1. INTRODUCTION

A swimming pool is made up of water and a number of complex chemicals that need to be kept in perfect balance with each other, in order for the pool to maintain its appeal and safety for swimmers. Bathers complaining of sore eyes and dry skin can often be a sign of water that is unbalanced. Keeping a clean pool is just a case of good housekeeping and understanding of the chemicals needed.

This is not an exhaustive manual, but it covers the basics that any domestic pool owner will come across.

Swimming Pool Chemicals are dangerous. They are corrosives that will cause severe burns. Always wear gloves and goggles when handling them. The door to the pump house should be kept shut to keep animals and children away from the electrics and chemicals.

The pump removes the dirty water from the pool by sucking surface water through the skimmer(s) and through the drain in the bottom of the pool. This water is forced through the filter under pressure and is then returned to the pool through the jets at the opposite end of the pool. The skimmer removes surface debris by drawing surface water into the skimmer basket. The main body of water is filtered by drawing it through the drain in the bottom. Both of these are necessary because if only the skimmer was working, the dirt in the water would sink to the bottom of the pool. If only the drain was working, then any insects or leaves landing on the surface would not be removed.

The skimmer will not work if it is entirely submerged, the water level must be a couple of inches below the top, otherwise it will not suck off the surface of the water.

2. DAILY POOL MAINTENANCE

To help the filter and the chemicals do their job, the following needs to be done daily.

Empty the skimmer basket.
Scoop out any large debris.
Run pump on filter.

Other jobs listed in this manual can be done on a weekly basis, but an eye should be kept on the condition of the water. You can often tell if there is something wrong because the water loses its sparkle.

3. THE FILTER

The electric pump which circulates the water must be run for at least 2 hours every day to keep the pool clean and prevent it from seizing.
Water is filtered, under pressure through a tank filled with sand. The sand in the filter traps particles of dirt carried in the water. The filter also catches bacteria and algae. On the top of the filter is a pressure indicater, if this strays into the yellow or red, IMMEDIATLY SHUT OFF THE POWER and check the trap and filter.
Once a year the top will have to be taken off the filter and the sand level topped up. Each time that the pool is backwashed, some of the filter medium is lost. Filter sand is on sale with the chemicals. It is a special sand that has been washed and graded- too small it would escape into the pool water and too large it would not trap particles.

3.1 VALVES

In a typical domestic swimming pool pump house there will be four valves (taps) that control the flow of water around the pool. These should be set as follows for normal running-
(open position the valve runs parallel to the pipe- closed it is at a right angle to the pipe)
the OUTLET valve should be in the OPEN position
the DRAIN valve should be in the OPEN position
the SKIMMER valve should be in the OPEN position
the VACUUM/ HOOVER valve should be in the CLOSED position

there is also the FILTER valve which can be set to various different positions, depending which direction the water is to run through the filter. Do not turn this valve whilst the pump is running.
The FILTER valve should be set to FILTER.

3.2 TRAP (in pump house)