If you manage, operate, or own a pool, keeping everything running smoothly is important to you. Most people who own a backyard pool, want to spend more time enjoying their pool instead of hours cleaning it. Similarly managers and operators typically need to work efficiently as possible with cleaning, so they can have time to meet other responsibilities. Whether you're goal is to spend more time enjoying your personal pool, or make a public facility better for your swimmers, Allegheny Pool Services Co. encourages you to focus on proper surface water removal.
The highest concentration of contaminants typically exist on the surface of the pool water. Windborne debris and user oils all collect at the water's surface. In addition to the greater level of contaminants near the water surface, disinfectants levels are typically lowest in this area. More pollutants and lower sanitizer levels at the top region of the pool make surface water removal critical. Maintaining your skimmers or gutters and keeping your water at the proper level will allow you to achieve proper surface water removal.
Clear skimmers and gutters combined with the right water level will help keep your pool water clean and safe. Proper operation will remove the debris and oils from the top of you water. As a result you’ll spend less time manually skimming the surface with a net, freeing your time to enjoy your pool or better serve your swimmers. The first step in this process is understanding what sort of surface removal system your pool uses. The two most common systems are gutters and surface skimmers. Offering Pittsburgh pool services, I encounter both gutters and skimmers.
Gutters designs are trough-like and operate on the principle of surface tension. Owners and operators with gutters should maintain the water level no more than a ¼" above the lip of the gutter. Keeping the water at this levels produces a draw on the water caused by surface tension. The pull that results from the surface tension quickly removes debris and contamination from the top of the water.
Surface skimmers are box-like openings located in the pool wall. Many skimmers come with a weir that will adjust to level of the water. Skimmers with a weir will adjust with variances in the water level to provide the proper surface tension to pull in debris in contaminates. If the skimmer does not have weir, you should keep the water level ¼" above the bottom lip of the skimmer. Regardless if the skimmer has a weir or not the you must pay attention to the skimmer strainer basket. The strainer basket should be cleaned regularly to maintain proper flow to remove the surface water.
I hope you found this discussion on surface water removal helpful. If you would like to discuss any of the topics further, please reach out to us. Allegheny Pool Services Co. wants to help you keep your pool safe, clean and fun. More Information can also be found at our homepage.
Thanks for reading,
Tim Johnson