Helping Make Pool Care Easier
Helping Make Pool Care Easier
If you are one of the Greater Cincinnatians fortunate enough to have a swimming pool in your back yard, congratulations! You’ve had a great way to cool off during this summer’s heat wave. Of course, the more it is used and the hotter it gets, you appreciate time and money saving technology more. Here are a couple of ways to enhance and simplify pool ownership.
Make cleaning easy.
Pools have traditionally been vacuumed by hand, with a suction hose linked to an intake line via the skimmer. In the pool, the hose slides onto a vac head with both attached to an expandable pole. The user then moves the suctioning head slowly across the bottom. Works great. The only problem is the time involved to do the cleaning. Plus, if the pool is extremely dirty, there might be a filter backwash (or two) needed to do the job. There are better ways to spend your time and things you’d rather be doing. Like swimming!
In-ground pools.
Save time and effort by getting an automatic cleaner or vacuum. For example, the Dirt Demon operates much the same as a hand vacuum, minus all the work. The unit connects directly to the vacuum head and the skimmer, without the pole, vac head, and…you! It suctions through the skimmer but does all the work with no human interaction. It moves in a random pattern and even climbs walls. How well does it work? 2024 marks the 50th anniversary of the technology’s development so you can count on it doing the job right.
The last decade has seen a surge of robotic cleaners in swimming pool applications. Eastgate Pools carries a variety of robotic cleaners from Maytronics, Polaris, and Aquabot. Significantly, they operate independently from the pool filter. This allows the filter to perform its primary functions of filtering water and mixing chemicals. In effect, these ‘robots’ become a second filter, taking some of the workload off the filter. Some models can even be ‘driven’ by the pool attendant via a hand-held remote control. Talk about cool!
Above ground pools.
Yes, there are auto-cleaning advancements here, too, and they tend to mirror in-ground options. While the Kreepy Krauly works in in-ground pools, the Cyclone Junior does the job for above-ground pools. It may not climb the walls, but the random-pattern floor cleaner minimizes any touch up cleaning needed. Adjusting the filtration system’s return eyeball often eliminates missed spots. It’s that simple.
Eastgate Pools has Maytronics and Polaris robotic cleaners available, too. Just put them in the pool and watch them run across the bottom, collecting debris. Like their in-ground counterparts, they serve as a secondary filter, helping the main filter work more efficiently.
Some people enjoy hand-vacuuming their pool. A customer once told me it was her ‘me time’. I believe the same can be claimed from the comfort of a chaise lounge next to the pool. To each their own, I guess.
Important note: Eastgate Pools highly recommends you remove any vacuum system or component from any pool before swimming. This eliminates the possibility of entanglement via the hose or the power supply or injury from suction intake. Many people choose to put their cleaners in over-night so as to not interfere with swim time.
Now, about those chemicals…
Technology and innovation are beautiful things, with newer and better ways to keep pool water sanitized and clear. We still recommend testing pool water on a regular basis and balancing to your specific established guidelines. What we like are improvements in how chlorination happens in pools that rely on chlorine as the sanitizer of choice. Yes, people still use chlorine tablets, either in a floater or in the skimmer basket. And Eastgate Pools still sells semi-loads of liquid chlorine shock all summer long. Some customers will never change, having used these methods for years. Some go back decades. But…there are advancements in technology that may someday make them obsolete.
In-ground pools.
Arguably the greatest advancement in pool sanitization for in-ground pools is the chlorine generator. The pool literally makes its own chlorine. The process is moderately simple. Add salt to the pool water. Yep—just dump it straight in. Within a day or two it dissolves. And no, it doesn’t make it seem like you are swimming in the ocean. Most people don’t notice any saltiness at all. The dilution is equal to about a teaspoon of salt dissolved in a gallon of water.
So where does the chlorine come from. Salt is a chemical compound called sodium chloride (NaCl). Filtered water passes over electrolytic cells before returning to the pool. The cells separate the sodium and chloride components and convert the chloride to hypochlorous acid. This is the part of chlorine that works. Presto, the pool is chlorinated. System controls allow the pool owner to increase or decrease the amount of chlorine generated. We do recommend cleaning the cells once a season to remove calcium buildup. It usually takes less than five minutes to remove the cells that sometimes then need to soak overnight. It’s just that easy and simple.
Above-ground pools.
Due to the structural differences from an in-ground pool, chlorine generators cannot be used on above-ground pools. The high salt levels can and ultimately will rust them out. On the other hand, in-ground pools use commercially hot-dipped galvanized steel. And so, no high-salt water in above-ground pools. Period.
That doesn’t mean old-fashioned chlorination has to be the norm. Eastgate Pools is happy to offer as their primary system the Simple Salt Hybrid Water System. This is a low salt system where the salt serves a completely different purpose than on in-ground chlorine generators. Here, it is used to raise the Total Dissolved Solids level (TDS). The TDS level helps distribute natural minerals and a miniscule amount of copper throughout the pool. This kills bacteria and algae and helps keep pool water clean and clear. Plus, it’s pH neutral, non-corrosive, Eco-friendly, and virtually eliminates chemical odors, dry eyes, itchy skin, and bleached-out swimsuits.
This is the skinniest of explanations but hopefully enough to rouse your interest in the system. Visit Eastgate Pools to learn more and see the Simple Salt Hybrid Water System in action.
In conclusion.
You own your pool. Don’t let it own you. Enjoy swimming in it and simplify the maintenance. You’ll love it even more.