Tips for your pool

Opening your pool for a new season

It is recommended that you start preparations for opening your pool for a new season at the beginning of spring so that you have plenty of time to fix any minor problems you may find.

If you have been treating your pool over the winter, opening it for the new season will be very easy:

1. If you have a cover, the first thing to do is to take if off, clean it thoroughly and leave it dry in the open air. It is recommended that you continue to use the cover until the start of the bathing season. This will prevent the water from getting too dirty and will act as a safety barrier.
2. The next step will be to clean the filters using a chemical product. If the sand in your filter is over 3 years old, it would be best to change it before the start of the season.
3. You should check the state of repair of all of the built-in features in the pool shell. Examine the skimmers closely, and hose down the baskets, the overflow channel and the grating. If you have underwater lighting, check that the projectors and the junction boxes are in good working order.To clean the surfaces of the pool shell, non-abrasive materials should be used such as a sponge, brush or other materials specifically intended for this kind of job. There are also chemical descalers that are suitable for this task.
4. It is recommended that a pool cleanerbe used to clean the bottom of the pool. There must be at least 40 cm of water in the pool to use one.
5. Check the state of repair of the hand rails, springboards and steps, and proceed to prepare them for use with products specifically designed to clean and shine them.
6. Finally, even if you have winterised your pool properly, the water must be refreshed for the new season. When you fill or top up your pool, it is recommended that dichloride granules or fast dissolving chlorine tablets be added to the water to prevent it from deteriorating once the pool is full, and that a shock treatment to remove all germs and contaminants in the water be performed.

Good pool maintenance will keep your pool in a perfect state of repair throughout the bathing season, thus ensuring it will work properly.

A well designed private pool needs fewer than 20 minutes of maintenance per week, or even less if the products and solutions available on the market are used that automate and simplify this process, such as automatic pool cleaners, and regulation and control systems.

Pool maintenance involves more that just looking after water sanitation and clarity. Aspects such as safety, cleaning the pool’s surroundings, the build up of chemical products, the pump room and the fencing around the pool are of vital importance to make the pool a safe place to spend leisure time..

What tasks should be done daily?

1. Removing leaves, insects and other suspended particles from the water.
2. Testing pH levels andadjusting them to between 7.2 and 7.6 if necessary. If an automated control and regulation system is used, it should be set to keep the pH in this range at all times.
3. Testing the levels of free residual chlorine and adjusting the values to between 0.5 and 2 ppm. If product dispensers are used, they should be set to keep the levels of chlorine in this range at all times.

What jobs should be done weekly?

1. Checking the drains at the bottom of the pool, the skimmer baskets and the overflow cannel.
2. Cleaning the pump’s prefilter to prevent dirt from building up, which could reduce its performance.
3. Checking the pressure of the filter and backwashing it. This process is essential for keeping the filter medium in a good state of repair and making the filtration process highly efficient.
4. Cleaning the pool walls and bottom using manual or automatic cleaning equipment..
5. Adding the maintenance dose ofalgaecide whenever necessary.
6. Filling the skimmers or disinfectant dispensers with trichloride blocks.
7. Checking the levels of your pH regulator, disinfectant and flocculant if you use an automatic chemical productdispensing system.

You should winterise your pool when the water’s temperature falls below 15 ºC.

1. Thoroughly clean your pool by scrubbing the walls and running your pool cleanerover it. Clean the filter’s prefilter and the skimmer baskets making sure no leaves or other matter are left in them.
2. Test the water’s pH and make any necessary adjustments to obtain a pH of between 7.2 and 7.4. pH Minor or pH Plus can be used to regulate the pH.
3. Perform a chlorine shock treatment using trichloride blocks.
4. Leave the filter running for at least 4–8 hours so that all the products added become evenly distributed in the water.
5. On the following day, clean the filter using Extra Descaler. Place 0.5 kg of the product inside the pump’s prefilter or in the skimmer, set the filter valve to the filtration setting and briefly run the filter for just enough time so that the product reaches the inside of the filter in a dissolved state. Then stop the filter and leave the product to act for approximately 1 hour and then perform a thorough backwash.
6. If you have a liner, fibreglass or polyester pool, add the copper-free Power Winteriser. Do not use regular winterisers as they contain metals that could damage your pool’s surface finish. If you have a glass mosaic or painted pool, there are two options: on the following day, add the Invernador winteriser or 1 unit of Inverlong. Then place the dispenser in the water cap-side down and leave it to float. It will last for approximately 4 to 6 weeks.
7. Let the filter run for 4–8 hours so that the product becomes evenly distributed in the wáter.
8. In the case of cold climates, drop the water level to below that of the skimmers, empty all pipes and the filter, and place a floating object on the water to act as a buffer against the pressure of ice, unless you use Inverlong.
9. In warmer climates, regularly run the filters whenever posible.
10. To prevent your pool from filling up with dirt, it is recommended that you cover your pool with tarpaulin or a pool cover.

It is important to repeat the treatment with your winteriser or copper-free winteriser halfway through the winter season

For pools that have salt chlorinators, it is recommended that the water be treated by following the steps described below:

1. If the water temperature is above 15 ºC, the chlorinator should be left to run for enough time to keep residual chlorine at acceptable levels (0.5–1.0 ppm) by manually or automatically adjusting the pH to between 7.2 and 7.4. The lower the temperature, the less time the filter needs to be run.
2. If the water temperature falls to below 15 ºC, you should follow these steps:
3. Disconnect the chlorinator from the mains and take out the chlorine generator cell. Clean it using an electrolytic cell cleaner to remove any limescale that may have built up on the plaques.
4. Store the chlorine generator cell in a dry place protected from adverse weather conditions.
5. If you have a pH or pH/Rx control and regulation system, you should remove the pH or Redox electrodes very carefully, place them in a preservative solution, either in the original casing or a glass, and store them in a dry place protected from adverse weather conditions. The ph and Redox electrodes undergo natural aging, even if regularly treated as described above. They have an average lifetime of between one and a half and two years. During storage, check that the tips of the pH or Redox electrodes are coated in the KCL 3M preservative solution supplied by the manufacturer. In the case of evaporation or accidental spillage, pour a little of the KCL 3M solution onto the cap or protective casing. It is crucial that the cap or protective casing always be kept moist with this solution. The electrodes should be stored in a dry place between 10 and 30 ºC.
6. Follow the conventional winterisation treatment.

How do salt chlorinators work?

Salt chlorinators have added a new dimension to the concept of pool water treatment, as they increase the quality of the water, do not need chemical products and make maintenance work easier.

The salt chlorination process:

1. Approximately 4 grams of table salt is added for every litre of water (nine times less than the amount of salt in seawater and very similar in proportion to a teardrop).
2. 2. Once dissolved, an electric current is passed through the water via an electrode and the salt turns into chlorine. Therefore, there is now enough disinfectant in the water to destroy any micro-organisms that may be floating in it.
3. When the chlorine has performed its function as a disinfecting agent, it turns back into salt. This means the concentration of salt remains constant and only occasional top-ups will be necessary to make up for the loss of salt in filter backwashing.

What are salt chlorinators benefits?

Health

More natural for the human body through a cleaner wáter and environment, your pool is disinfected automatically.
You will no longer suffer from sore eyes, irritated mucous membranes, dry skin or dry hair. The smell and taste of chlorine will completely disappear from your pool. In addition corrosive, unhealthy environments are eradicated. Inhibits bacterial growth.

Savings

Spending on chemical products reduced by 90%; only a stabiliser (the first time) and a Ph reducer are required. The only product added is TABLE SALT.
Maintenance costs are mínimum and electrical consumption very reduced..

Sustainability

No handling of corrosive chemical products. Electricity consumption is similar to that of a light bulb. The storage of inflammable products is not required. Water is clean, healthy and cristal.