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Treating your Swimming Pool Water

Filtration, Chemical Treatment, and Cleaning

Filtration, chemical treatment, and cleaning are the three essential methods of keeping your swimming pool water clear, clean, and free of bacteria. Beginning from the time the swimming pool is filled, the job of maintaining safe pool water continues the year around for the life of the swimming pool.

You can hire a swimming pool service company to do the job, or do the work yourself. During the hot season you'll have to spend 4 to 8 hours a week treating the water. The cooler season chores take far less time if the pool is not in use and may be almost nonexistent if you keep the swimming pool covered. You can minimize your work by installing automatic devices for chemical treatment and swimming pool vacuuming.

This section covers filtering the water, chemically treating it, and filling the swimming pool.

The Role of Filtration

The filtration system is the primary method for removing solid material that clouds the water; is also disperses the swimming pool chemicals throughout the water so they can do their job.

A properly designed system should pass all the water in the pool through the filter within a given period of time, usually 8 hours. This is called the turnover rate. Without proper circulation the swimming pool will have dead areas where the water stagnates and is never or seldom filtered, even though the filer may be working perfectly.

The filtration system serves another purpose – it moves hot water from the heater and disperses it throughout the swimming pool. The pump in the filtration system should turn on before the heater comes on. The pump should stay on until after the heater shuts off to remove the hot water from the heater and pipes and prevent mineral deposits from building up in the pipes.

Never run the filtration system less than 4 to 5 hours during the summer and 2 to 3 hours during the colder season. Keep the system running when the temperatures are coming close to freezing to prevent ice from forming in the system. I know the issue of ice is rare in Thailand, but up north it is known to generate problems to swimming pool owners. When a lot of people are using the pool, you'll need to increase the filtering time to keep the water clear. At these times, turn the system on and off manually rather than resetting the time clock.

With reduced filtration times be sure to always maintain adequate disinfectant residuals. Whenever poor water clarity or chemical imbalance become apparent, increase the filtration time in half hour increments until the condition is corrected.

After filling the swimming for the first time, you'll need to run the filter continuously until the water is clear. In properly filtered and chemically treated water, you can clearly see the main drain in the deep end of the swimming pool.

To conserve energy, you'll want to determine the minimum amount of filtration time required to obtain good water clarity. To do this, start with a daily filtration that's the same as the turnover rate, usually 8 hours. If, after several days, the water is still unclouded, gradually reduce the time in half hour steps until you reach the minimum amount of time needed to maintain water clarity. If 8 hours does not keep the water clear, increase the time in half hour increaments.