the pool via the eyeball.

What is Solar Heating?

Your Pool Pro Stockist can help you if you are thinking of having Solar Heating Installed. Speak to them first. Installing solar pool heating can increase the use of your pool by up to four months. By using heating energy from the sun, the cost to heat a pool in this way is very economical. The type of solar system may vary, however, the basic principal remains that same. Pool water is circulated through a series of tubes (the collector)

What is Winterising?

Don’t simply turn the filter off and forget the pool for 3 or 4 months. This is false economy because the time, effort and money needed to get the pool water correctly adjusted next season, will be far more that the little needed to maintain it during winter.

What about water conservation?

Australia is one of the driest continents on earth. As our population increases so does the demand for water. Droughts add to the problems and remind us all that we must conserve water at all costs. You can help conserve water in your pool by doing the following:

What if live in a rural area: pool can I use pool chemicals to clean my tank water for drinking? …

USING POOL CHEMICALS FOR DRINKING WATER? Due to the number of variables when not using town water supplies for human consumption, your Pool Pro Professional will be unable to give you advice on ensuring your tank water is safe and free from contaminants for human consumption. We can offer the following links for you to discuss this:

Hazardous substances and storage

Pool chemicals can – when treated incorrectly – be very dangerous, harmful and even cause fires. They should be treated with respect at all times just like any other chemical found around the house.

Can you summarise what I need to remember?

Test water at least twice weekly. Your pool is a living organism and airborne particles and bacteria can be introduced at any time. Add chemicals in the evening. Superchlorinate or Shock Treat weekly through summer. Salt pools included. Your chlorinator doesn’t know it has been extremely hot or the pool has experienced heavy bather loads.

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