insideKENT Magazine Issue 100 - August 2020 | Page 67

MAKE MAINTENANCE YOUR
TOP PRIORITY
HOME+GARDEN
THE THREE C’S OF PROPER POOL MAINTENANCE BY HILDEN POOLS, MAIDSTONE
IF THOSE SUMMER RAYS ARE GETTING JUST A TAD TOO HOT, AND YOU ARE STARTING TO SIZZLE LIKE YOUR FAVOURITE
SAUSAGES ON THE BBQ, IT MIGHT BE TIME TO PUT ON YOUR BEST SWIMSUIT AND JUMP INTO THE COOL, BLUE WATER
OF YOUR PRIVATE POOL. HOWEVER, BEFORE BEING ABLE TO ENJOY THIS AT-HOME LUXURY, IT IS IMPERATIVE TO ENSURE
THAT CLEANING, AND MAINTAINING YOUR POOL IS ALWAYS A TOP PRIORITY. WHETHER YOU’RE A SEASONED POOL
OWNER OR A NEWBIE LOOKING FOR ADVICE ON HOW TO GET STARTED, THE EXPERTS AT HILDEN POOLS WILL PROVIDE
YOU WITH ALL THE KNOWHOW YOU NEED. SO GRAB YOUR NOTEPAD AND PEN AND START TAKING NOTES ON HOW TO
SAFELY ENJOY YOUR VERY OWN EXCLUSIVE, SPARKLINGLY CLEAN OASIS.
The foundation of effective pool care is built on three
simple but important concepts: circulation, cleaning,
and chemistry.
Circulation
Even if you never set foot in a Scout meeting as a
kid, you probably know that stagnant, still water is
an image, and a smell, best left to the imagination.
In your pool, as in the great outdoors, moving water
is cleaner, clearer, and safer. Proper pool circulation is
key to healthy and safe swimming. A pool with good
circulation rarely has issues like cloudy water or pool
algae infestation. Keep your pump and filter system
running daily to maximise circulation. But how long
should you run your pool pump? Ideally, 24 hours
a day, 7 days a week. But since that’s not feasible
for everyone’s budget or equipment, we recommend
running your filter at least 10 to 12 hours a day.
That will turn the water over a few times and help
keep your pool safe and clean.
The other key component to good pool circulation
is frequently backwashing your filter. In this case,
backwashing refers to reversing the flow of water
through your filter and shunting the dirty water and
built-up contaminants to the waste port, carrying
them out of your pool. If you’re not sure how to
clean a pool filter, it's imperative to learn and make
it part of your regular pool care routine. The method
you use to clean and backwash your filter depends
on the type of filter you have, but the underlying
concepts are largely the same.
Cleaning
If it has proper circulation, you’ve already
made cleaning your pool much easier. But you will
still need to apply some of that good old-fashioned
elbow grease. The basic tools you will need are a
net skimmer, a pool brush and a pool vacuum.
Both Mother Nature and the folks using your pool
bring all sorts of wild and wacky things in with them,
from leaves, mould, and the odd duck or frog; to
residues from shampoos, perfumes and hair products.
Add in the risks of bacterial contamination, and
cleaning your pool becomes an essential part of safe
swimming.
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