Whether it’s an apartment complex, or a residential building, as long as there’s a swimming pool for private and public access, it’ll require routine maintenance. Pool care ensures clean and safe water, with pool equipment working at optimal levels for a delightful experience.
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In this post, we’ll walk you through different aspects of pool maintenance and pool service work order forms. These forms outline the entire swimming pool preventive maintenance process, the equipment required to complete the procedure, and additional steps that you may need to take care of everything from a long-term aspect.
So, let’s get started and see what pool service work order forms and maintenance is all about.
Why Is Pool Maintenance Important for Commercial & Residential Buildings?
Like any other critical asset, a swimming pool is an investment, especially if it’s meant for public access.
Like any investment, you need to make sure that it keeps functioning for as long as possible and delivers the intended value on a consistent basis.
Putting off pool maintenance can accumulate harmful aspects to health and personal safety over time. You can seek the help of a professional to take care of scheduled preventive maintenance, but with the proper tools and training, much of the ongoing pool maintenance can be done in house.
Other reasons to schedule preventive maintenance for swimming pools are aligned with the following aspects:
- Ensures physical safety of swimmers
- Decreases unpleasant odor and color
- Decreases equipment failure, repair and downtime cost
- Reduces overall operation cost of reactive maintenance
- Makes the most out of limited resources through scheduled inspection audits
What Are The 4 Aspects of Pool Service Work Orders?
Pool service work orders are divided into 4 parts. Subsequently, any pool service work order form is also split up into different activities sprawling over a checklist that assures process excellence.
Here’s what you need to know.
1. Filtration System
The pool’s filter system circulates water at full capacity while keeping bacteria, clutter, and contaminants at bay. If you have a dirty system, the water will start showing up early signs of algae, bacteria, and other health issues that might be difficult to take care of.
It is very important to clean the filters and the skimmer basket at least once a week. To clean these two components, you need to turn off the pool water filter, and remove the filter cap. There’s a removable basket inside where debris and unwanted objects can be removed easily.
After lifting off debris, you can backwash your pool’s filter. Backwashing cleans out the pipes and removes stagnant water. Many filters have an automatic ‘Backwash’ setting, which makes it easier to set the flow of water in the opposite direction.
The debris goes all the way to the pool’s waste port. Make sure that the filter is on backwash setting, and in running state to clean the water. Once the process is complete, you can change it back to the default setting.
2. Pool Returns and Skimmers
Moving on with the next step of pool work order, we will look at pool returns and skimmers.
The skimmers are holes at the side of the pool, where water is pulled from the pool and pushed to the water filter for circulation. Oftentimes, gunk and debris can build up on the skimmer opening area, keeping the water from flowing toward the filters at full speed.
The returns are the components that send the clean water back to your pool. These two parts are required to perform at an optimal level. Their function isn’t independent. Therefore, both the return and the skimmer need to be in a top-notch shape to keep the water clean and grime free.
Failure to take care of either one of the components will result in dirty water.
3. Pool Walls and Floor
Pool walls and floor are in constant contact with water. It doesn’t matter if it’s a vinyl, fiberglass or concrete pool. As long as the water is in contact with any surface, it makes it slippery and leads to algae deposit build-up.
While the pool isn’t in use, stagnant water causes bacteria colonization. These pollutants aren’t visibly noticeable in the beginning. However, if you were to put off your pool’s preventive maintenance, the watercolor and chemical balance would drastically shift from a healthy to an unhealthy state.
While you are using pool service work order forms, make sure that the checklists include scrubbing the walls and the floor. Doing so will help in getting rid of the bacteria or algae growth. If you have the money to invest, buy a robotic pool cleaner to run automatically. Otherwise, there’s always the manual option where you can scrub pool interiors with your hands.
4. Water Chemical Levels
This is the part where the correct chemical balance of water comes in. It can seem like a daunting task, but there are tons of water chemical kits that are easily available in the market.
- PH Levels: pH levels determine how acidic or alkaline the pool’s water is. Neutral pH is ideal for pools because it protects swimmers’ skin and prevents the equipment from rusting over time. These chemical kits focus on the following measurements:
- Chlorine: Chlorine is like a sanitizer that removes bacteria and prevents algae from accumulating. Depending on the pool’s water capacity, the chlorine level needs to be balanced. Too much chlorine can be harmful to the eyes and ears.
- Calcium Hardness: higher calcium level damages the pool walls and equipment. Early signs of calcium deposits show up as white debris, which builds up on surfaces. It’s hard to scratch off, and has a brittle feeling to it.
- Salt Levels: ideal salt level is between 3,000 to 4,000 ppm.
- Phosphates: Ideal level of phosphates is at a minimum value of 0.2 ppm
What Are The Supplies Needed For Maintaining a Pool?
Depending on the type of pool, the supplies you need for preventive maintenance will vary. The supplies are basic if it’s a small pool in a residential area, such as a house or a very small apartment complex.
From a general perspective, here are some of the most common supplies that you will need to maintain your pool:
⚡ Pool Shock
Pool shock is a chemical that is responsible for oxidizing organic water contaminants. Think of these contaminants as bacteria, algae and waterborne microscopic organisms. After a pool has been shock treated, ensure it isn’t used for 24 hours from a safety point of view.
🧼 Sanitizers
Chlorine is one of the most common examples of pool water sanitizers. It has a strong smell, which people may find a little unpleasant. However, chlorine and bromine are both important for keeping bacteria at bay.
🥅 Nets
Used for skimming the pool water surface. Dry leaves, insects, and other visible contaminants can be easily skimmed with the help of a pool net.
🧪 Chemical Kit
As mentioned earlier, chemical kits are abundant in the market these days. These kits are used for chemically balancing the water level, so that it’s safe for swimming.
🧽 Stain Removal Kit
Over time, water lines where the water is usually topped off, and stair lines start to show signs of stains. These stains can discolour the side of the pool and stairs, exuding a rather unhygienic feeling. Luckily, stain prevention kits are available to chemically treat pool walls and stairs for a spick n’ span look!
❌ Algaecides
These help to destroy any algae in the pool, and prevent further build up. If algaecides aren’t part of the pool service work order regimen, the water will start to look cloudy. Besides that, your pool’s filter will also get a little clunky and its water circulation and throw capacity will drastically decrease.