| Today's pools are very different than those constructed
10 years ago.
Chances are your friends, colleagues or family members have told
you that pool ownership is expensive and very time consuming.
Gunite Pools has made pool ownership enjoyable by addressing the
three most common maintenance procedures:
- Sanitization of Pool Water
- Filter Cleaning
- Pool Cleaning
We did this by having your pool clean itself, eliminate "back-washing"
procedures and making your own chlorine for pennies a day.
Sanitization of Pool Water
There are many ways to kill bacteria but only one true way to sanitize
the water and that is with the use of chlorine. Alternative sanitizers
such as ionizers, ozonators and the like are designed to kill bacteria
in the water but fail to sanitize the water. These methods often
require you to maintain a small residual of chlorine in the water
thus requiring you to handle and store chlorine to properly sanitize
the pool water. We feel that since chlorine is the #1 sanitizer
why not find a method of reducing the cost of this chemical in pool
ownership. We found Pure n Clear (formerly known as Kreepy Klear).
This unit uses electrolysis to create chlorine from salt. You see
salt is composed of sodium chloride and this unit uses a battery
type cell to electrically separate the two components. Once the
chlorine has finished sanitizing the water, it turns back into salt,
its natural state. Since the chlorine we are producing is pure "free-chlorine",
it does not introduce any unwanted solids into the water. The content
of salt in the water is but 1/3 the content of a tear drop and it
has the added feature of softening the water. Since more "free-chlorine"
is being produced, there are significantly less if not no chloramines
in the water to irritate your eyes and cause the "chlorine
smell". .
Filter Cleaning
All filters are designed to trap debris, dead organic matter and
keep pool water sparkling clear. Different filters use different
filter media to accomplish this goal. Three basic filters are on
the market today that do a very good job of filtering water and
have a cost associated with performing this work. All filters should
be opened once a year to remove excess debris. The three types of
filters are as follows: (ranked by cost)
D.E. (Diatomaceous Earth) use a powder as the filter media.
Its internals are plastic grids covered with a cloth that helps
this powder form a sheet of area in which water passes through and
is filtered. When this powder accumulates debris, it is then removed
by means of reversing the flow of water through the filter. The
added cost is the water used to remove this powder (back-washing)
and debris and the recoating of the grids with a fresh coat of D.E.
powder. These filters are cleaned at least once per month.
Sand filters use a special sand as the filter media.
Its internals are plastic laterals located at the bottom of the
tank. Water is forced through the top of the filter through the
sand and back to the pool through these laterals. As debris accumulates
the debris it iss removed by reversing the flow of water through
the filter. The added cost is the water (back-washing) used to remove
the debris. These filters are cleaned at least twice per month.
Cartridge filters use a special paper as the filter media.
Its internals are cylindrical ribbed elements that trap debris using
this special paper. The added cost is a the water used to remove
the debris. These filters are cleaned at least once every 8 months.
What is Backwashing?
Backwashing is a procedure used to remove debris and dirt in a filter
that requires this process. The process uses the current pump and
basically reversed the water flow through the filter by changing
the position of the filter valve. This then discharges this debris
and dirt onto your lawn or sewer system. This process can take about
5 minutes of actual pump time. Pumps today pump between 72 gallons
per minute to 140 gallons per minute depending upon horsepower.
This water is wasted to clean your pool filter when using a D.E.
or Sand filter. Cartridge filters can be cleaned by using a pressure
washer at home or a car-wash using significantly less water because
of the frequency in cleaning. For example, a D.E. filter when cleaned
properly will consume at least 2,880 gallons of water using a 1h.p.
pump within 8 months to just remove the debris and dirt on a monthly
back-washing schedule. Pools that have spas and water features will
easily triple the amount of water used to clean the filter as filter
sizes increase and pump horse power also increases.
Pool Cleaning
There are a variety of pool cleaners that are available to help
keep your pool clean. There is no cleaning system that is fully
automatic because the cleaners themselves need some sort of routing
maintenance. For example, a cleaner that uses a "bag"
to accumulate debris needs to be periodically cleaned. What you
will find are systems that work with at least an 80+% efficiency
and thus reduces the amount of time you spend cleaning your pool.
What would normally take hours is now reduced to minutes. We understand
that today's busy lifestyles do not allow much time for pool cleaning.
You invest significant monies to reduce the cost pool pool ownership.
But because things "fill-up" or "run-out" you
need to consider hiring a pool professional to maintain the pool
for you. We offer a basic and regular service that accommodates
most pool owners. Below is a description of the services we have
available. |
