The Joy and Care of a Small Swimming Pool
I love to swim. When my daughter was born, I resolved that she too would love to swim, and even experimented a little with teaching her to float as a baby. I didn’t pursue that as I felt it was better left to the experts. But by the time she was three, we bought a small pool about two feet deep. A couple of years later we bought a larger used one about three feet deep. As soon as she was old enough to take swimming lessons, I enrolled her in a class.
Swimming is a great way to relax for many people. Others fear the water, and tend to pass on their fears to their children. These children not only miss out on the opportunity to enjoy the water, they are at a much higher risk of drowning if they should happen to fall into water.
I would like to share a few tips on pool safety and pool maintenance that I have learned over the years.
The first and most obvious is that children never go into the pool unsupervised. A fenced in yard is highly recommended as a safety precaution, especially from uninvited guests. The larger the pool, the more precautions and life-saving equipment are needed. My focus in this post, is on the smaller pools that may or may not have a system to pump and filter the water.
When we had the pools for our daughter we learned a few tips on keeping a small pool clean. We regularly tested the water for chlorine, and used liquid bleach to keep the chlorine levels at the proper level. To keep the debris off the bottom of the pool, we first circulated the water in the pool. To circulate the water, we simply moved around the pool in a clockwise direction until the water spun in that direction as well. Sometimes we used a boat paddle to get the water spinning. As the water slowed back down, most of the debris drifted to the center of the pool where we could either net it out or use the water hose as a siphon to remove the smallest particles from the bottom.
When we got the second pool which was a little larger, we purchased a jet-vac to vacuum the bottom of the pool. The jet-vac is designed so that water currents coming from a water hose lift the debris from the bottom of the pool and into a bag, so you will add water every time you use it. You can cover more area in less time with the jet-vac than by siphoning out the debris, but both work. The water level in the pool often determined which method we used to clean it.
If we weren’t careful enough to maintain the proper chlorine levels and the water became cloudy or green, we used a product called “flock” in the pool. Flock, when stirred into the water, puts a coating on even the tiniest particles in the water and causes them to settle to the bottom of the pool. This can be siphoned from the bottom of the pool leaving the remaining water clear again.
Now in retirement, my husband and I rediscovered the joy of a backyard pool. It is a little larger than the ones we had for our daughter, and it has a filtration system, but we still use these same methods to help remove debris and keep our water sparkling clear. The most important factor in maintaining clean water is keeping the chemicals balanced and adjusted at all times. The larger the pool, the more important this is, as mistakes get much more costly to correct. The PH levels in the pool are important not only for comfort, but when properly adjusted, the chlorine is more stable and predictable. Purchase a water testing kit that tests more than PH and chlorine, and use it regularly. It will save you money in the long run.
I’m aware that it is a bit late in the summer for posting about swimming pools; however, if you don’t have one, and think you might want to give a pool a try, you might find one on sale this late in the season.
Enjoy the water wherever you find it. It doesn’t have to be in your back yard. Be safe and teach your children to swim.
Photo by Jelleke Vanooteghem on Unsplash
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