Water is to Swimming Pools as Oil is to Cars

Imagine driving your car down the highway, you have the windows down and the radio blasting to classical music. Your on time for a change, hitting all the green lights and everything is going your way until suddenly...the engine seizes and car come to a stop. Now the repair costs go through the roof all because you did not watch the indicators, check the oil level, watch the lights on the dash board, etc. Swimming pools low on water can have a very similar effect as a car low on oil. The pump or engine can seize up resulting in costly repairs needed. And as it is just the law of life, it will always happen at the worst time. And as in most scenarios, there are leading indicator to help prevent these problems.

First and foremost on the list of indicators is water level. A good rule of thumb for how high the water level should be is right at the center of the tile line. Any higher and have the potential of loosing skimming action, and any lower and you have a potential for air getting into the system. When the water level lowers, the first indicator something is not right is that, you might hear a loud gurgling sound, or the sound of rushing water. If you look into your skimmers you can see the rushing water. As the water level lowers the rush of water may alternate between rushing and completely stopped.

A second indicator is a steady, powerful and constant flow of air coming from the jets in the pool. As the water level lowers this may become more sporadic.

A third indicator is the pump has fluctuating water flow and loud pump noises from air in the pump. You can see a lot of visible air through the pump lid and could have no water movement at all. (Note, a fully primed pump will have no visible air in the pump lid.)

A forth indicator is, at pool side there is no evidence of water circulation or the circulation comes and goes.

Just as a car has indicators that prevent further trouble or damage, identifying these swimming pool indicators can help you prevent damage to your circulation system and save you money. It is also important to mention that even though these indicators point towards water level being to low, each of these indicators may have a different cause.

These tips for swimming pool help is brought to you by Swim Clear