patsywhitehair

not joking... you come to Spain and of course you want a swimming pool, but are they trouble.... they really do need a lot of upkeep and knowledge. ours at the mo has yellowy cloudy swirls (nice) we are a t a loss as to what to do so... if mr pool guy is reading this then....
would you for a fee come out to Barxeta (nr Xativa) and give our pool a once over???? if you live too far away then is there anybody else????
please e mail me
thanks,pat

sorry for rant, our outside boiler has just caught light badly and really scared us, didnt know whether to get near it or not in case it blew,finaly hubby managed to get the top of gas cannister to stop the gas coming thru, oh well,let it all go over your head........ calm, calm, calm

Mitzyboy

Have you got the analysis kit patsy? My pools been filled for nearly two years now without a hitch. The ph etc is checked once a week with the kit just to detect any changes early. If Poolguys too far from you I can give you details of my poolminder who lives somewhere between you and Gandia

Poolguy

Patsy

I have sent you a PM and an email.

I'm happy to help you if you can send me your contact details with some pics of the problem then I'll talk you though the solution. Failing that I will arrange a visit and we can get you clear again.

Regards
Andrew

Pool School

Hi Pat
Sounds like you have pine pollen floating on top of your pool water. If that is so, run your skimmers for an extra few hours each day, brush along the water line to remove the pollen from the tiles, and make sure to backwash your filter, as it will clog up with pollen. Cheer up another week and hopefully the pollen will be over and done with. PM me if you need anymore help.
Pool School

jdr

Or Laburnam do you keep the chemicals up to date and vacuum regular ?

patsywhitehair

yep, you are quite right, we have lots and lots of pine trees by the pool (aaargh) and the pollen just sits there but....
after all you kind peoples advice, we have backwashed quite a few times today and it seems to have done the trick. excuse my ignorance (hubbys not in to ask) what are skimmers?
thanks to everyone for their advice, mucho appreciated

Pool School

Skimmers are the flapey doors on the side of the pool that are part in the water and part out and they let the surface water from the pool go through the pump and filter and come back out the jets along the sides. I don't know on your pool just which vales control them but usually they are always working. if you need any help and are in the Chiclana area give me a PM and I will help you. I see that my yellow dust is a lot less to day but still run the skimmers about 3 hours a day and that seems to take care of the problem. pool school

Arco-Iris

[QUOTE=patsywhitehair]not joking... you come to Spain and of course you want a swimming pool, but are they trouble.... they really do need a lot of upkeep and knowledge. ours at the mo has yellowy cloudy swirls (nice) we are a t a loss as to what to do so... if mr pool guy is reading this then....
would you for a fee come out to Barxeta (nr Xativa) and give our pool a once over???? if you live too far away then is there anybody else????
please e mail me
thanks,pat

I ask myself this question many times, Patsy. We don’t have one – a deliberate choice – and I ask the question to all of you who do have pools – in the spirit of genuine enquiry…. do you find them an important aspect to living in Spain?.

Personally, we didn’t want the time and expense of maintaining something that would be rarely used, nor did we think this area could sustain an unlimited number of pools (or grass come to that - but that’s another question) because of the water and electricity situation.

A pool seems to be the first thing that many new arrivals get organized and I’m intrigued by that. I read of people’s problems with them, see them spending a lot of time skimming, cleaning, adding, backwashing and then sitting by them, not swimming. Maybe in the heat of an August night there’s something to be said for rushing out naked and plunging in! But are they really worth the expense and time when you could otherwise stand under a cold shower or hose yourself down in the garden?!

Seriously, I would love to know your reasons for having them and what the benefits and/or drawbacks are for you.

Mitzyboy

[QUOTE=Arco-Iris] Originally it was a a rental necessity. You had to have one to get the rentals. But now we're moving there I am glad we've got one. I don't swim that well but I'll get better. Its certainly refreshing in the hot weather to go in for a dip, and I don't know if I buck the trend here but the pool has been absolutely no problem. A guy goes up there once a week and spends less than an hour there. He tests it regularly and if when I get there I just spend an hour s week then it'll be worth it. The usage period is lower than I thought, hence me wanting to get solar heating to exend it by a month each end. And yes it is nice to sit by it at night with the light on. Haven't got round to night swimming yet though as its never been warm enough when we've been there out of season.

poollounger

We chose to have a pool installed as one of the first things we did, along with the kitchen. Visiting a friend who lives in France in the Charente, it was so relaxing to be able to read by the pool, then dip in to cool off. She often swims late evening, and finds the pool a great draw when renting her gite.
Last week we were over and the pool was finally finished. Then we found we had to buy wagon loads of water at 85 eu for 12,000 litres as the pump would have burned out and drained our well. Then I struggled with the vagaries of the valves, finally getting it sorted out. Our builder was a little confused, but admitted he was not a plumber, but it is correctly and well built, and looks very good too. Yes it is a hassle, all the chemicals and the testing, and it does cost money. The filter has to run for 8 hours each day, we have automatic top up to compensate for evaporation, but have also had to employ a poolman to clean it and check it. If you have the space go for a 10 meter by 5 meter..it is worth it. I can get enough exercise by swimming around in circles, and when the filters are running there is even a slight current to fight against. The automatic bottom cleaner does not work quite right, but needs to be calibrated. I began to wish I had bought one of those vacuum types that one uses manually, but our pool guy said that once the automatic version had been set up it was very useful, and then my Spanish friends said that the manual type can be hard work. We love the beach and the sea as well, but it is great being able to walk out of the door to one's own pool..

Ray51

Well , I've had swimming pools , for many years - and I miss having my own private one nowadays ;
once the pump is O.K. , it only requires occassional emptying of it's leaf-trap ;
the automatic pool sweeper ( used to be known as Barracuda , Kreepy-Krauly etc ) is an absolute must!
For any older expats , regular swimming is a great help with one's lower back , general stretching and toning and even lung preservation.
Maybe I get lucky , to have one again , one of this days ( climate warrantying such ownership )???

Arco-Iris

I haven't been on here for a while - our neighbour (talk about man on a mission with a mattock!) has been leaping over the fence with veg seeds and seedlings and now about 500 M2 is under veg, next to the orchard, and it takes time mattocking, pinching out, earthing up and watering.

Well, I was delighted to hear your replies to my question and I can quite see how much you enjoy the experience of using your own pool. I also take the point that properties for rental, with a pool, are popular with holidaymakers.

Thank you all very much for enlightening me.

poollounger

Your vegetable patch sounds amazing Iris...maybe a swap....a pound of home grown tomatoes for a swim in a private pool ?? Incidentally have you considered installing an automatic irrigation system ? So simple and not expensive.

Arco-Iris

Hi Poollounger - hope you're enjoying your trip over here.

Yes, we did talk about automatic irrigation. Quite honestly, we'd need PhDs to figure out how to do it, with nearly 2000M2. All that we have needs differing water requirements. Probably would entail around 4 different systems. For the citrus trees we have a punched-hole hosepipe to drip water for a few hours to flood them around every 10 days; we've been forbidden to water the pimientos, melons and beans until the flowers arrive, but water profusely the tomatoes and onions.

(Sorry, readers, I seem to have hijacked the pool theme into market gardening!).

Anyway, I certainly get my exercise and can also relax every day with the g & t watching the peaches and apricots grow.

Nice offer of a swap! I like that kind of economic system and will bear that in mind.