POOL TIPS – General
If you have a beautiful tiled pool and want to keep it that way here are a few tips. Hair pins or clips Ladies often jump or dive into a pool and forget that they have clips in their hair. Left even for just a few hours on the pool floor or your lovely white...
WHY HAVE I GOT A THICK WHITE CRUST ON MY POOL WALLS?
Is a question very often asked. The answer is nearly always the same, the pH of the water in your pool has been allowed to drift too high, allowing calcium to form in the shape of crystals that stick to the pool wall and can be very difficult and sometimes even...
PROBLEM POOLS
Over eleven years of experience in dealing with all types of pool, you would think I've come across them all, well in truth, I doubt it, because in this business as in many others you learn something new every day. But what I can say is that: There are no two...
CYANAURIC ACID
Cyanauric Acid (CYA) is a stabiliser which is a trace element in almost all types of tablet , granular and powder forms of Chlorine. A stabiliser is necesary in your pool water in order for the Chlorine not to be burnt off by the sunlight (UV), too little and the...
CAN I SWIM WITHOUT CHLORINE?
If the idea of a highly Chlorinated pool fills you with dread and you are looking for a solution , there is an alterative. OK so you will need to have some Chlorine but we are talking 0.3 – 0.5 ppm which for those who know water chemistry, is around...
WHY IS MY POOL GREEN & MY NEIGHBOURS CRYSTAL CLEAR?
WHY IS MY POOL GREEN & MY NEIGHBOURS CRYSTAL CLEAR? Being in the swimming pool industry, we deal with a lot of pools and a lot of people. The interesting thing about this is we’ve come to realize that the two aren’t so different in a sense. It...
WATER SOURCE
Do you use well water to fill your pool? If it is your only source then you have no choice apart from buying it in (you could be lucky enough to have a local farmer who has a BOWSER - tanker to you and me) have a word with him and ask him where he gets his water from,...
FLOCCULATION
Many of you ask when do I need to flocculate. First, I will explain what flocculation is. Sometimes especially after Super-chlorination or filling your pool from a well, you water may have no sparkle or look dull, yet all the parameters are correct and you've tried...
PUMP PROBLEMS
LACK OF PRESSURE One of the most common causes of your pool continuously going green is a lack of pressure. If you notice that the water coming out of the jets is not as powerful as it used to be or the pressure gauge on your sand filter is reading lower than normal...
WHY DOES MY POOL KEEP GOING GREEN?
After you've done all the hard work and got your pool crystal clear again, it seems the moment your back is turned it's gone green again. What have you done wrong? Well probably nothing. If it keeps happening then it is normally due to insufficient filtration and can...
WHY DOES MY POOL KEEP GOING GREEN Part 2
After you've done all the hard work and got your pool crystal clear again, it seems the moment your back is turned it's gone green again. What have you done wrong? Well probably nothing. If you've read part 1 and are sure that your pump is working well, when was the...
WHY HAVE YOUR POOL SPRING CLEANED NOW ?
Why keep putting it off ? – the quicker you get it put right the less it will cost you. Leave it until there’s a thick black sludge on the bottom and you’ll have to empty it. We can do it all from a chemical wash to a sand change or pump...
WHY DOES MY POOL NEED RE-GROUTING?
A question I sometimes get asked is "Does my pool really need re-grouting?". It depends on a few things: Does your pool keep going green? Do you have lots of black lines where the grout was/should be? Are you getting black spots? (I don't mean the one before...
WATER LOSS – EVAPORATION OR LEAK?
EVAPORATION - pools need extra care to prevent "Summer Green Pool" ........ I get many clients asking is their pool losing water or is it due to evaporation. If in doubt do the simple evaporation test. fill a bucket of water and float it in your pool...
WHY IS DIRT GOING BACK INTO MY POOL WHEN I HOOVER?
When vacuuming fine, silty dirt or debris, you may notice a cloudy stream of dirt coming back into the pool via the return jets. This can continue slowly, long after you stop vacuuming, and can create a frustrating cycle for the pool man. More common in sand...
ALGAE
Firstly I will make the point of how to try to keep the algae from forming which is really basic good housekeeping (or pool keeping in this case). But, as I have experienced sometimes even with the best intentions, events conspire against even the most diligent and...
HOW LONG SHOULD MY POOL PUMP RUN?
THE POOL MAN FROM ALHAURIN SAYS: There are differing opinions about how many hours your pump should be running but there are many factors to consider. The most important one of all is sanitisation. For correct sanitisation all the water in your pool should...
PROBLEMS WITHOUT POOL TUITION
Quite often I am called out to fix a problem with a swimming pool that has been maintained by the owner and they tell me that they have been looking after their pool for 12 years or so and never had any problems. After a sometimes lengthy question and answer session I...
NITRATES
Nitrates can promote the problem growth of algae in swimming pool water and can enter the water from such sources as:- Decaying plant matter, fertilizers, contaminated well water, acid rain, contamination with soil, ground water runoff, bird droppings, bather wastes,...
PAINTED OR TILED?
That’s the big question – but if you’re asking me I’ll tell you every time definitely tiled, and mosaics are the best. Let’s look at the pros and cons: Painted Pools: If you read the paint manufacturer’s instructions they will say...
SCORCHIO? – WHY IS MY POOL CLOUDY?
NOW IT’S HOT! - “milky” or cloudy water from upswing in temperatures ........ I’ve had several calls just recently from people who have been suffering with “milky” or cloudy water in their pool. The main cause has been...
POOL MAINTENANCE
Maintaining your pool is the most important thing you need to do (or have done for you ! ) with your second most important investment. Not much point in having a pool that you can't bear to look at when it's all green and slimy and full of things swimming about you...
PROBLEM POOLS
PROBLEM POOLS At Eco-Pools we have been solving problematic pools for over nine years, and in that time have come across just about everything you can imagine AND more, from rabbits stuck in the skimmer basket to broken drain covers, fractured pipe lines and...
POOL LEAKS?
I was recently called out to a pool that was losing half of the water in a day. It was only losing water when the pump was on. Pool leaks are a process of elimination. And after asking lots of questions and doing various tests we discovered the leak. Here was a...