What causes stains in my swimming pool?

August 19th, 2010

There are number of types of stains you can get in a swimming pool. Stains are generally a result of:

1.) TDS – High total dissolved solids (TDS) in the pool.

2.) Tannic acid buildup from acorns and other organic matter… could be leaves or even cyprus mulch. Tannic acid is actually used to stain wood.

3.) Natural stone leaching- natural stones contain iron, potassium, magnesium etc… these can add to the TDS and even directly leach onto tile or plaster.

4.) Large amounts of dirt or sand containing elements such as metals.

5.) Continually adding water: Over time tap water will bring enough metals and impurities into the water to buildup to a level that can cause stains.

These are just a few of the most common items we’ve noticed while doing pool service in the Flower Mound and other suburban cities to Dallas.

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A Hayward cartridge filter opinion

August 18th, 2010

We were reviewing our pricing for cartridge filters recently and I asked a friend in the business what he was charging for the Hayward and Pentair cartridge filters.  I’ll keep his name confidential at this time.

He was more concerned with giving his professional opinion about his experience with the Hayward cartridge filter than focusing on the price specifics.

Reply: We do not recommend these filters. On the Hayward, the lower manifold is designed so pointed plastic barbs press into the cartridges over time or if the psi gets up to 30 #s. The Pentair is the better of the options but why would you want one.  Bad on the electric bill, cannot backwash, more likely to stain, TDS goes up faster due “dead sea affect”.

My continued thoughts: We generally tend to be more of a fan of DE filters due to their high performance (finer filtration), backwash capability, and potential electrical savings. However there times when they can cost more money to install due to certain situations where a permit might need to be pulled to install a backwash line.

The cleaning or maintenance work on swimming pool can be a little more forgiving if you have the ability to backwash – which normally just comes with the DE filter as Sand filters are not our preference. However the Pentair Quad cartridge filter can be outfitted with a backwash valve to help accommodate this need.

Cartridge filters are most popular on our pool service routes in Flower Mound, TX and Frisco, TX.  Swimming pools in both Flower Mound and Frisco tend to have less trees than older areas of Dallas or Plano at this time making them a little more accommodating.

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Over the deck swimming pool water fill devices

August 11th, 2010

Here in the Dallas area swimming pools can lose 2-4 inches of water per week due to evaporation.  As a swimming pool owner it is important to ensure you keep your water level up to the middle of the skimmer openings or “throats”.  This helps prevent damage to your filter pump and suction side line.


If you have a swimming pool service company taking care of your pool you still will typically need to add water. Note: most swimming pool service companies do not add water due to the liability issues. However even if you have a company that is an exception and does add water, they will typically only be there once a week and as such your pool still is likely to need additional water added.

If you don’t want to have to remember to add water and be responsible for turning it on and off then an automatic fill device can be very helpful. Many new swimming pools come with one built in. If you don’t have a built in automatic fill device then the Pool Sentry can be a great option. We have seen the Pool Sentry for as low as $59 from depending on where you purchase it.

Another option that we’ve recommended is a pool water level controller from Frontgate. It looks a little better perhaps, but we don’t have much experience with them at this point.

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Improvements to our pool service in Flower Mound, TX

August 9th, 2010

Flower Mound, TX is one of our fastest growth areas for swimming pool service.  You can read more about the updates in our Flower Mound pool service on our behind the scenes blog.  We have also added a page specific to those of you interested in more information about the costs and service day options for pool service in Flower Mound, TX.

We’ve also listed a number of the neighborhoods and subdivisions popular on our swimming pool service routes for Flower Mound pool service technicians.  We have both pool cleaning technicians and a pool repair technician there on a daily basis.

Interesting tidbit: According to the United States Census Bureau, the town of Flower Mound has a total area of 43.4 square miles, of which, 40.9 square miles of it is land and 2.5 square miles of it (5.76%) is water (we’re guessing not counting all the swimming pools!)

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Pool service question: Why are Sand swimming pool filters so popular for commercial pools?

July 31st, 2010

Nearly all commercial swimming pools that we have on our pool service in Plano, Flower Mound, and Frisco are outfitted with a sand pool filter.  This is the opposite of residential swimming pools where only 1-2% of homeowners in this area have a sand swimming pool filter.

Commercial swimming pools need to be able to run for 24hrs per day. They are usually not outfitted with a cleaning system (either floor system or a crawler) and the additional time circulating helps keep the pool cleaner and better maintained. Running a commercial swimming pool 24hrs per day also helps circulate the chemicals and ensure proper sanitizing. With a high bather load this can be very helpful.

DE filters need an hour or two off each day to let the DE settle and then re-coat the grids when turned on. Without this they will get in a sort of a “feedback loop” if you will where they filter better and better due to the dirt coating the grids and will eventually stop themselves up. DE filters can get down to 1 micron where Sand filters are usually not able to filter any finer than the visual level of 25-35 microns.

Cartridge filters are able to run continuously and have a superior ability to trap body oils, however they are unable to be backwashed (with the exception of a few new hybrid filters such as the Pentair Quad). Cartridge swimming pool filters also get down close to 15 microns on filtration. A commercial swimming pool can get a lot of dirt (and other stuff) in the filter. Being unable to backwash means a filter cleaning is necessary when the filter is getting a lot of buildup. An emergency filter cleaning could shut a swimming pool down until the filter is cleaned. This risk factor is pretty unattractive to most commercial pool operators. There is a way to get around this. If you were to install a number of separate cartridge filters (basically overbuilding your filtration a bit) you could run the water through your main filter lineup and then have a couple of reserve filters that the water could be diverted to in order to alleviate an emergency. However many pool equipment sets are built without thinking about things such as this.

Once DE and cartridge filters are ruled out due to their limitations or potential additional initial costs, many commercial pool builders go with sand filters. Sand filters are simple and easy to maintain. However they will not make the water sparkle the same way a cartridge or hybrid would. They also will take a lot longer to clear up a cloudy swimming pool or a swimming pool struggling to mitigate an algae bloom.

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How much chlorine does my swimming pool need?

July 11th, 2010

The Texas health code provides for the chlorine in commercial swimming pools to be between 1-8ppm.

We service mostly residential pools on a weekly basis. We used to manage towards 4ppm (parts per million) as a maintenance level on most pools that we were servicing on a weekly basis. If you are able to check your water on a daily basis then you can go with a lower chlorine – perhaps as low as 1-2ppm.  If you try going this low without anything else to help the chlorine do its job (such as an ozone oxidizer or mineral pack) then keep in mind that a good storm or some rain water can lift the pH and render 80% or more of the chlorine ineffective. Without anything as a backup you may find yourself with a pool turning colors within days. You can make the necessary adjustments and get away with running it low if you really know what you are doing and are checking it daily… however we like to have a little more breathing room if we don’t have anything else helping the chlorine do it’s job.

We are now able to run the pools on our weekly swimming pool service at a slightly lower chlorine level with the help of a mineral pack.  Most of our pools are on the 1-3ppm range depending on usage needs and bather load. The more things that can impact the pool water the higher you need to run the chlorine. Water change drivers can include: bather load, debris such as leaves, dust sand and pollen, and exposure to water run-off to name a few.

If you are running a commercial pool remember to ensure the staff is checking the chlorine on a daily basis. It is helpful to have a maintenance report on site showing the chemical levels and what was added each day to move them. I can’t remember at the moment if this is required by health code at all pools, but I know certain cities we provide pool service for including (pool service in Frisco, TX) and (pool service in Plano, TX) are enforcing or asking about the daily record keeping at least.  As a rule we just provide a daily maintenance report to all our commercial pool customers for their maintenance staff to utilize even if we are not there every day.

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In response to a pool cleaning service customer in Flower Mound, TX: 5 keys to basic swimming pool care.

July 10th, 2010

We had a swimming pool service customer in Flower Mound, TX ask us “what else is necessary” to take care of their pool other than the services we provide.  We explained that our services are dependent on proper circulation and filtration.

I found this video today courtesy of BioGuard.  They mention five steps for basic pool care that start with circulation and filtration.

The five steps they mention are:

1.) Circulation    2.) Filtration

3.) Cleaning

4.) Testing    5.) Chemistry

Every swimming pool service company is dependent on sufficient circulation and filtration before they can perform maintenance items 3-5.

In this video they recommend 10-12 hrs per day of circulation during the peak time of day.  This is exactly what we recommend for our pool service customers in the Flower Mound, TX area including commercial swimming pools. However it is most common for commercial pools to run 24hrs per day if they are equipped with the proper type of filter to accommodate this. See my previous post about filters for more on filter types and their differing benefits.

10-12 hrs of daily circulation is necessary in swimming pools on service in Flower Mound as well as Dallas, TX and surrounding areas. This is especially helpful in preventing certain strands of algae here. In the off season only 4-6 hours might be needed daily if the pool equipment is properly sized. The goal is to turn over all the water once per day typically even in the Winter.

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How experienced is your crew with handling a swimming pool drain and acid wash?

July 9th, 2010

Mark has 30 years experience and Gabe 25 in the industry. Mark and Gabe have trained Justin to do the acid washes. Justin is our current go-to guy for acid washing and has been doing at least one or two of them a week typically for a while now. Justin has 6 years of experience in the industry. We do not just give the responsibility of an acid wash to a regular service technician. Sometimes Justin will have a helper under his supervision.

We use the best practices for acid washing swimming pools including:

1.)    A buffer to prevent the acid from excessive roughening to the plaster.

2.)    Calibrating the acid strength to the plaster needs.

3.)    Repeating the application more than once as needed to brighten the plaster as much as possible.

4.)    Debris removal and disposal as needed.

We’ve had a number of swimming pools in Flower Mound, TX that we’ve done acid washes for this season. We’ve also done a number of them for REO or foreclosure houses out there. The foreclosures have frequently needed a pressure washing as well. Pressure washing is very helpful if you have a pebble tech or equivalent type of surface.

Thanks,

-Gabe

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Are Jandy swing spring one way check valves corrosion resistant?

July 7th, 2010

A local builder told one of our customers recently that Jandy one way check valves are not “corrosion resistant”.  This concerned a customer of ours in Coppell, TX that we had just installed a Jandy one way check valve for to hold the water up in his spa.  The customer wanted to switch out to an older style valve that was specifically labelled corrosion resistant – which we did to accommodate him since there was rust in the valve not long after we installed it.

After I inspected the valve and noticed that the customers Rainbow 320 in line chlorinator has no one way check valve protecting the heater, I became concerned that the rust was actually from the heater.  I also was concerned about the comparable ability of the Jandy valves to hold up to chlorine and corrosive water compared to the older style center-spring based one way check valves.  This is an email I sent to the customer after I contacted Jandy to compare the valves and see what they had to say:

“Customer John Doe”

As far as the valve differences – I am open to learning and this was the first I have heard of a difference in corrosion resistance. So I want to do my homework.

I called Jandy – the makers of the vale we put in to ask about it being corrosion resistant. I spoke with Dave in their tech support via calling the number here: http://www.jandy.com/html/contact/

Dave assured me their swing / spring check valve is chlorine / corrosion resistant (basically if it is one it is also the other).  He said they are the most common type of valve used now and are used in close proximity to a chlorinator like your Rainbow 320 “all the time”. Dave said it is also fine to use this valve to protect a heater from a chlorinator like I described to you today.

I asked what documentation he had and this was all he had immediately available – a general product brochure for all their valves. If you notice at the bottom-right they claim these valves are “chlorine resistant” in faded blue lettering.

http://www.jandy-downloads.com/pdfs/sell_sheets/System_brochure_valves.pdf

Dave was real familiar with the other valve that was specifically claiming to be “corrosion resistant”. Dave speculated this might be new marketing they were doing by labeling them this way. Dave said he is going to ask the manufacturing people there at Jandy / Zodiac if the springs are comparable or if there is any significant difference in how “resistant” they are between their model and the other one in question. He said if he could get an answer that they were different in any way as far as corrosion resistance he would let me know.

Based on this we have:

1.)    These Jandy swing / spring check valves as the most common type of valves being installed on new pools today regularly in close proximity to chlorinators.

2.)    The Jandy manufacturer claiming on the phone and in a general brochure that they are chlorine resistant.

3.)    No conclusive proof of any significant difference (yet) in how resistant the metal components are to chlorine.

So at this point it seems best for me to stay the course and continue using these valves because of the features they offer until I have data that points us in a different direction.

I would recommend again that you get a 1 way check valve to protect the heater – regardless of which make of valve you feel is best. I am pretty sure most of that rust was from something other than the check valve… and the heater is the #1 suspect.

Thanks,

-Gabe

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Why are there so many cartridge filters at our pool service customers in Frisco, TX?

July 6th, 2010

Inquiring people in the pool service industry that serve Frisco, TX have noticed the dearth of DE filters compared to the percentage installed in other suburbs around the area.  Since not many residential customers choose sand filters the other common option is to go with a cartridge filter. Frisco TX has a larger number of cartridge filters than most suburbs in the area. Why is that?

I want to speculate a little bit based on what I’ve seen and heard. We have a lot of swimming pool service customers in Frisco TX and seeing their pools and who they were built by has given us some consistent trends that we have taken note of.

Cartridge filters are easier to install:

A DE filter requires a backwash line – unlike a cartridge filter. I am told code in Frisco, TX is to run the backwash line out to the p-trap and join up with it.  This requires some additional plumbing and cost to the builder. I am also told that builders need to pull a permit when tying into the p-trap (correct me if I am wrong on this).

Frisco also has a lot of newer housing developments without mature trees. Other than a few streets in Starwood and a few creeks the new developments largely are free of any leaf canopy’s. Having less trees means less pollen and leaves get in a pool which is more accommodating for cartridge filters.

So to sum it up it seems builders in Frisco, TX are saving some money and hassle by going with a cartridge filter and having one less permit to pull. Frisco is also an area that is more accommodating of cartridge filters.

Cartridge filters are not always the best choice:

I can say I have seen at least three examples of pools that were either saltwater or built with Oklahoma stone and or dry-stack stone combinations that (in my opinion) would have been better off with a DE filter. In these situations the stones have been eroding into the pool when the sealant on them wears off from time to time. In order to get the particles out we have had to bring our own portable vacuuming equipment to avoid putting all the stone erosion dirt into the cartridge filter… thereby stressing the filter elements. Of course it would be easier if all builders picked materials that are highly compatible with saltwater and well sealed… but that’s a bit of a different topic.

With a DE filter you can backwash quickly when the pressure rises thereby minimizing stress to the internals. Additionally if you have a dial or multi port backwash valve you can vacuum directly to waste bypassing the filter.

There is a type of cartridge filter that will work with a back wash valve now. If you are interested you can see the review that I did on the Pentair Quad D.E. filter.

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