If you have a pool that gets a lot of leaf debris in
it each week or if you service pools that have heavy debris, there are a few
things you can do to make it at least manageable. I will go over some of the
things that I think will help you the most with a heavy debris pool.
This sounds simple and it is probably the thing that
will help the most, but it is one thing many customers do not want to do.
Simply, trim the trees and keep them trimmed back every season. Trimming the
trees around the pool can go a long way in eliminating excessive leaf debris.
If you haven’t had your trees trimmed in years, it is probably way overdue.
Trimming the trees get rid of all the leaf debris that would fall off into the
pool over time and will also prevent a lot of the leaves that would fall in
from overhanging branches. I have had many clients also just take a tree or
several trees out because managing the debris was a losing battle. But simply
trimming the trees around the pool will help.
A device that I really love and which works
surprisingly well is the PoolSkim. It is a simple device that you connect to
one of your pool’s return lines and it acts as a secondary skimmer. You will
need to have 1 ½” threaded return lines to connect the PoolSkim but once
connected it uses the return jet to trap debris into a bag. Amazingly you will
see an 80% or more drop in the total leaf debris and not only on the surface
but on the bottom as well. The PoolSkim will pick up the leaves before they
have a chance to drop to the bottom of the pool.
Once the debris falls to the bottom of the pool a
conventional manual vacuum attached to your pool system will usually not be
effective. The debris is usually too large for the vacuum head. The cheapest
thing you can use to pick up the leaf debris is a Leaf Bagger or Leaf Master.
This device is designed to use water pressure to push debris into a large bag
on top. They work surprisingly well. You would simply attach a garden hose to
the Leaf Master, attach the Leaf Master to your standard pool pole and drop it
to the pool bottom. Turn on the garden hose and watch the debris be blasted
into the bag on top. Very effective and easy to use.
If you do service for a living the Leaf Master is
great, but to really maximize your time out there you are better off investing
in a Vacuum System. This is a device that has been around for about 15 years
that works off of the same concept of a Leaf Master but on steroids. It is
powered by a 30 lbs. thrust motor, think powerboat and is powered by a large
battery, much like the ones found on boats and power wheelchairs. You can
typically run a vacuum system for hours before recharging the battery. This
means you can vacuum multiple heavy debris pools quickly and save tons of time
on your route. These are very handy for wind prone areas like mine where the
Santa Ana winds make a mess of everything from October through February.
There are a few popular vacuum system and I have
videos on the three that I use.
A vacuum system is a big investment for sure with
prices starting at $1,000 and going up to $1,700 but in the long run, they will
pay off. Even if you are a homeowner with a heavy debris pool a vacuum system
is the way to go over spending the money on a Robotic or Pressure Side Cleaner.
For about the same cost you can purchase a Power Vac or Riptide with a battery
case and vacuum your pool with ease each week. Something to consider if your
pool is trashed each week with debris.
A pool that gets a large amount of debris each week can be a real pain to keep clean.
But with the right equipment, you can make quick work of it.
YouTube Video Index: http://poolmandave.blogspot.com/2014/03/swimming-pool-tips-reviews-how-to-video.html – A
list of all of my videos.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.