Property in Spain - Pool Maintenance

Aug. 24, 2011 - PRLog -- Many Brits who buy a Spanish property find themselves as proud owners of a swimming pool. Because of the British climate, not a great many people have any experience or know how to properly care for a pool to keep it healthy and clean. Whilst it is easy to engage a pool cleaning company, this is an expensive option.

A second alternative is to engage a “Pool boy” who will visit a couple of times per week to clean the pool, backwash the filter and apply the correct amount of chemicals. They will purchase the required chemicals and usually charge about €10 per hour for this simple job.

The alternative and far more satisfactory solution is to maintain the pool yourself. It is not a difficult task but needs to be done regularly, at least daily. The main tasks associated with a pool are to keep it full, make sure it is clean, to keep the chlorine level correct and to backwash the filter occasionally.

Keeping the pool full

Some inexperienced pool owners suspect that if something goes wrong with the pool water, it is a simple task to empty it and start again. Nothing could be further from the truth. The pool should only be emptied in extreme circumstances. The most severe problem could be that because the weight of the water is gone, the pool will pop out of the ground. The whole pool may not be lifted, but parts of it could be. In addition, you will receive a large bill for refilling as many pools take far more water than the average person expects. You should keep your pool filled to the correct level. After an energetic session of diving in and out of the pool, the kids will have emptied a great deal of water. This needs to be topped up to keep the skimmer box working properly which keeps the water clean.

Keep your pool clean

One of the greatest enemies of your pool and its users is dirt. Remember that your children’s ears and eyes will get a big dosing of water when they are enjoying themselves. Bacteria in the water can cause quite a lot of problems and these come from air borne dust as well as from people’s feet. You should have a program for the times when your filter is running, usually twice per day and for enough time to ensure that any material that has entered your pool is sucked up by the filter. If the pool is used for long periods it is sometimes a good idea to have the filter running whilst people are in there as the water is stirred up and the microscopic particles of dirt will be filtered out.

Keep the chemical balance right

This is ultra-important as a failure to keep the chlorine level right will result either in a green unhealthy pool or people with sore eyes and ears. There are plenty of pool testing kits on the market. Get a good one and use it twice per day – once in the morning and again in the evening. Sunlight breaks down the chorine in the water so check and dose the pool then. Check again in the morning after the filter has circulated the water to ensure that your chemical level is right. Chlorine tablets are fine but in a busy pool or in strong sunlight, such as during a Spanish summer, they are often not enough. Get some liquid pool chlorine for dosing up to the correct level. If the pool is not used often, you might buy some “Pool conditioner.” This forms a thin level which floats at the top of the pool water. It filters the sunlight and slows the breaking down of the chlorine.

Backwash the filter

On most pool filters this is a very easy task. A valve on the top of the filter is changed and the filter pump is run. Water from the pool is used to wash the accumulated dirt in the filter into a drain which would have been laid when your pool was built. How often the filter needs to be backwashed depends on how much use the pool gets. A busy pool may need to be back washed every two weeks whereas some pools need this done monthly. Experience of your pool will tell you how often this needs to be done.
Some equipment such as a net to scoop out leaves and a vacuum cleaner for sucking up grit and other solids from the bottom of the pool will be needed. Otherwise the secret of successful pool maintenance is “Little and often.” A pool that is maintained is a great joy. One that is not is a nightmare.

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Alta Vista Spain is a real estate company in Marbella on the Costa del Sol, Spain. Michael Liggan is a driving force and our chief property bargain hunter.