The face of swimming pool
maintenance is changing with the drought conditions we are facing in the Western
Cape. Water is becoming a commodity that
we need to conserve.
Don’t let your pool water
go to waste. It is a water resource that,
if kept well maintained, can always be utilised in other areas should the need
arise.
·
In the meantime, how can you become more water
neutral?
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How can WE help you become more water neutral?
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And what does ‘water neutral’ mean? (Other than being the newest buzz word
around)
To become
completely water neutral is in reality, almost impossible when owning a
swimming pool. However, what a lot of people do not realise is how close you
can get to using a fraction of what you are using at the moment. By changing a
few small things your pool can become totally usable in summer with very little
water.
So how do we go
about getting this right while we are in the middle of a drought? Let’s start by
saying your pool obviously has to be full for this to work.
First, reduce the amount
of backwashing. Remember though that in
order to eliminate the trapped dirt and particles in your filter, you need to
clean the filter sand - which is what backwashing does. Filter sand also wears down over time and
becomes less efficient at keeping the water clear.
Increased use of borehole
or wellpoint water (some with higher levels of iron, calcium and other mineral
deposits and sediment) will also affect and reduce the quality of your sand, thereby
increasing the need to backwash more. High
levels of foliage, animals swimming, high volume of swimmers, etc can all
affect how much backwashing is needed.
So, how do you reduce the
amount of backwashing you need to do?
1. POOL BLANKET / POOL COVER
First thing one can do is put on a pool blanket. A
pool blanket is made up of a durable plastic that has a load of bubble in the
plastic on one side. The bubbles must always be in contact with the water. The
idea of this blanket is to reduce the amount of water evaporation that happens
on a daily basis in the heat of the day.
Remember though that pool
covers will mean you may need to be more vigilant with chemical balances in
order to prolong not only the pool cover, but your pool equipment as high
chlorine levels will reduce the lifespan while low chlorine levels will mean
the water needs to be chemically treated more often to clear it.
Don’t have a pool cover/blanket?
If you do not have a pool
cover, use a solar liquid cover like Waterguard to help prevent water
loss. *Need to purchase Waterguard or want to know more about it? Contact us for more info.
2. INSTALL A
BACKWASH RECOVER SYSTEM
Secondly, but
just as important would be to fit a backwashing tank, or a water recovery
system of some kind.
Basically, it is a drum leading from your filter/pump, which is
used to recover some of the water that would normally be lost through
backwashing. This is one of those things that has been founded out
of necessity to save water and we kind of wonder why we have not been using it
forever.
The drum is plumbed into the backwash pipe. By diverting the water into a 200 to 500 litre
drum when you are backwashing, you are able to save the water you would
normally waste away. Once the water has
stood in the drum for a day or so all the dirt will settle to the bottom. The drum has two taps, one for clear water to
return to the pool and the other to waste away the dirty settlement from the
bottom of the tank. (A minimal amount
compared to the large volume normally wasted away on backwashing. A backwash tank can literally save hundreds of
litres of water every time you backwash.
*Need more information about installing a backwash system? Contact us.
3. GOOD
FILTRATION
There are two
types of filters that are regularly used. A paper cartridge filter that works well, but
for the most part needs to be cleaned like sand every couple of weeks. The best way to clean a paper cartridge is
with a hose pipe, but as hose pipe use is banned at this moment, this is
presenting a problem. A
cartridge system does however reduce the need for backwashing. However as mentioned, you do need to regularly
clean and rinse the cartridge filter inside, and depending on usage and
environmental factors, etc may need to replace the cartridge on a yearly basis.
The second and
most commonly used option is a sand filter.
Sand is however NOT the only
option to put into a sand filter.
Instead of the higher
grade silica sand, consider other forms of filtration like glass media or
clinobrite. Clinobrite is a step up from
silica sand, but for optimal clarity, glass media is being recommended more
frequently.
Glass media is
one of the hero’s that is coming to light as a water saving product. The glass
does not bind together like sand when it gets dirty, so it takes much longer to
build up pressure in the system. It also
filtrates between 10 – 5 microns to sand (40 - 30 microns) and has double the
life span of filter sand. Because the water flows more freely in the filter
with the glass, suppliers are saying you only have to backwash every 4 to 6 weeks.
People in the industry are saying that
pools with blankets on and glass media in the filters are being backwashed
every 6 – 8 weeks. Some are even
managing 3 months. In addition to this, because glass does not bind together
like sand the backwashes are very short as it expels the dirt very quickly –
which ones again saves water. While glass media is initially more expensive, in
the long term your clarity of water will improve and your water loss will
decrease. *Need more information on glass media and clinobrite? Contact us.
Whatever option of
filtration you have, you do need to maintain it. Check your sand regularly and ensure that you
change it when required. (Every property
and swimming pool is different as environmental factors affect the longevity of
the sand. The grade of sand you utilise
is also important. And no, you cannot
use beach, builders or sand from your garden.
There are specific grades of sand for swimming pool filtration.)
4. GREY WATER USAGE
While not always
recommended, is being used successfully by some pool owners. However, if you do decide to go down that
route you will need to ensure that the swimming pool water balances are
carefully maintained and that your filtration media is in excellent condition
in order to remove any finer particles of debris, etc from the water. (Grey water is water from household use like
washing machines and showers. Do not
utilise BLACK WATER, which is water used for cleaning dishes, etc as this
contains food contaminants.).
One of the questions that
may arise is how often can water be re-used?
To be honest, this is a very open question as with everything in life,
too much of something isn’t always a good thing. Water is essentially a living entity and as
such, do not expect that your pool water will remain clear and without any
issues if you are recycling continually, especially if you are also using grey
water in the swimming pool..
NEED ANY HELP? GIVE US A
CALL
POOL DOCTOR TABLE VIEW on 021 557
9016/7
