Pool maintenance, hygiene issue

In order to be able to enjoy to the fullest all that our private pool can offer us, we must first of all ensure that the necessary hygiene rules.

"Clean" water in all respects is not only a necessary condition but also one of the most important parameters in creating a swimming pool, but for many it is simply, the A's and Z's!

Maintenance, hygiene issue

A swimming pool, to be kept in perfect condition, requires serious care and maintenance. Its frequent use as well as environmental factors, such as dust, wind or rain, burden the water with microbes, which can seriously damage our health.

Poor water quality in a swimming pool is one of the biggest problems that must be avoided at all costs if we want to ensure a "healthy" swimming pleasure. Therefore, great importance must be given to the composition of the water, its filtration and disinfection.

Special filtering methods must be used to filter the water, while for its disinfection, there are some automatic systems and machines that control the PH and other substances.
Things for small pools are a little easier, as for tanks under 200 sq.m. the inlets on the vertical walls are sufficient, while for the larger ones an overflow channel is needed. Finally, special attention must also be paid to children's pools because children do not have a sense of hygiene and are more threatened with infections.

The problems

Germs and bacteria

Even when the pool is not in use, the growth of germs and bacteria cannot be avoided. The main culprit for this is the rising temperature of the water that feeds such organisms. The biggest problem lies in the proliferation of bacteria, caused by the presence of human bodies in the tank, (the more frequent and crowded, the worse), which carry with them other bacteria that mix with the existing ones and create one in all unsanitary moist environment.

Maintenance Organic contamination

We all know that pool water does not have the ability to clean itself. Consequently, over time, a dangerous organic environment is created, full of germs and prone to infection, which must be constantly controlled and eventually neutralized.
This is achieved by having enough free chlorine in the tank, which weakens the above organic substances. The chlorine derivatives produced in this way must be removed through filtration and drainage systems.

Algae and fungi

When cleaning the pool water special care is required to combat algae and fungi. Algae are plant organisms, which produce organic compounds from inorganic substances and multiply at a frenetic rate, covering the walls and bottom of the pool. The creation of algae comes from the combination of water and light, as light, through photosynthesis, gives food to said "seeds" which then fall into the water from the air. To combat them, not only chlorine is sufficient, but various algaecides are used, which also help to flocculate the water. Of course, it is better to do a preventive check to avoid their creation, because once they develop, their removal becomes particularly difficult. Maintenance

pH

The pH is the element that gives us the necessary indications of how acidic or alkaline the pool water is. It is necessary to have an absolute balance in this area, as low pH causes eye irritation, corrosion of the metal parts of the pool and a chlorine taste in the water, while on the other hand, a higher pH causes the proliferation of algae and fungi and possible sedimentation of hardness salts, while at the same time "obstructing" the correct functioning of the chlorine, without avoiding eye irritation here as well.
When the pH of the water is less than 7 the water is acidic and when it is greater than 7 the water is alkaline. We have a neutral pH when it is equal to 7, therefore, the pH of the pool water should be between 7.2 and 7.6.

Eye irritation

As we mentioned above, the lower or higher and acidic PH can cause serious eye irritations. In addition to PH, this can also be due to contact with chlorine as well as the presence of many alkaline compounds, which in turn interact with chlorine and affect PH. Eye and skin irritations are one of the most common problems experienced by those who frequently swim in pools. Maintenance

Cloudiness and bad smell

Cloudiness and foul smelling pool water are probably the most obvious and "annoying" problems that one has to deal with. It is logical, since we are not talking about the "endless" blue of the sea, that the water is not exactly crystal clear and gets dirty very quickly. The causes that cause the cloudiness and the bad smell - apart from the frequent use of the pool - can be dust, the precipitation of calcium and magnesium salts due to heating of the water, low or high pH, algae, the existence of volatile hydrocarbons that turn yellow the color. etc.

The solutions

So we have seen that the water environment faces many and frequent threats, which are also transferred to those who use this pool. This is why it is of primary importance to keep the water absolutely clean, by applying various methods of disinfection. The treatment (disinfection, softening, desalination, deionization, etc.) is based on the continuous recirculation and filtration of the water and the addition of chemicals (many times physico-chemical treatment of urban and industrial wastewater), for the disappearance of bacteria and algae as well as for chemical balance of the water. If pH adjustment, disinfection, algae protection, pool wall and floor cleaning, and filtration along with flocculation are achieved, we are really on the right track.

Methods of cleaning

The pool needs care on a weekly basis if we want its water to be clear, spotless and therefore "healthy", to ensure a pleasant and at the same time safe swimming. The cost of cleaning is certainly proportional to the size of the tank. In the past, the procedure used to clean the pool was to empty it and then dry clean it. Some private individuals still insist on this solution today, but due to the high cost of water, this is now rarely done. Maintenance

Most people prefer filtration, which today is one of the most important – if not the most important – process for maintaining the hygiene rules of a swimming pool, as it allows the water to be cleaned of fine dust particles. Also important is the addition of special chemicals (dispersants, hardness binders, anti-corrosion agents) for swimming pools, which, of course, are the ones that eliminate the growth of bacteria and viruses. The most powerful and widespread chemicals are chlorine and bromine tablets.