How to Maintain Your Pool Safely

TRICKS OF THE TRADE FROM A FORMER POOL PROFESSIONAL

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• A NOTEPAD

1. Here are several things to be aware of when servicing your pool to avoid personal injury or damage to equipment

2. Chemicals:
   Always add Chlorine or liquid / dry acid separately. Never mix chemicals together. They can and will EXPLODE.

3. Never mix granular chlorine and chlorine tabs together. Their Ph values are not compatible. Never put granular CL2 in a tablet feeder or it can EXPLODE!

4. Check the wind direction. Add chemicals from the upwind side of the breeze or you'll get a face full of chlorine powder. Get down close to the water when adding chemicals...especially liquid acid. It can splash in your eyes and blind you. If you get splashed from acid YOU MUST jump into the water ASAP to flush your eyes out. You'll never make it to a faucet in time to stop the damage.

5. Hold your breath! Inhaling chemicals...even DE powder is VERY VERY bad for you. Chlorine fumes, once in the lungs will not be exhaled as the fumes are heavier than air. Muriatic acid will simply fry your lungs. DE powder is just like inhaling crushed glass, and it's not coming out!

6. Don't pour acid or chlorine in the skimmers. This is neat and clean, but...the corrosive chemical go STRAIGHT INTO YOUR POOL EQUIPMENT. It's very hard on any metals, and can cause staining on plaster surfaces.

7. Don't store chemicals around ANYTHING metal...unless you like very rusted metal things, in no time at all.

8. Floating pool alarms often won't detect a small child slipping under the water when there's no one around. Don't trust these devices with your little ones.

9. New pool owners need to put their dogs / animals into the deep end of the pool AT LEAST ONCE, and then help them get out of the pool in the shallow end. The animal needs to know how it can GET OUT of the pool, otherwise if it falls in.....

10. Keep your solar blanket and test kit in a cool place. Heat will destroy the reagents in a test kit quickly and then you'll have false water test results. A solar blanket always GENERATES HEAT when exposed to sunlight. It will burn itself up quickly if you don't cover it up when not on the water. These things are expensive!

Tips & Warnings

• Safety glasses really should be considered when treating the water
• Never be in a hurry when you are using chemicals

[arwen1964]

on 11/19/2008 Wow, you certainly have thought of everything...starred and Dugg...