Discuss – If possible find a broker with experience in home improvement loans and swimming pool financing. A bank equity loan is not the same as a this type of loan and will almost certainly cost you more.
The summer season is upon us. It’s time to relax and enjoy a beautiful day by the home pool, town pool, lake or the ocean.
But parents DON’T RELAX TOO MUCH! Remember that your kids are just that, they are kids. As the old adage goes “kids will be kids”. Just because you tell them to be good, safe and careful, doesn’t mean they will listen.
Just because we tell our children to do something, doesn’t mean that they will. Our children make choices everyday in their lives. Some of those decisions are good and some are bad. We as parents must recognize this and act now.
Hundreds of children drown and thousands have to be hospitalized each year for near drowning experiences. Too many children are dying every year from this
senseless and easily preventable occurrence and we can change that today!
Discuss – Copper Ionization systems work within a calcium hardness range of 200-2,000ppm. Because it converts calcium to bicarbonate, the Copper Ionization will eliminate and prevent calcium scaling on pool walls and rock features.
I know, right now you are thinking, “My child isn’t going to drown because I am always there while he/she is swimming”. Well, ready for a shock? According to the
National Swimming Pool Foundation, nearly 90% of children who drown each year WERE being supervised. WOW! What are we doing?
Well, truth be told, we are obviously not watching our children. Although parents have a lot going on in their
lives, they must watch their children carefully while they are swimming. It is a job that requires undivided attention from parents.
According the same study conducted by the NSPF, most parents were distracted for the following reasons;
talking to others, talking on the phone, eating or even reading.
We need to wake up to this danger now. How can we possibly watch our children, when we are doing all these other things? As the plot line in that new summer novel heats up, a child’s lungs could be filling with water as they struggle to survive and the child’s parent could be only feet away.
Discuss – Salt water pool systems will use an average of 500 watts of AC power for a 20,000 gallon pool. Copper Ionization systems will use an average of only 40 watts of DC power to treat the same amount of water.
The main part of this problem is that people always have a feeling that something bad is not going to happen to them and therefore they do not feel like they are in a dangerous situation. They feel that the water is safe. Well let’s look at a simple analogy.
You are at a busy intersection with your 4 year old. If you cross the street with him/her, there is not much danger to either of you. The adult understands the rules of the road and crosses safely with the child while not thinking much of the situation.
But let’s say that you tell your child to go ahead and cross the street while you fill your friend in on the new gossip from the weekend. Huh? Does that even make sense? Well that is exactly what we are doing. We have taken a relatively “safe” scenario and made it very dangerous in seconds.
And this is the key to drowning also, seconds. It only takes seconds for a child to go under water while the mother or father answers a cell phone and begins chatting. Parents must not let themselves become distracted.
Discuss – Make sure the swimming pool cover comes with enough parts to securely anchor the cover without worry of slippage. Most larger swimming pool covers come with a strap or anchor for every four feet of cover.
Parents need to realize two important points. Lifeguards are lifeguards, not babysitters. When we bring our children to a public swimming facility, we still need
to watch them carefully and not depend on others. Also, we need to enroll our children in swim lessons. After all, the sooner they can swim, the safer they will be.
As parents, we need to be part of the solution, not the biggest part of the problem. Mike Michels is a Certified Pool Operator and Assistant Pool Manager in Bergen County, New Jersey. Mike also teaches Science at Indian Hills High School in Oakland, New Jersey.
He has Co-Authored two books through Kagan Cooperative Learning. They are “Cooperative Learning & Science: High School Activities” and “Higher-Level Thinking Questions: Biology”. The books can be previewed and purchased online by visiting
http://kaganonline.com/
Filed under Swimming Pool Safety, Swimming Pool Water Quality by 
Discuss – Alkaline powder. Although chlorine in your pool will kill off germs, it will also raise the level of acid in your water.
Green algae is a common swimming pool problem, which may appear as a greenish growth on the floor and walls of a swimming pool, a green tint to the pool water, or greenish material suspended in the pool water.
The only swimming pool chemical that will kill an algae growth is chlorine based swimming pool “shock”. Shock is a granular form of highly concentrated chlorine, which quickly raises the chlorine level of the swimming pool water. The elevated chlorine level makes the pool water conditions unlivable for anything organic, and algae quickly dies.
Discuss – Make sure the pool cover has a good overlap length. You should buy a size that is a little larger than your pool.
Before adding a dose of chlorine pool shock, the pool walls and floor should be brushed to remove as much of the algae as possible. This will greatly reduce the amount of time it takes to kill and clear the algae bloom. The normal “maintenance” dosage of most swimming pool shock is 1 lb. per 10,000 gallons. This dosage should be increased to 1 lb. per 7,500 gallons, or you should follow the manufacturer’s dosage suggestion for killing algae. Chlorine pool shock needs to be dissolved in a large bucket of water before it is added to the swimming pool. Always add chemicals to water when dissolving. NEVER add water to chemicals. The swimming pool cannot be used until the algae is dead, and the chlorine level of the pool water has returned to the safe range of 1-3 ppm.
Discuss – Copper Ionization systems work within a calcium hardness range of 200-2,000ppm. Because it converts calcium to bicarbonate, the Copper Ionization will eliminate and prevent calcium scaling on pool walls and rock features.
The pool filter system should be running when the chlorine pool shock is added, and the filter system should continue to run 24 hours a day until all signs of algae have completely left the pool. Monitor your pool filter system closely and thoroughly backwash or clean the filter each time the pressure rises 10 psi. above the normal operating pressure. The dead algae that your pool filter collects may quickly dirty the filter, and need to be cleaned out frequently. If the conditions of the swimming pool does not significantly improve after 12-24 hours of filtering, add a second dose of chlorine pool shock at the increased rate. Once the algae is dead it will turn a white or grayish color, and it will be suspended in the pool water or settle to the floor. When there is no longer any sign of the color green in your pool, thoroughly vacuum the swimming pool. The pool filter should be backwashed or cleaned to be sure that dead algae is not trapped inside the filter. If the filter is not thoroughly cleaned the algae may quickly return.
Discuss – Make sure your chosen swimming pool cover comes with a good manufacturer’s warranty. In general, the swimming pool cover should come with a warranty of longer than 2 years.
Test and balance all of the pool chemical levels using the guidelines below, and pay particular attention to the chlorine level of your swimming pool water in the future. Algae and harmful bacteria are almost immediately destroyed by a chlorine level of 1 ppm or higher.
You have experienced an algae problem because you have not properly maintained the chlorine level of your swimming pool, and it was allowed to drop below 1 ppm. Test pool water frequently and make any necessary adjustments for a clean, safe and easy to maintain swimming pool.
- Free Chlorine: 1-3 ppm
- pH: 7.2 – 7.6
- Alkalinity: 80 – 120 ppm
- Calcium Hardness: 200 – 350 ppm
Please visit www.InTheSwim.com for a complete selection of algae treatment pool chemicals and quality pool supplies.
Filed under Swimming Pool Maintenance, Swimming Pool Water Quality by
Discuss – Make sure the swimming pool cover comes with enough parts to securely anchor the cover without worry of slippage. Most larger swimming pool covers come with a strap or anchor for every four feet of cover.
Cloudy or dull pool water can be related to improper chemical balance, or fine debris suspended in the water. The first step to resolving a cloudy pool water problem is testing the pool water for Comined Chlorine, pH, Alkalinity and Calcium Hardness. The two areas that are most likely to cause cloudy pool water are the pH and the Calcium Hardness. If the pool chemical levels are not within the suggested ranges below, adjust and run the pool filter system for 12-24 hours before re-testing. If the pool was clear before and just became cloudy immediately after adding products to adjust the pool chemical levels (such as pH increaser or decreaser), the pool water may still be adjusting to the changes you’ve made. Filter for 12-24 hours before re-testing, and the water should clear.
- Free Chlorine: 1-3 ppm
- pH: 7.2 – 7.6
- Alkalinity: 80 – 120 ppm
- Calcium Hardness: 200 – 350 ppm
If all the pool chemical levels test in range, the cloudy pool water is caused by fine debris suspended in the pool water.
You should backwash or clean your pool filter following the manufacturer’s instructions, and run the pool filter system continuously for 24 to 48 hours. If the water conditions have not significantly improved you should add a clarifier pool chemical to the pool water to help your pool filter remove the fine debris from the water. Continue filtering for 12 to 24 hours. If the water conditions have not significantly improved you should add a second dose of clarifier, or a stronger clarifier chemical. It is important that you continuously filter the pool water until the water is clear, and closely monitor your pool filter pressure. Backwash or clean the pool filter as needed, following the pool filter manufacturer’s instructions.
Discuss – Have Fun!! Be sure and supervise your children carefully and to keep the chemicals out of reach. Also remember that pool covers are meant to keep debris out of the pool and are not meant as a safety device to keep children safe.
Please visit www.InTheSwim.com for a complete selection of pool water clarifiers and quality pool chemicals.
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