I haven't a pool, but many of our friends have. They use different chemicals to clean it, depending on if it's a salt pool or chlorine pool.

Alot of farce really.

3-4 hours filtration is fine (the average pump will turn over the average pool in 3 hours) but if you have a Salt pool you may have to run extra hours to ensure the chlorine production is adequate. We recommend 3-4 hours winter, 5-6 spring, autumn and 8 hours summer.
The average pool pump costs 10-15c and hour to run!

The Noo Noo / Kreepy Krawly etc cleans the bottom - in winter we only use it once a week but in summer put it on for an hour every night. Pull it out of the filter box and there may be an inner lid to pull out too.

Dials work just like heating yes. Just adjust it. Keep it on for a few hours every day even in winter to stop it turning green.

We use a floating duck thermometer. Failing that I throw my daughter in and if she turns blue and cries it is still too cold

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.

One thing I will say though - I just love coming home from work and diving in that pool - or late at night and looking at the stars. Kids love it too and for relatively little effort we have so much fun for two thirds of the year !!

I only pump my pool 8hrs a week (1 day) in winter, and 3 times a week in summer. Never seemed to have needed it any more.

Our English Cocker Spaniel Loves nothing better than a cool dip on a hot day.
(much better than a hot walk) - It has never caused a problem for the pool water, filters or the humans, but we do have to be careful with the dog !

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

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

Were trying to get out of our rental in pac pines, the landlords bein awkward so I may put ours down to 30mins a day.

good info
just moved into house with pool (salt water) with kreepy krawley thinky!
mine on twice a day in winter mode
just starting to fill to the top with the rain water lol

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.

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

Never mind the neighbours, I'm sure everyone else thinks you are a lucky b*stard. Feel smug and enjoy

Quite right, Safety first is the message.
There is a small risk of amoebic meningitis in water above 28C. The last recorded case in WA was 1985 as I understand it.
The word menigitis does tend to panic hence my reply.
The health authority trigger public information messages when there are successive hot days.
The amoeba cannot survive in chlorinated water, other forms of menigitis do no live outside of the body.
Chlorine levels need to be maintained between 2 and 4 ppm and the pH between 7.2 - 7.6, pH levels are very important as chlorine's oxidising potential (it's ability to burn off nasties) is greatly reduced when the pH is out of whack. Maintaing a good total alkalinity is important for having a stable pH and therefore chlorine efficency.
If you maintain your pool yourself you should get the water professionally tested by a shop regularly, sadly a lot of peoples views are that pool shops rip off the public and sell chemicals they don't need (I am sure some do) but basic water balancing is fundemental to personal safety and longevity of your pool equipment. Unfortunately I know many people who will happily throw their kids in a pool that is unbalanced just because the water is clear, but hey they save a few dollars...