My pool smells of chlorine – What should I do?

Immediately test your chlorine & pH Level – ensure that the pH is within the range 7.2 – 7.6 (giving optimal effectiveness for chlorine disinfection) & then adjust the chlorine level to bring it into the normal range

How often should I drain my hot tub?

Hot tubs run at fairly high water temperatures and tend to remove oils from a persons skin, which settle on the surface of the spa and in the filter. This needs to be removed much like a bath. The spa will then need to scrubbed out and cleaned thoroughly. Drain and clean every 2-3 weeks and even more if your hot tub is used heavily.

What does the Chlorine stabiliser do?

If you have an outdoor pool – Chlorine will be lost fairly quickly on a sunny day. The stabiliser helps to lessen chlorine loss and will save you money. Be sure you do NOT over stabilise your pool.

My vacuum does not work very well – the suction is very poor!

Empty the pump basket and backwash the filter before vacuuming. Also, if you have a vacuum point – turn off the main drain and skimmers and test the suction of the vac point carefully with your hand. If the suction is still poor – open the skimmer valve and close the vac point and test your suction in the bottom of the skimmer. If this is still poor, consult a qualified pool engineer.

My liner pool seems to be losing water. How do I find the leak?

First check that the waste valve is closed in the plant room and that water is not being lost there. Then vacuum the pool thoroughly and slowly looking for a cut or tear as you move the vacuum back and forth. Also – you may want to let the water level fall to a point where it stops which will also indicate where to look. If you do not succeed – ask advice from a qualified pool engineer.

We have inherited a hot tub which uses bromine. How do we test for bromine and what levels should it be?

Test for bromine with the bromine aquacheck strips or a comparator test kit using DPD no 1 tablets. The correct range is 1 – 5 ppm.

My pool has a lot of air bubbles near the inlets when the pump is running. Is this a problem?

Air Bubbles near the inlets suggests that the pump is sucking in air at some point, which means that the filtration system is not working at full efficiency. Switch off the pump – check for leaks on the suction side of the pump, check the pump cover and gasket. If you can not identify where the air is entering the system call out a qualified pool engineer.

My pool keeps going green & cloudy & I have been told that it is “locked”. – What do I do?

If your pool is “locked” – the chlorine ceases to have any effect because there is too much stabiliser in the water. The quickest and most effective way of unlocking your pool, is by draining large quantities of water from the pool and replacing with new unstabilised water and to stop using stabilised chlorine in the pool. NB. Do NOT drain the pool completely without the guidance of a qualified pool engineer.

Why do I need to backwash the filter and how often should this be done?

Backwashing reverses the water flow through the filter which causes the particles caught by the filter media to be disturbed. These particles are then sent to waste and the filter operates more efficiently again. A domestic pool should be backwashed for 5 minutes every 7-10 days and then rinsed before going back to normal filtration.

What are the correct levels for chlorine & pH?

Chlorine should be between 1 - 5 ppm for correct disinfection. The effectiveness of the chlorine is governed by the pH to a fair extent so it is important to maintain the pH in the range 7.2 to 7.4 (with 7.3 as ideal and is most comfortable for the eyes).

Should I use Chlorine Tablets as a sanitiser for my indoor pool?

Most definitely not. Chlorine is combined with cyanuric acid to form what is known as a 'stabilised' tablet. These are ideal for use on an outdoor pool as it helps to stabilise the chlorine level in the pool and combat leaching that is caused by sunlight. If you do use these on an indoor pool, you will eventually end up with 'chlorine lock'. The only way to resolve this situation is to drain at least half of the water