How to properly care for your pool during the summer?
It is very easy to maintain the pool. You need to test the water about once a week and add chemicals as necessary. Remove fallen leaves from the filter basket, maybe “vacuum it” 2 times during the summer. In general, all these chores are not at all burdensome; on the contrary, they bring some pleasure. Sometimes it’s both useful and pleasant to do something on your site.
So, the pool is open, running after winter, working. Let's say you just bought a house with a pool and don't know anything about it at all.
In the photo on the left there is practically no chlorine, you need to add it. In the photo on the right, everything is almost normal. It looks like the acidity needs to be lowered a bit. Slightly reduce the chlorine supply. But let's wait a day or two. Then we'll check again
You will need a water test. Tests are sold in all specialized pool stores and almost all large hardware stores. It is believed that you need to buy a new test kit every year. This year I bought a new set, compared it with the old one, which is already several years old, and did not notice any difference in the readings. In general, we buy a new one so that there is no doubt. It costs 6-7 dollars. There are tests with litmus tests and an electronic display. This one costs $70. We are quite happy with the regular one for $6 with beakers and bottles.
Let's see what kind of water the test shows. If there is a lot of chlorine, then close the chlorine distributor, provided that it is installed in the filter system. If the chlorine in your pool is being distributed from a free-floating buoy, then fish out the buoy and remove it for a few days. Without replenishment, excess chlorine in the pool will quickly evaporate. After 2-3 days we check the pool for chlorine, everything should become normal or get closer to it.
No matter what you do in the pool, no matter what chemicals you add, the volume of water in it is huge, it is a heavy inertial mass, so you need to wait a day or two for results.
If there is not enough chlorine, open the distributor on the filter halfway or even fully. If there is no distributor, chlorine can be added directly to the pool. At the same time, be extremely careful - chlorine is a poisonous and dangerous substance, and, in addition, you can damage the walls of the pool film. It never hurts to seek additional advice from a nearby pool store.
If the acidity is higher or lower than normal, then add Ph- or Ph+, respectively. Read the packaging instructions for how much to add. It matters what size the pool is. The principle is the same - the results will be in a day or two.
There is never any need to panic. It’s okay if the pool gurgles for a day or two, three or four with water that does not meet the requirements. Nothing will happen to her. You will little by little add or subtract everything, over time you will feel your pool, you will know exactly what it needs. All comes with experience.
Many pool stores will do free water tests and advise you on what to add. Be careful! I know people who, after these tests, each time bought tens of dollars worth of recommended chemicals, suffered for weeks, kept going to them and could not achieve an ideal water condition.
Let the pump run all the time, the water is filtered. Watch out for chlorine and acidity. Remove leaves from the white filter basket. When the water is balanced (acidity is normal, chlorine too), the pool works for weeks and nothing needs to be added to it for weeks. Even boring.
Some time after the start of the season, you will see sand, some kind of dirt and dust at the bottom of the pool. If there is a construction site nearby, you will see it soon.
So it's time to vacuum the pool.
The photo shows dirt and sand that can be removed with a vacuum cleaner.
When you know how, it’s very easy.
You will need: a net and a stick from it, a hard corrugated hose for a vacuum cleaner, a nozzle with a brush, a white plastic circle that fits on the other end of the hose, a soft flat blue hose when rolled up - like a fire hose (unfolded in two pictures below) . This hose is attached to the free outlet on the filter. Dirty water will run over it. Typically, such hoses are routed to roadway in front of the house. In the summer, when you drive around your area, you will sometimes see water pouring onto the road from such a hose. Someone is cleaning the pool.
The hose drains water onto the roadway. There is a hole in the hose, it needs to be patched
In the photo with the pool cleaning accessories, you can see that the corrugated hose is reinforced with red electrical tape. Our pool accessories are not new, I don’t know how old they are, at least 5 years old. The hose did not seem to fit firmly enough, I strengthened it a little. Everything works great. Don't try to buy everything new. Surely you bought a house with a swimming pool and left all the accessories for you. There is not enough money for everything new.
We use a net to remove everything that floats on the surface. Usually these are leaves.
If there is not enough water, its level should be approximately in the middle of the white rectangular window, behind which there is a filter basket, then add water, as can be seen in the top photo (a garden hose is lowered into the water).
We open the box in which the filter basket is located, clean the basket, and put it in place.
We remove the net, attach the vacuum cleaner brush to a long stick and connect the hose to the brush. We put a white plastic circle on the other end of the hose.
Now it's important! - There is air in the hose. If it gets into the pump, it will stop pumping water and the pressure will drop. You need to remove the air from the hose.
We lower the brush to the bottom, hold the stick, and press the other end of the hose, on which the white plastic circle is tightly pressed to the hole from which water flows into the pool. It comes under decent pressure, with good pressure created by the pump.
Look, the air comes out of the hose in large bubbles, the hose fills with water.
When the air stops coming out of the hose, take the end that was pressed to the water outlet hole and very quickly, trying not to lift the hose high, place a white circle on the filter basket. The motor is on, the water is pumping. As soon as you place the circle on the filter, water begins to flow into the pump not through a rectangular window, but from a hose at the end of which is a brush that you hold at the bottom of the pool.
If everything works out, then the white circle will be so strongly pressed against the filter by the pressure created by the pump that you can separate it only by turning off the engine.
If it doesn’t press well, you need to repeat everything from the beginning, but remove the filter basket. At the same time, do not forget that without this filter, leaves and debris from the bottom of the pool will fall and remain on the same filter, but in the pump itself. Don't forget to clean it afterwards. It is better, of course, not to remove the upper filter basket. The filter in the pump also needs to be checked and cleaned from time to time. Every little thing gets into it during the daily operation of the pool.
Now you can vacuum. We slowly move the brush along the bottom of the pool, collecting dust, dirt, sand.
When you see that everything is clean, do not remove the hose, let everything remain as it is for now.
Turn off the engine!
We press on the handle of the barrel filter and transfer it from filtration to Backwash - i.e. washing.
We turn on the motor. The blue hose begins to inflate, water runs from the pool onto the road.
What kind of dirt is coming is clearly visible from the bubble on the filter barrel. The picture shows a mild case. I've seen dirtier ones. We drain the water and thereby clean the filter. Filter handle in Backwash position. We wait until the water in the bubble becomes clear. After a few minutes it becomes transparent, several grains of sand appear.
While the filter is being washed, some sand will inevitably be removed from the barrel with water. At some point you may have to add a little sand. And the Backwash mode itself should not be very long. Clean water flows through the cone - turn it off.
Turn off the engine!
We put the handle on Rinse. Turn on the engine for just a minute or two. This small procedure is necessary to rinse the hoses and filter after switching from the Backwash cleaning mode.
It's good to do everything together. Sometimes the white circle falls off the upper filter basket when the engine is turned off. It would be a good idea to hold it so that no air gets into the hose.
Turn off the engine!
Separate the end with the white circle from the filter and carefully pull out the entire hose from the pool.
Press the white circle onto the filter again. The engine is off, there is air in the hose. Open the cover of the pump motor. A little water will gush out, no big deal. The water supply is blocked by a hose pulled from the pool. It only needs to be pressed tightly against the filter basket so that water from the pool does not flow into the turned off pump.
We take the filter out of the pump and clean it. This is also a plastic basket in which all kinds of small debris are stuffed. We put the basket in place.
Now is a bit of an awkward moment. We remove the hose that blocks the access of water to the upper filter basket, the water rushes down and pours out of the pump onto you. This must be done to remove air from the hose and pump. The pump only works with water. If air gets into the system, the pump may not work at all. If some air still gets in, but the system is sealed, then the pump will cope with the trapped air and push it out. We take the pump cover, put it on with a little effort through the flow of water, turn it, the water stops, the pump is closed.
This requires a little skill, and the rubber gasket should be lubricated with a special silicone grease, which is sold in pool stores. If the rubber is lubricated, it is easy to open and close, and the lid fits better and tighter. If the cap is not pressed tightly, the pump will suck in air, and this is very bad for the pump. The pressure will be weak, the filtration will be insufficient, the motor will work with overload.
The motor is turned off, the pump cover is closed, the hose is removed, the filter is in place. Move the knob on the barrel to the filter position. We turn on the motor. We check that the upper filter basket has not turned over due to the flow of water, correct it, and put the lid on top.
You also need to keep an eye on the pressure gauge. If the pressure drops or the needle jumps, there may be air in the system. We need to look for the reason for the hit. These are either hoses at the joints or gaskets. If the pressure rises and the flow of water into the pool becomes weak, the pressure is not what you are used to, then the filter is dirty. It's time to clean it. If you don’t need to vacuum the pool, then just connect the hose to drain the water and repeat the procedure described above. The dirt will go away, the pressure will return to normal - 10-15 psi. 
The pressure gauges sold here are of poor quality. Water quickly gets into them, there is condensation inside, and again you need a new one. They cost 6-7 dollars.
After cleaning the pool once or twice, you will become a real ace, you will always be able to come to the aid of your friends and you will smile when you hear how difficult it is to care for the pool. At first, yes, sometimes it comes to panic. I hope my advice will help you deal with it quickly.
Swimming pool lovers know how difficult it is to maintain them. Having such beauty near a private house or in a country house is not only pleasure and bonuses, but also significant troubles.
Cleaning a pool with chlorine is a punishment: it is dangerous, unecological, unpleasant, and the water then retains a specific smell for a long time. Recently a revolutionary pool cleaning technique. Nature itself suggested it: there are plants that easily purify even heavily polluted water and maintain healthy microflora in it. Soon chlorination will be a thing of the past, I can feel it!
How to Clean a Pool
Scientists took a long time to invent a method water purification without chlorination. Products based on active oxygen and bromine - a good option, but they are expensive. Inorganic chlorine is another assistant in pool cleaning, but its effect is noticeably weaker than ordinary chlorine, and the effect of clear water does not last as long. 
Chlorine causes allergies, irritation of mucous membranes, and is especially harmful to children. The availability of this method of cleansing does not cover its obvious disadvantages. 
Recently, an eco-pool was built in the UK in the very center of London. This is an innovation among public swimming pools: its design does not have a water filtration system, and absolutely no chemicals are used to purify it. Only aquatic flora and plants - they act as cleaners and purifiers. Ecopools are becoming increasingly popular, because splashing around in chlorinated water is not very pleasant. 
People who value their health and love nature will certainly take advantage of this new scientific discovery. If you have a swimming pool, why not transform it into an ideal purification system, where everything will happen automatically thanks to natural processes? 
See how a real eco-pool works! I really want to take a swim...
The development of science gives us hope that soon harmful chemicals will stop ruining our health. Nature prompts better ways satisfying human needs, and that's great! Show this awesome video to your friends, especially those who dare
A friend invited me to take part in cleaning the central city swimming pool “Dolphin”.
It turns out that at the bottom of any indoor swimming pool, especially in its deep part, various garbage from visitors gradually accumulates. Hair, skin particles and I don’t even know what else.
Small particles do not settle to the bottom and therefore a special coagulant is added to the water, which binds them and lowers them to the bottom. In about two weeks, the bottom of an ordinary city pool becomes covered with a gray coating. It needs to be cleaned, otherwise over time a decent layer of silt will accumulate at the bottom, and no one will want to swim in such a pool. So you can live to see crucian carp, crayfish and frogs!
The pool is not drained before cleaning and is cleaned using diving equipment. I had never been diving, so it was not difficult for my friend to tempt me with the opportunity to scuba dive for free.
The pool is cleaned once every two weeks early in the morning, 2 hours before the first visitors arrive. Because overnight all the dirt settles to the bottom.
The technology for this is simple. There is a special mop with a weight at the end, to which the pump hose is connected. When you move the mop along the bottom, all the dirt is sucked in by the pump and pumped out.
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First you need to recess the hose. It must be completely filled with water, otherwise you will not be able to handle it.
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Then a hose is attached to the mop and the pump is turned on. You can start working.
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2 people take turns cleaning the pool. And only the deep part. At a depth of 4 meters, the water is rarely disturbed, and all the dirt settles there.
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First cleaned small area bottom near the side. Underwater, you can clearly see the difference between a clean space and a dirty one. Therefore, they don’t use a mop twice in the same place. It all looks like a combine harvesting a field of wheat.
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In order to stand confidently on his feet underwater, the diver hangs a decent weight on his belt. There should be no zero buoyancy, otherwise it would be impossible to move the mop. You can ascend with such a load only by using your legs as hard as you can. The first time I underestimated this and barely swam to the surface. Towards the end, I began to inhale air very strongly, but there was still not enough of it. I even wanted to spit out the mouthpiece. The moment was unpleasant. No wonder the main rule of a diver is not to panic! In fact, it was easy to drop the weight or press the emergency ascent valve (it releases compressed air from the cylinder into the life jacket), but I didn’t think about it then.
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Not everyone can withstand the pressure of even 4 meters of water. I also had such concerns. But it’s okay, I correctly “blown away” at depth and my eardrums fell into place. I cleaned my pool floor without any problems.
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Pool goers, especially women, sometimes lose gold jewelry in the pool. And pool cleaners find them. A swimming pool with a large flow of clients is a real Klondike! There was a story recently: the pool director asked to find a gold earring for one of the visitors. During cleaning, the earring was found. The woman came for her. And then it turned out that this earring was not hers!
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And this is me on the diving board.
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