Swimming pool mechanical system - very basic.

It's likely that most swimming pools exist to invite people to use them. Which means we have to keep them safe and enjoyable. Whether it's a backyard pool for our family, friends and neighbors, or a public pool built specifically to invite the whole community. If you've never taken care of one, it can intimidating. However, I'm convinced that once you 'get it' you'll understand how easy it can be. You just have to start with understanding how the mechanical system works.

Amounts of care, usage and environmental influence (sometimes in that order) dictate how difficult or easy it will be to keep the water clean. Consistent care is how we keep up with varying use and environment and it's the one item we have the most control of. There are two ways we ensure consistent care: mechanically (water filtration and our labor - discussed here) and chemically (discussed in coming posts).

It can be easy to think of a swimming pool as just a large bucket of water that stays clear on its own somehow - just sitting there. Until suddenly we become the person responsible to maintain it. One of our main jobs becomes to take debris out of it. The mechanical system does a good portion on this 'automatically', either running on a schedule or constantly.

How does the mechanical system help maintain clear, safe swimming pool water?

All swimming pool mechanical equipment systems should be designed to (simultaneously):
1. Take the water out of the pool (usually from a few places)
2. Filter it (likely just one of several ways)
3. Heat it (optional)
4. (Possibly chemically treat it) (or you add chemicals by hand, at the pool)
5. Return it back into the pool

The differences in types of equipment used can be confusing, but these basics are a must.

Here is a diagram made to show the minimum requirements of a basic swimming pool mechanical system.

Definition of a Swimming Pool

I sometimes explain it in this way: "It's like big a bathtub, only we don't drain the water after each time we use it." and " We have to try to keep stuff from growing in it, remove the debris that gets in it, and try to make it (the water, the structure and the equipment) last as long as possible." Which means we must spend time getting to know it and time doing something good for it. The hardest part is spending the time -- most 'standard' backyard swimming pools can be well maintained in about 1 hour per week, depending on environmental factors. If you spend this time routinely then you should never have any major issues, beyond unforeseen equipment failure.

I'm weirdly adamant in my opinion that anyone can maintain a swimming pool if they understand some very basic operations and the particular needs of the one they are maintaining. I have trained new operators of highly elaborate aquatic facilities, in a short time, by starting with two statements: 1. "It's just like Sesame Street". 2. "If you can count to 10 and tell red from green (there are ways to get around that) you can maintain a pool". Of course that's exaggerated, but I really want people to understand that it can be easy.

However, in order to understand what we should be doing with a swimming pool, we must know exactly what we have. Here are some definitions:

Merriam-Webster : a pool suitable for swimming; especially : a tank (concrete or plastic) made for swimming.
(I always thought we weren't supposed to use the words we are defining in the definition)

Dictionary.com : a tank or large artificial basin, as of concrete, for filling with water for swimming.
(better, I guess)

Me : a vessel or body of water large enough to immerse into and move about freely-- needing to be maintained to ensure comfort and safety of the user, and to extend the lifespan of the vessel and it's related equipment.
(probably some reasons the others don't define it like this, but they're not in the industry)

Something to remember, as you search for answers, is that a swimming pool is not cared for the same as a spa (hot tub), a waterfall, a fountain, a water slide or play features at a water park. Each pool behaves differently, even if yours is identical to your next door neighbors'.

There are a lot of websites and blogs dedicated to swimming pool maintenance. This one is different because I hope it leads you to learn more by talking to me or your local professional about your specific needs.

Introduction

My name is Jeff Judson, I am a 44 year old, regular, hard working entrepreneur with a deep, burning desire to be helpful, in some small way, to everyone I come in contact with. I know some things about swimming pools and their related equipment. I am a certified NSPF® Instructor living in the Seattle area, loving every day! This blog is dedicated to sharing what I know, to learning what I don't, and then sharing that, too. Every pool is different and I want to help you with yours! 

I have been in the 'aquatics' industry since my father started a spa/sauna company in 1972 in Southern California named The Sauna Shoppe. He began selling and installing sauna rooms, steam rooms, wood hot tubs and in-ground fiberglass spas before there was such a thing as a portable (self-contained) spa. Each installation was custom and required plenty of skilled, hard labor. He made sure that I started learning how to do all of it as soon as I could hold a shovel in my hand, and I definitely learned quickly. He thought it was cool, that he had trained me well enough, so when a spa installation was completed and ready to be turned over to the customer, I would be the one to train them on operations and maintenance - I was 9 or 10 the first time I remember.

Since then I have been blessed to have learned so much through various positions I have held, including pool cleaning technician, repair technician, new pool construction crew leader - plumbing and electrical, service department manager, customer service manager, facility manager and business owner. Each of these positions have required me to spend a lot of time with people, showing them how to operate their pools and coaching them through challenges that could have been easily avoided with very basic understanding of how pools operate. 

There are countless experiences that I can share, but this blog is meant to be very basic and show only the fundamentals of swimming pool operation and maintenance, so if you already know this stuff, great! If you recently got a pool and have no idea what to do with it, other than swim in it, then stay tuned, I will be breaking them down to be easily understood. My goal is to make it easy for you!

Please feel free to contact me outside of this blog if you have an immediate need that I can help with. I am embracing todays technology and can communicate in several ways, helping each of us be very specific. Otherwise, stay tuned for a lot of content, I will try to be consistent!

P.S. This blog will be filled, mostly, with my opinion which is based on my lifes' experience in the swimming pool industry. All things I state as facts will be researched and presented along with the source information. 
The whole point of this blog is to help someone that has never taken care of a pool before and sees them as a hole in the ground that we can swim in and has no idea of how they work.