Originally Posted by Gothchick (Post 5096715)

hi

Looking at houses at the moment, don't know anything about pools, although a few have these in.
What should I be looking out for, how much to they cost to clean/run?
Want to ask the right questions if we look at a property.

Thanks
Gothchick

Originally Posted by moneypen20 (Post 5106260)

Unless you have 20 odd people using your pool daily there is no way the pump needs to be running any more than 3 or 4 hours a day even in Summer. Couple of hours first thing and again in the evening. Anything more is giving money away to Energex for no return. If you want, you can post the excess dollars saved to me, just pm me and I'll give you my bank details:D

Originally Posted by stacey and jordan (Post 5106555)

We picked our keys up for our rental last week. Every time we go to the house the Noo Noo (the sucky thing that goes around the bottom) always seems to be on. How do i reduce the time it's on, because no one is using it at the moment. There is this little shed next to the pool with all these buttons and dials. One of the dials looks like the timer on my old central heating system in England.... is that it. If it is can i just move it, or do i have to shut the whole thing down first.

Can you take the Noo Noo out of the pool, or does it have to stay in at all times.......and another silly question how do you know the temp of your water. Do you have to buy a special thermometer :o

Stacey

Originally Posted by moneypen20 (Post 5106260)

Unless you have 20 odd people using your pool daily there is no way the pump needs to be running any more than 3 or 4 hours a day even in Summer. Couple of hours first thing and again in the evening. Anything more is giving money away to Energex for no return. If you want, you can post the excess dollars saved to me, just pm me and I'll give you my bank details:D

Originally Posted by Bunna_Wabbit (Post 5112187)

I think you might find that this depends on the size of your pool and the flow rate of the pump in ltrs/hr - it still needs to turn the volume of water over several times through the filter each day. May be SteveyP can confirm ?

In winter though I barely pump it at all. ;)

Originally Posted by Bunna_Wabbit (Post 5112187)

I think you might find that this depends on the size of your pool and the flow rate of the pump in ltrs/hr - it still needs to turn the volume of water over several times through the filter each day. May be SteveyP can confirm ?

In winter though I barely pump it at all. ;)

Originally Posted by steveyp (Post 5106051)

There is no risk of menigitis from swimming pool water, the main risk in water is cryptosporidiosis.
There is no evidence to suggest a dog being in a pool will kill the chlorine, the rate of chlorine use would depend on size of dog/dirtyness of dog/number of dogs swimming and free chlorine level before the dog got in. Chlorine can remove the natural oils from a dogs coat and may irritate their skin... if your dogs swims rinse him after and keep your chlorine below 3ppm.

Originally Posted by datamile (Post 5112314)

Pool man turned up today, put some chems in the pool, and told the wife that the pump needs to be on for 5 hrs a day

Originally Posted by biggy (Post 5112676)

well I am sorry but 5 hrs a day at this time of year is pish!!!!!!!!!!!!

Originally Posted by steveyp (Post 5106051)

There is no risk of menigitis from swimming pool water, the main risk in water is cryptosporidiosis.
There is no evidence to suggest a dog being in a pool will kill the chlorine, the rate of chlorine use would depend on size of dog/dirtyness of dog/number of dogs swimming and free chlorine level before the dog got in. Chlorine can remove the natural oils from a dogs coat and may irritate their skin... if your dogs swims rinse him after and keep your chlorine below 3ppm.

Originally Posted by datamile (Post 5116068)

Well it was 25c , and the pool 17c.. better than british day at the seaside, so braved the pool with the kids as a first try. It was pretty chilly, and I expect our neighbours think we're mad, but first time I've had a pool of my own

Originally Posted by Dawn Adams (Post 5115948)

While not wishing to deter anyone from enjoying their swimming pool, I think it needs to be acknowledged that as well as being lots of fun, having a pool carries responsibility - including putting up a fence, and always having adult supervision when kids are in the pool. However, I don't expect everyone to know about meningitis, which is why I mentioned it. I should have specified "amoebic meningitis". The Health Dept of WA puts out a warning every year because if contracted it can be swift and fatal. I acknowledge that the statement that dogs kill the chlorine level may be a bit over the top, but their presence in the pool will have a big effect on the chlorine levels, thereby leaving an opening for the bugs to gain the upper hand!

Inside front page of the Joondalup Times Community newspaper dated July 26, 2007:
Meningitis Can Kill in 24 Hours - Be aware of the symptoms.

http://www.meningitis.com.au/images/...gitis_2005.pdf


The following is an extract from an item broadcast on ABC:

"It is possible to pick up an infection from public pools, but you may actually be more likely to catch something from much-used domestic pools.

"Our public pools have extremely stringent guidelines - they must have a certain chlorination, they must be tested a certain number of times a day, they have spot inspections and things like that, so we do have less risk," Dr Chamberlain said.

"Public pools must turn over their water through filtration at a certain rate, they must have the right levels of chlorine, the right pH and the right levels of calcium and magnesium."

Having said that however, Dr Chamberlain said it's impossible to be completely safe when many people share a pool.

"In any communal bathing situation the more solid particles that go into the water, the more germs and things, the higher the risk. In our public pools, the most commonly transferred things are gastro-intestinal bugs and particularly a little fellow called cryptosporidium."

These bugs are spread by not washing properly before going swimming, and by younger children having "accidents" in the pool.

"Apparently a dog is worth about 12 to 15 people in a pool, they carry that much oil and that many damaging artefacts into the pool. Also watch out for dead wildlife, frogs, lizards and insects, and also too much leaf mulch."

And finally, some general water quality suggestions:

Be guided by pool professionals, but general suggestions on maintaining good water quality in your swimming pool include:

Check your pH and chlorine levels daily. Preferably, these tests should be done before the first swim of the day, to make sure the water quality hasn't altered overnight.

In very hot weather, it is a good idea to check the pH and chlorine twice daily.

Remember that heated pools need more chlorine than non-heated pools.

Brush and vacuum your pool on a regular basis.

Regularly check the pump, skimmer boxes and other pool equipment, and repair or replace parts as necessary.