Thanks to the team at Commercial Pool Systems, we have had some much-needed questions answered regarding pool maintenance.
Watch the online webinar, or read through the article below to gain some insight into what the "best practice" is for your facility.
If you have any other questions or are looking for professional advice, give Craig and the team a call and they will be happy to assist.
The team have covered below some of the pressing issues around pool maintenance:
- Best practice / what are the 101s for pool without patrons/usage.
- Should we turn our pools off? Or is it harder to get them running again?
- Should I maintain the temperature levels of both the pool and swim centre while closed?
- What is the best way to store equipment to preserve it over this period?
- How should I maintain my pool in a cost-effective way for an extended shutdown?
- Complete shutdown
- Dosage levels
- Saving money methods
When it's time to reopen, is there anything extra I should be doing to protect my staff and customers regarding water treatment?
This guide is general advice only, and I need to stress that there is no one quick fix for all pools. Working in the commercial aquatic sector, we see facilities from a spa in a hotel right up to a 2 million litre pool in a council aquatic centre or university.
Each hydraulic and filtration system is inherently different and may require a different course of action. It is best to seek the advice of an independent professional to ensure the solution you choose is the right fit for your facility.
It is highly recommended not to shut down the pool by way of emptying the pool, especially if you have a liner as they can deform, move and split without the weight of the water. There can even be some drummy tiles or quartz render that can delaminate and may cause expensive immediate repairs needing to be completed. Adding a lot more time and money to rectifying and even just filling and rebalancing the pool can be a costly procedure.
We also don't recommend switching off the filtration and dosing systems either as this results in the pool going off / green. Again this is a costly and time-consuming exercise as the water needs to be heavily treated with chemicals to balance. There may also be debris caught in the filters which takes a substantive cleaning in the way of hosing out cartridges or backwashing media filters. The constant backwashing results in the loss of chemicals and salt/minerals added to the pool. Filter pressures need to be monitored continuously as significantly increased filter pressure means the filtration pumps have to work harder and shorten their life.
Biofouling (growth of pathogens inside the filter media) can occur when circulation is stopped immediately without proper preparation.
PWTAG recommends two main options to follow:
Reduced circulation.
Stopping circulation.
Letting the pool go green also results in the need to manually vacuum and scrub the pool walls and floors on start-up.
There are many ways to save money while keeping your pool operational. If your facility is no longer in use we would recommend;
Covering the pool with a blanket if possible will reduce any foreign matter entering the pool, therefore, taking the load off the chlorine and dosing system. Slowing evaporation, meaning the pool needs less freshwater added. It also helps with retaining chlorine in the pool, especially in outdoor pools as the sun's UV rays cant penetrate the water and destroy the chlorine molecules.
Reducing the filtration and dosing times
It is strongly advised that you keep your water moving and dosing system on if feasible to do so, however, as there is no bather load on the pool, this is done at a reduced rate. For example, instead of the system running 24/6, the filtration may be reduced to 6 hours run time for every 24 hours; likewise, the dosing system reduces the chlorine / ORP setpoints to save on chemical dosage. If a modulating output system you can leave this on, and it turns on and off with the pump dosing the required chemicals. If your system is not modular in its output, drop the output from 100% to 50%. Keep in mind that this is just an example; you have to work out what's best for your operation. Probes can dry out if not stored properly and can lead to expensive replacement costs at the time of reinstatement.
Turning down or turning off the heating system
Lower pool water temperature results in less chemical consumption as chlorine has a longer half-life in cooler temperatures; this means that the chlorine is active in the water for a more extended period. The pH and other parameters such as alkalinity, calcium etc. are a lot more stable also.
If you are operating with solar tube matting, it is recommended that winter mode s implemented. If this system is shut off entirely the water in the tubing goes stagnant/green, when the system s turned back on, all this stagnant water enters the pool resulting in increased chemical usage and time for reasons mentioned previously. Putting the solar into a winter mode ensures that the water is flushed out with clean treated pool water for 5 – 10 minutes every day or week depending on your system.
Secondary Disinfection SDS
Your facility has secondary disinfection in the form of UV or Ozone; there are two ways you can go on this each having its benefits.
Leaving the system on, SDS generally use very little power and has the ability to treat thousands of litres of water for only a few cents. These systems take the load off chemical dosing systems and can destroy waterborne pathogens such as ecoli, cryptosporidium, fungi etc.
Tuning the system off
These systems need to have a working flow protection devise if the filter pump is turning on and off. When these systems are left to run without water flow, it damages the UV globes/chamber, resulting in expensive repairs. You may want to shut down and isolate for piece of mind.
The storing of equipment and chemicals should always be separated, and in a dry environment and out of reach/access to the general public if not being used, this should apply if the facility is running or not.
Much information is still unknown about the virus; however, what is known is that it is not a waterborne disease. Therefore facilities adhering to the Victorian Health and Wellbeing Regulations 2019 should ensure water free of any Corona Virus. The World Health Organization has no available data on COVID-19 in swimming pools other than on surfaces, where they acknowledge that Covid-19 is readily and easily killed by a disinfectant such as chlorine. Officials at the USA Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say there's "no evidence that COVID-19 can spread to humans through the use of pools and hot tubs."
CDC officials say "proper operation, maintenance, and disinfection (e.g., with chlorine and bromine) of pools and hot tubs should remove or inactivate the virus that causes COVID-19."
As per Federal Government Guidelines, the best way to limit the spread of the virus is to practice good hygiene habits, cough into your elbow, and isolate yourself if you suspect having the virus.
Starting up the facility again
As for starting up the facility again, this may take a few days, but if the below steps are taken, this significantly reduces the amount of time needed.
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Disinfect and clean all surfaces
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Return the filtration system to its original run time, eg. 24/7
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Check filters and pump baskets and clean if required.
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Return the dosing system to its original state of operation, and increase set point levels and outputs.
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Reinstate heating systems
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Reinstate the SDS if required
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Remove the blanket and allow the pool to 'breathe.'
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Test the pool water and balance if required
We strongly recommend starting the pool at least a week before use in case any potential maintenance issues arise. When this situation occurs, we expect a massive increase in service calls to fix equipment that has been turned off, potentially for months. It's a good idea to run each piece of equipment (pumps, heaters, filters, Dosing systems, chemical pumps etc.) to ensure there isn't a bottleneck of service calls needed when things are turned back on.
Use the time productively if your funds allow, by thinking of the following maintenance items that are normally difficult to achieve when the pool is in use:
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Seal and bearing replacement on pumps
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Filtration media replacement for sand/glass/zeolite filters
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Palintest/Lovibond/Spin photometer annual service and calibration
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Heater servicing​