Swimming Pools Inspection

There are a lot of health and safety risks that may come with an improperly maintained swimming pool, so there are standard procedures and rules to be followed when it comes to the percentage of disinfectant, the water test kit, pool license, child safety, water alkalinity, filtration and so on.

To ensure that pool maintenance is done adequately and there are no other chemistry violations, swimming pool inspections will determine how, when, what and how much should be done to keep a quality swimming pool.

There are various swimming pool equipment and designs available to meet a wide range of preferences, so when it comes to safety there are several things to be taken into consideration. Whether you use different types of swimming pool liners or you are just interested about public health and safety, here are a few tips to make sure there are no serious violations:

Swimming Pool Design and Capacity

Many things depend on the swimming pool’s design and capacity, for instance the amount of water treatment chemicals you need, the type of liner you should have, or simply the aesthetics of your pool.

First of all, calculate the average depth of your pool using this equation:

Deep End (feet) + Shallow End (feet) ÷ 2 = Average Depth.

This will help you determine your swimming pool capacity. Then, the design you choose will also help you in buying the proper swimming pool covers needed for different seasons. Leaf-catcher covers are effective during summertime, fall and spring, while for winter you will need a different swimming pool cover. These covers will allow you to keep your pool in top shape, regardless of the seasonal and climatic changes. A well-covered swimming pool is a safe pool.

Ensure Your Pool’s Water Quality with the Proper Swimming Pool Liner

The quality of your swimming pool liner is essential to the water quality of your swimming pool, because it prevents the water from being contaminated, it maintains the water’s pH and helps keep algae and mildew from growing. Swimming pool liners are generally made with vinyl or plastic, giving them a decorative look as well.

Inground Swimming Pool Safety

Inground swimming pools are elegant, but it is important to keep in mind that even these have their safety risks. Always have someone watch the pool to ensure child safety. It doesn’t have to be a real lifeguard, an adult who can swim will suffice, but children and even adults have a higher tendency to fall into an inground swimming pool as opposed to an above ground swimming pool. Also, keep your inground swimming pool covered when not in use, or fence it off in certain areas.

How to Avoid Health and Safety Risks - 5 Steps for Proper Salt Pool Maintenance

Compared to traditional chlorine pools, salt water pools have many advantages, such as softer and more comfortable water, less chemical expenses and more flexible maintenance scheduling. Still, it requires the same care and maintenance that a traditional chlorine pool does, and also a few additional tasks specific to the salt chlorine system. Here are five tips to ensure healthy swimming and a successful swimming pool inspection:

• salt level - be thorough in monitoring and maintaining the salt level in your swimming pool. The level of salt required to produce chlorine will be specified in the owner’s manual. Once you’ve covered that, check the salt level at least once a week and add additional salt as needed
• stabilizer level - cyanuric acid, a.k.a. the stabilizer, protects the chlorine from the sun; without it, the chlorine would quickly dissipate, leaving the pool water without chlorine protection; the chlorine produced by salt chlorinators is not stabilized, so stabilizer must be added from time to time; test the stabilizer level at least quarterly, and adjust it as needed; for salt pools, a level of 60 - 80 ppm is recommended
• pH level - the acceptable level of pH in swimming pools is 7.2 - 7.8, but with salt pools the pH tends to move to the high range and can easily top 7.8; test the pH at least once a week and add muriatic acid as needed in order to keep the pH in the proper range; if the pH gets too high, it could lead to problems with salt cell
• salt cell maintenance - unbalanced water chemistry will cause calcium buildup on the salt cell, rendering the cell inefficient at best, or get so bad that chlorine production will stop completely; make sure to inspect the salt cell at least quarterly and clean as necessary; for swimming pool inspection and cleaning instructions check the owner’s manual
• run time - the salt chlorine is the only source of chlorine for salt pools, so it is critical to run a long enough filter cycle to allow sufficient chlorine be produced for the pool; the main mistake salt pool owners make is run a too short filter cycle, which leads to algae and other swimming pool problems

When you schedule your routine home inspection, make sure a swimming pool inspection is included in the deal as well. A professional home inspector will be aware of all public health and safety risks, the highest percentage of disinfectant that is safe to use, will have a professional water test kit, as well as professional inspection techniques, will check for any serious violations or other water chemistry violations and will be able to offer valuable advice on how to properly maintain your swimming pool to ensure enjoyable and healthy swimming.