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Current Section |
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Editorial
published
with kind permission
of Plastica Limited
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Owners Guide - Above
Ground Swimming Pools |
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Cleaning
Your Pool
Your pool will need to be vacuumed and brushed at least
once per week, twice per week during warm spells. Neglecting
to clean your pool, even if it looks clean can result
in water quality problems; remember, “Prevention
is far less costly than cure”.
Brushing your pool
Don’t wait until the surfaces feel slippery before
carrying out this task; brush the pool surfaces even if
they look clean. Algae suspended in your pool water is
fairly easy to destroy, this is not the case if algae
has a surface to cling to. Brushing the floor and walls
of your pool will prevent algae and bio-film from gaining
a foothold in your pool. Use a Nylon Pool Brush, brushes
with stainless steel bristles will damage your pool Liner.
Certain areas of your pool will need particular attention;
pool water “dead spots” (areas in the pool
that have poor water movement) and pool surfaces facing
the sun are particularly prone to algae.
Vacuuming your pool
There is a wide selection of Vacuum systems for swimming
pools. The design of your pool will determine which system
is best for your particular pool. If your pool is fitted
with a Cartridge Filter you will probably have little
alternative to using the “Venturi” type Cleaner;
these can be purchased for less than £50. If your
pool is fitted with a Sand Filter and a relatively powerful
main circulation, you should consider a Manual Suction
System as the bare minimum system for your pool. Again
the equipment required is relatively inexpensive, certainly
less than £100. Automatic Suction Cleaners are also
an option for Above Ground Pools fitted with sand filters.
As a general rule of thumb, the more money you spend on
a Pool Cleaner, the less time you will need to spend keeping
your pool clean. The 3 most popular types of Pool Vacuums
for Above Ground Pools are listed on the following three
pages. |
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Hose Vacuums (Venturi Vacs)
Commonly used on pools fitted with Cartridge Filtration.You
should consider this to be the bare minimum equipment
required for vacuuming your pool. This type of Pool
Cleaner consists of a Vacuum Head attached to a Garden
Hose Pipe and a Telescopic Pole. Water from the hosepipe
is fed into the Vacuum Head, creating a Venturi. The
water is forced upwards, taking any dirt, leaves etc.
at the bottom of the pool with it. The water escapes
through a fine-mesh bag, leaving any debris trapped
in the bag. The bag is emptied when vacuuming is finished. |
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Advantages: The cheapest of the 3 systems.
Disadvantages: Will not filter out smaller particles.
Adds water to your pool.
Can be time consuming.
Not recommended for large Above Ground Pools.
Manual Suction System
Consider this to be the bare minimum system if your
pool is fitted with sand filtration.
Consisting of a Pool Vac Head attached to a Vacuum Hose
and a Telescopic Pole. The Vacuum Hose is plugged into
the pools recirculation system; debris is sucked up
into the Vacuum Hose and trapped in the pool filter
system.
Advantages Economical, approximately £100 equipment
outlay
Disadvantages Time consuming; alternative Vacuum systems
can be carried out when pool is unattended.
Will only work if your pool circulation pump is suitably
sized.
Automatic Suction Cleaners
There are numerous brands of automatic suction cleaners
available. Kreepy Krauly is probably the best known
of these units. The Cleaner is linked to your pool filtration
via a flexible hose. The Cleaner hose is plugged into
either a dedicated vacuum point or into the skimmer.
Water is sucked through the vacuum hose as the Cleaner
moves around the pool in a random fashion.
Advantages Few moving parts; therefore little or no
servicing. Pool can be vacuumed when left unattended,
thus saving time on pool maintenance.
Disadvantages More costly that a conventional manual
Vacuum. May not work efficiently on pools with small
circulation pumps.
Whatever system you opt for, your pool will need to
be vacuumed at least once per week during the swimming
season. |
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