Pool cleaning is very important in order to use swimming pools in a healthy way and to get 100% efficiency. The dirt and dust formed on the surface of the water must be removed from the pool. In addition, many microorganisms coming from the human body or transmitted from outside due to environmental factors pose a threat to human health.
Especially in outdoor pools, dirt, dust, and microorganisms adhere to the water surface. Due to such similar situations, contaminated pool water should be cleaned periodically within high-quality standards in terms of environment and human health. Since the pools are polluted over time according to various factors, the dirt on the surface is transferred to the balance tank in the pool substructure through the filtering method, and continuous circulation is ensured by transferring it back to the pool through filtration.
Apart from the filtration system, cleaning is also carried out in weekly and monthly periods to ensure pool hygiene. The skimmers (filters) in the pool should be cleaned daily and cleaned from dirt. The wall bases of the pool should be cleaned weekly. The chemical pH values of the pool should be checked continuously.
The pool should be emptied and refilled at certain times, but since it is quite time-consuming to empty and refill pools of 2,000, or 3,000 tons, usually businesses empty a certain part of the pool and adding fresh water instead, and hygiene is ensured by measuring the pH value of the water twice a day. The maintenance of the pool water must be documented. Health directorates send regulations to businesses with pools, according to these regulations, regular triggers are made for pool water.
Hygiene problems that will occur in pool environments where physically and chemically necessary conditions cannot be met are inevitable. If the necessary maintenance for pool cleaning is not done, bacteria and virus formation begins in the pool. Over time, mossing may occur on the pool walls and the color of the water becomes green and cloudy. The active ingredients that affect the pollution of the pool are as follows respectively;
Massification
The main reason for the mossing of the pool walls is that the impurities in the water are not separated from the water. In other words, particles spilled from the human body, pathogenic pathogens from the environment algae spores, etc. algae growth is seen due to reasons.
Environmental Factors:
Especially in outdoor pools, the surface of the pool water is contaminated due to environmental factors that are more triggered. For example, dust and insects flying with the effect of wind can fall into the water.
Human Factors:
Various particles from people can be dispersed into the pool, such as hair, hair, sand, or local pool pollution that may be caused by children.
It is absolutely possible to prevent contamination in the pool if the necessary hygienic practices are carried out regularly. Physical and chemical methods are applied to prevent contamination.
As a physical method, the filtration process inside the pools is carried out. Foreign substances on the pool surface are drawn in with skimmers and transferred back to the pool through the filter or according to the filtration technique referred to as overflow prefabricated pools, the water level exceeds the pool level at a certain rate and dirt accumulates in the overflow channels placed on the edges, clean water is sent back to the pool through the filter and the circulation continues in this way. Pool tiles should be cleaned weekly with a pool bottom vacuum cleaner.
Chemicals such as chlorine or ozone are used in the pool water as a chemical method. Again, pool cleaning is provided with chemicals such as pH reducer, algae remover, and liquid flocculant. The pH level should be measured daily, the ideal pH value should be between 7.2 and 7.8.
Although the filtration method in pool cleaning is a routine maintenance, pool water should be drained, fresh water should be added and deep cleaning should be done at certain times, 6 months or annually. A pool bottom vacuum cleaner can be used for such cleaning.
The pool bottom cleaning motor is essentially a vacuum cleaner for pools. Its main purpose is to clean the floor tiles of the swimming pool. Depending on the model, pool bottom cleaning motors can function according to oval, octagonal, and other pool shapes.
Pool bottom cleaning motors are divided into two categories;
Manual Pool Sweeper:
For manual use of the pool bottom cleaning motor, a broom apparatus specially prepared for floor cleaning is added to the end of the hose connected to the pool circulation circuit. The broom apparatus is manually managed manually on the pool bottom, the pool water sucked through the hose is passed through the filter and transferred back to the pool. The filter of the manual pool vacuum cleaner should be purified after cleaning.
Automatic Pool Cleaning Robots:
Pool bottom cleaning robots, which operate with the energy they receive from the electrical power supply, clean the entire pool floor extremely efficiently without creating water waste. Thanks to regular applications, the pool filter system also provides more efficient operation, not only ground-based but also pool cleaning robots that can climb the pool walls to prevent algae formation.
Cleaning and maintenance of pool water is very important for human health. Calcium and magnesium ions in pool water cause calcification and algae problems over time. This situation causes the proliferation of microorganisms that threaten human health.
High or low pH of the pool water, low total alkalinity, and high calcium hardness can cause discomfort such as burning in the eyes and nose, dry skin, and itching.
Microorganisms mixed in pool water maintain their vitality from a few hours to a few days and can make susceptible people sick even by swallowing a very small amount of water. Gastrointestinal tract infections are among the most common diseases transmitted through the pool. These are gastrointestinal diseases of bacterial, viral, or parasitic origin. One of the most common diseases seen in people in pools is external ear infections.
It is recommended to change the water of personally used pools every 3 days during the summer months. After chlorination, the pool water should not be entered for 3 hours. Since the water amounts of the business pools are 2,000, or 3,000 tons of water, it is a very time-consuming and costly task to completely drain and refill the pool water. For this, depending on the volume of the pool water, 5-6%, that is 120-125 tons of water is drained and fresh water is added instead. Then pH measurement is done 2 times a day. In addition, the skimmers in the pool are constantly filtering the pool water. Apart from this, pool water should be drained annually or every 6 months and fresh water should be added.
Although the duration of pool cleaning varies according to the size of the pool, it is divided into two categories physical and chemical cleaning. During chemical cleaning, the chemicals to be applied in the pool on the same day should be added one by one at 4-hour intervals. After the precipitant application, the pool should be rested for 8 hours. If an application such as shock chlorination is to be applied, the pool should not be used for 12 hours.
In physical pool cleaning, pool filters are washed for 5-7 minutes with the backwash method, and the rinsing time should not be less than 30 seconds. Pool floors and tiles can be completed in a short time with manual bottom-cleaning motors or pool bottom-cleaning robot depending on the size of the pool. However, these processes may take longer as the dimensions of the business-type pools are larger.
WHAT ARE THE THINGS TO CONSIDER WHEN CLEANING THE POOL?
Clear pool water is the most important indicator of cleanliness. Although chemicals and filters help clarity, they may not be enough. There are some basic factors that need to be done for this;
The materials used for pool cleaning help to maintain the chemical balance and hygienic environment of the pools. The main cleaning materials include pool bottom cleaning robots, cleaning scoops, brooms and brushes, vacuum hoses, water pumps and chemical cleaners.
Pool cleaning materials are as follows respectively;
Water Pump:
It is a very important system for pools. It regularly filters the microorganisms and harmful chemicals in the pool and pumps clean water.
Cleaning Scoop:
The scoop, which is one of the main materials of the pool, is the net used to clean the environmental dirt that should not be in the pool from the water.
Pool Brushes:
Pool brushes, which are used to clean algae and dirt on surfaces that can be attached to the pool broom handle, remove algae thanks to their curved structure.
Pool Bottom Cleaning Engine and Robots:
Bottom cleaning motors or robots, which can be used manually or electrically, act as brooms for pools. They can be used not only on the pool floor but also on the pool walls.
Chemical Cleaners:
Chemical test materials help to maintain the pH balance of the pool. In extreme heat, the pH value of the pool should be measured frequently. Among the most important materials for pool maintenance, pool cleaning materials have an important place, but not all of them.
It is inevitable that organic and inorganic contaminants that can be transmitted from people in swimming pools will contaminate the water. The fact that this pollution does not cause any health problems is one of the priority issues of all swimming pool businesses and owners. For this reason, the methods used in the cleaning of pools pass through chemicals.
Pool chemicals are substances used to destroy disease-causing microorganisms and improve pool cleanliness and efficiency. The most commonly used pool chemicals are chlorine and bromine. Bromine is a chemical preferred mostly in hot water pools. Chlorine is preferred in indoor and outdoor pools. In addition, substances such as pH reducer, liquid flocculant, and algae remover are also used in pool cleaning. pH reducer serves to maintain the pH balance of the pool.
Thanks to these substances used for pool disinfection, diseases that can be transmitted from the pool are prevented. The important factor in the use of substances T.C. It is used in appropriate amounts within the parameters given by the Ministry of Health. When pool chlorine is given in the pool water, all bacteria, fungi, and viruses in the pool water do not die immediately. For this, the use of other auxiliary chemicals is also necessary. The weekly use of algaecide is necessary for the pool water to be healthy.
In order to get the best efficiency from disinfection, the pH value of the pool water should be between 7.2 and 7.6. The pH value of the pool water should be adjusted before disinfection and then disinfection should be performed. Chlorine value should be between 1.0-3.0 for outdoor pools and 1.0-2.0 for indoor pools. These values are very important for human health, it is necessary to look at these values if there is a deficiency, chemicals should be added to the pool by dosing, if the values are high, the entry to the pool should be stopped until the values are normalized.
These values are the leading parameters, apart from these, the parameter values determined by the Ministry of Health should be measured periodically by laboratories licensed by the Ministry and the necessary information should be notified to the pool responsible manager and recorded in the pool analysis book.
The pool is a very fun activity area for children, but parents may worry about their children due to the cleaning materials in the pool. It may cause allergic factors that can be seen in children or adults who are sensitive to pool cleaning materials and may cause sensitivity in the digestive system if swallowed too much. In children without any sensitivity, if the cleaning materials in the pool are added within the appropriate parameters, it does not pose any problems, on the contrary, it prevents the growth of microorganisms in the pool.