Archive for the 'Pools & Spas' Category

Dec 07 2009

Salt Water Pool Pumps

Published by Montgomery Decorator under Pools & Spas

If you are putting in a salt water pool or thinking about changing your existing pool to salt, there are a number of things you must consider. Among these things is your pool pump. Like a traditional pool, you need to have a pump in your pool. Pump options vary, and sometimes you don’t even have to replace your it if you are converting to a salt system. However, before you purchase a salt water pool pump, take a moment to learn about your options.

In most cases, you can use your traditional pump. There may be a few problems with calcium build up if you do not keep you chemical levels in check, but in general, a typical pump works just fine. This is good news for people wishing to convert to a salt system. There may be a few problems with salt conversion if you have a stainless steel pump, however, as the salt can work against the stainless steel and cause a number of problems. Some stainless steel systems can work well, depending on the way they operate. If you’ve converting an old chlorine pool to a salt system, check with the pump’s manufacturer to see if your pump can be used as a salt pump.

A salt water pool pump works quite simply, just like other pumps. Water from your pool is sucked into the pump through an intake port. The water is filtered through the pump basket, which you’ll have to clean regularly. It is then pushed through the pump and back into the pool through the discharge pump. The only difference is that you also have a salt cell attached to the system. This cell uses electricity to produce chlorination, keeping your pool clean. This should keep your water blue and clean, just like it would be in a typical pool.

When choosing one, if yours needs to be replaced of if you do not currently have a pool, look for one that works well in your price range. Yes, pumps can be expensive, but a new one should last for many seasons if you maintain your pool. With a new equipment, make sure that the manufacturer has noted that the it can be used with a salt system. In addition, check out the warranties given with the device, as well as the colors and styles if the salt water pool pump will be in the open where everyone can see it.

Is a salt swimming pool the right choice for you? That’s not a question you can answer by discussing pump options alone. There are both advantages and disadvantages to this system so it is important that you learn about both the benefits and the downfalls before installing this kind of pool system.

Please visit us to see the problems with having a salt water swimming pool and chlorine generators

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Dec 06 2009

Five Important Salt Water Pool Care Tips

Published by Montgomery Decorator under Pools & Spas

If you have a salt water pool, caring for it is extremely important. Most commercial pool items and products are not made for pool care, so taking some time to learn what to buy and how to go about taking care of your pool is important. They can be a joy, but only if you learn proper maintenance techniques. Here are five important care tips that every owner should know:

1. Check salt levels regularly. In these, it is important to understand what your salt levels should be and how you can remedy it if there is a problem. Most companies recommend that salt concentration should be at 2,500 to 3,000 parts per million. This is where the chlorination comes from, so if you levels dip too low, the pool water will be unhealthy.

2. Never use more chlorine as needed. Occasionally, you may have to add a bit of granular chlorine to the pool. This is only necessary in your daily salt water pool care routine if you have excessive rain or a large number of swimmers. Under normal circumstances, you shouldn’t use chlorine at all.

3. Read salt instructions carefully. These products are all meant to be used a bit differently. In a normal one, you have to use salt regularly. Most manufacturers recommend that you dump this salt directly into the deep end of the pool. However, this is not how every product is used. Read the back label of the salt water pool care product before just dumping it into the pool.

4. Use products to remove salt from the bottom of the pool. As the salt settles to the bottom, it can create a brownish or yellowish look to your pool. Commercial pool care products can be used to remove these stains.

5. Seal your pool steps to prevent rusting. The salt in the water can cause rusting, especially in pools that are converted from typical water to salt. First, use commercial care product to remove the rust. Then, you can use protective and restorative products to seal off the steps so that this doesn’t happen year after year. This salt water pool care tip is best done at the end of the swimming season, when you can partially drain your pool in order to apply the sealant.

Care is extremely important if you want to ensure that your pool continues to run optimally. While there is tons of information regarding typical pool care, it can sometimes be a bit more difficult to learn about pool care. Many of the products available for pool care are not made for a salt water pool. Before using products and certain care methods on your pool, make sure you take some time to learn proper care tips like those listed above.

Please visit us to see the problems with salt water swimming pools and chlorine generators.

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Dec 05 2009

Pool Floats Make the Backyard Swimming Pool

Published by Montgomery Decorator under Pools & Spas

It is a smart homeowner who invests in a backyard swimming pool. Not only have they increased the value of their home, but also they have saved thousands of dollars in backyard tropical vacations. They are also smart enough to have a place to cool off when the rest of the population is stuck in beach traffic. They are able to step right outside their home and enjoy the crystal clear cool waters of swimming pool bliss.

All that’s really needed now is some of the swimming pool accessories to make the picture complete. When a vacation paradise is shown in travel posters what is usually depicted is a bathing beauty propped up on a luxurious pool lounger chair with an umbrella drink in one hand, floating serenely across the top of a Caribbean blue swimming pool. All that a backyard swimming pool is missing is the pool lounger chair.

It is certainly worth the investment to outfit the pool with really quality pool lounger chairs and some high quality pool floats and rafts for the kids. The swimming pool is a place for the whole family to get together and enjoy some good quality time playing together. The pool rafts and floats just add to the enjoyment.

The variety of pool floats and lounger chairs is quite a bit different from years ago. Today’s pool lounger chairs are fully adjustable for sitting, reclining or stretching out completely. They are the Lazyboy of the swimming pool. They also come in a great selection of colors so that every member of the household can choose their very own.

The pool floats of today are also able to fold up and store away for the months that they are not in use. No longer is it necessary to spend hours pumping air into the pool rafts just to get them to a usable condition. Simply unfold them when it’s time and they are instantly ready for use. Also equipped with durable steel frames they are stable and sturdy. They are made to last a very long time.

For children there are soft folding chairs that are made with the same steel frame as the larger reclining pool lounger chairs. These will provide instant stability for those that might have a little difficulty getting on and off them. Most pool floats and chairs come equipped with cup holders for some relaxing time floating along the top of the pool with a refreshing beverage right by the side.

Honestly, what is the point of owning a pool if you can’t stretch out and relax in it? It would be well within pool owners best interests to spend some time checking out the best quality pool rafts available. Now that all the energy and money has been invested in the swimming pool it would silly to skimp now on the pool floats. Whether it is family time or party time the addition of some great pool floats and rafts will make all the summertime events enjoyable at the family backyard swimming pool.

For purchasing information visit Bargains Delivered Pool Floats and Lounger Chairs or PoolFloatsDelivered.com

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Sep 04 2009

Pool Maintenance for Chlorine Pools

Published by Montgomery Decorator under Pools & Spas

Swimming pools, like any other man-made object, will fall apart without regular maintenance. Simple maintenance of your pool will help to prolong its life and delay any need for repair. There are many little things you can do to keep your swimming area well maintained, and in the process keep both yourself and others safe.

There are many things you can do every day to ensure your pool is well maintained. Listed below are just a few of the daily things you can do:

Add Chlorine – Be sure to add chlorine to the pool daily to make sure all those pesky bacteria that can cause sickness are sanitized. While many pools use chlorine as a sanitizer, bromine is an acceptable substitute.

Adjust pH levels – If you have an automatic balancer in your pool this step is already done for you. If not, be sure to adjust both your pH and Alkaline levels. This helps make sure your water does not turn an undesirable cloudy, or irritate your skin when you go for a swim.

Clean your skimmer – Your skimmer should be cleaned daily to make sure your pool water stays fresh, and can circulate around the pool.

In addition to these things that you can do on a daily basis, there is more you can do. You don’t have to do these every day, but rather only every one to two weeks, and this can go a long way to adding years of functionality to your pool’s life.

Shocking Your Pool

Shocking your swimming pool is where you add a concentrated amount of chlorine into the pool water for a short time. The chlorine levels become so high that any organic organisms (mold, algae, and bacteria) are completely destroyed. You should shock your pool at least once a week, but may have to do so more than one time per week depending on how often the swimming area is used. You may also need to add algaecide to kill any remaining algae that the chlorine did not already destroy.

Adding Metal Out and Clarifier

You will have to add other chemicals into your pool on a weekly basis, with clarifying and anti-metal agents being chief amongst them. Metal Out agents are used to eliminate the tiny particles of metal that escape your pool filtration system. Clarifier, on the other hand, is used to prevent your water from turning cloudy. It also helps to remove those particles of matter that are too small for the pool’s filter to catch. The Clarifier makes it so that these particles cling to each other, making them large enough for a vacuum or your filter to catch.

There is still more you can do to keep your pool well maintained. Vacuuming your pool from time to time will help keep your water clean, as will skimming the surface of your pool water for leaves. Every winter (or every six months if you live in a warmer part of the country) you will want to drain your pool and scrub your pool walls and floor. This may also be a good time to check your railings and bolts on accessories, like diving boards or step rails to see if they need to be tightened or replaced.

Please visit us to learn how to have a chlorine free pool and to learn more about the problems with having a saltwater pool.

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Sep 03 2009

5 Rules Natural Swimming Pools

Published by Montgomery Decorator under Pools & Spas

Natural swimming pools are based on ponds and pools that were once found so abundantly in the landscape. They are a chemical free combination of swimming area and aquatic plant garden, and so form an intimate part of the garden landscape. Natural swimming pools can also make a very important contribution to the restoration of aquatic flora and fauna.

They always take the form of a swimming area and a regeneration area. Sometimes these are at the same (water) level and sometimes the regeneration area is at a separate level.

5 basic rules for natural swimming pools:

  1. You will need a deep area for swimming, between 5 feet (1500mm) and 7 feet (2200mm) with vertical walls.
  2. You will need a similar expanse for the regeneration area, which will vary in water depth (down to nothing at the edges). The regeneration area will contain aggregate for filtration in a mass from 2inches (50mm) to eighteen inches (450mm) and averaging 1 foot (300mm).
  3. You will need to follow local laws (sometimes quite stringent) for safety fencing.
  4. A total area of 50 square metres (25 for the swimming area and 25 for the regeneration area) is recommended by some, but many people are now finding that 100 square metres (50 each for swimming area and regeneration area) gives better, more stable, and more predictable results.
  5. You will need a circulating pump to draw water through the gravel bed of the regeneration zone, if the regeneration area and the pond are on the same level. If the regeneration area is above the pond it may drain naturally into the pond, but you will still need a pump to feed it.

Save Money

You will save money on running costs and you will save on some special features (such as chemical treatment units) but the capital cost is at present quite high reflecting to a degree the complexity of organising the biological processes. It is arguable that installing a “normal” swimming pool is a entirely mechanical process that can be handled by competent builders/engineers without much specialist knowledge. On the other hand a “natural” swimming pool requires specialised skills and knowledge, for which at the moment you are paying a premium.

You will have to allow for slightly higher maintenance. The regeneration area will be actively managed – removal of excess vegetable matter, replacement of plants that are not doing well, and so on.

You will also have a pool which integrates much better into the garden landscape. If you always wanted a pool for exploring the attractions of pond life, aquatic plants and so on then this is your excuse.

Other Sources of Information.

There are good but slightly academic sources of information on the internet about natural pools. The best is from Europe, where hundreds of natural swimming pools have been built, but really what you must do is make contact with natural swimming pool builders, who not only know the practical wrinkles of building and landscaping a pool, but who will also be able to point you to actual examples.

……more ideas at http://www.new-landscaping.com with others on natural swimming ponds, free landscaping ideas, etc.

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Sep 02 2009

Benefits Of Using An Automatic Pool Cleaner

Published by Montgomery Decorator under Pools & Spas

Filter Your Pool Regularly:

Solitary of the mainly imperative things in swimming pool preservation is the filtration, observance the water clean and circulating them is central in any pool. There are numerous types of filters vacant for swimming pool water. Swimming pool filtration coordination use the same basic theory of passing water through tiny passageways, thus filtering it. Particles of passages are fascinated and thereby alienated from the main corpse of the water. This process continues until all of these passageways are barren. The filter must then be cleaned and the cycle continual.

Prevention Is Better Than Cure:

However, there are confident wellbeing issues that must be addressed if you choose to have an indoor swimming pool – especially if there are children in the home. While an al fresco pool can certainly be dangerous, you at least have the prospect to boundary marker off the pool area so that children do not cross the threshold without being accompanied by an adult. If you have pools inside your home you must take extra precautions to ensure that children are supervised at all times and know not to enter the pool area without permission.

It may be advisable depending on the ages of the children to carry on the indoor swimming pool at the rear locked doors. In addition, all children should be skilled to swim, as well as taught comprehensive pool safety. An indoor swimming pool can be a luxurious addition to any home. If you use it safely and maintain it well, it will indubitably bring you many years of enjoyment.

Other explanation pool safety tips include this Never, even for a split second; leave young children unattended in or around a pool. Stay a phone by the pool for crisis calls and also for answering the pool fence should completely separate the pool from the house and engage in recreation area. It should also self-close and self-latch, with latches higher than the children’s reach.

• Do not let your child use or rely on air filled toys and swimming aids such as floaters.

• Anyone surveillance young children around a pool should learn and be able to rescue a child if needed.

• Toys should always be removed from the pool after use so that young children are not tempted to reach for them.

• Children should be skilled in water survival from the time they are able to walk or crawl to the pool. That said, do not consider a child drown-proof just because he or she can swim or has had swimming schooling.

You can also find more info on Sta Rite Pool Cleaner and Swimming Pool Cleaner. Poolcleaners-help.com is a comprehensive resource to know about Swimming Pool Cleaning.

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