Low Maintenance / Zero Maintenance
While no pool can be considered truly “zero maintenance,” we’re getting closer and closer all the time, thanks to many new features and developments. Great minds in the industry have been working hard to take the drudgery out of swimming pool ownership.
Check out some of these solutions that will make your swimming pool practically take care of itself:
Automatic Cleaning
The latest development in automatic cleaning is “in-floor cleaning.” This system looks similar to an automatic sprinkler system, where nearly invisible pop-up heads automatically drive all dirt and debris down to the drain and out of the pool.
There’s also “hydraulic cleaning,” which involves an automated cleaner working its way around your pool during its cleaning cycle. The three most popular brands are:
- Jandy Cleaners – Ray Vac (www.jandy.com/html/products/cleaners/rayvac.php)
- Polaris Brand Pool Cleaners (http://www.polarispool.com/products/default.asp?ID=Cleaner)
- Hayward Pool Vac Ultra (http://www.haywardnet.com/inground/products/cleaners/Pool_Vac_Ultra.cfm)
Some of the advantages of these new hydraulic cleaners include:
- Faster cleaning – 1 to 3 hours
- Energy efficient motors
- Built-in scrubbing brushes
- The ability to add an attachment that floats to clean the surface
Alternative Sanitizers
The days of dumping powdered chlorine into your pool every week are quickly becoming a thing of the past. Several new technologies are combining to minimize chlorine use, and/or eliminate it altogether. As chlorine goes away, swimmers enjoy softer skin, while swimming suits and pool equipment last much longer. Swimmers can open their eyes underwater without any redness or soreness. And best of all, these automated systems manage the water for you, so you don’t have to mess with it.
For example, EcoSmarte (www.ecosmarte.com) has developed a non-salt, non-chemical mineral sanitizer/purification system that works on all kinds of swimming pools, ponds and spas. The newest and perhaps most promising technology for keeping your water clean and clear involves "super-filtering" the water to the level of pure drinking water. This system, currently offered by EcoSmarte™, actually eliminates the need for chlorine and salt altogether, using traditional drinking water technology (oxidation & ionization) to purify the water. In fact, it’s so clean and pure that many homeowners are using it for their koi ponds as well.
The Paramount Clear O3™ (www.paramountpoolproducts.com) water purifying system is the perfect addition to any new or existing pool for the cleanest water possible. The patent pending ClearO3 consists of an extruded aluminum main body with fiber filled PPO resin end caps, so it is engineered to survive in the pool equipment environment. The cylindrical chamber of the Paramount ClearO3 system is optimized for maximum ozone generation and is sealed to minimize ozone leakage making the unit both powerful and safe around swimming pools. Radiant heat ribs dissipate heat to maintain ozone output at peak operating temperatures and the side panel is removable, making maintenance and bulb replacement easy.
You may have heard of a "salt pool," which is actually an automatic chlorine generator that converts simple salt into chlorine. This saves you the hassle of ever having to handle chlorine. Rather than dump powdered chlorine into your pool every week, you add a few bags of salt to the water twice a year. At Pools by John Clarkson, we normally use the Jandy AquaPure chlorine generator.
DelOzone (http://www.delozone.com/) offers an ozone-generator to oxidize any and all organic matter in the pool water. “Oxidation” is essentially what chlorine does, but with ozone, the leftover byproduct is pure clean oxygen.
Long-Life Interiors
The high-quality plaster used on most swimming pools will typically last eight to twelve years, depending on conditions. Some newer interior finishes such as CrystalStones (http://www.cliindustries.com/crystalstones.html) use a fine, exposed aggregate to create a beautiful and unique finish that will easily last twice as long as the typical plaster finish. These finishes are also less likely to show dirt and debris.
Computer Automation
With computer automation, all the advanced controls of your pool can be put in the palm of your hand – literally. From pumps to lights to water features to sound systems to anything else you can think of, these modern controllers allow you to adjust any and all functions without ever getting up out of your chair or out of the pool. Naturally, these controllers are waterproof, so you can leave them floating in the pool or spa, or wherever you want. Most people have a second controller installed in the house, so they can make adjustments without ever going outside.
The other advantage of the new modern controllers is that the equipment can be programmed for optimum efficiency throughout year. The Jandy RS System (http://www.jandy.com/html/products/controls) has an option for monitoring and controlling the chlorine levels in the pool, even further simplifying the care of your pool. Jandy has long been regarded as the leader in pool and spa automation by bringing easy to use and attractive control systems to the pool and spa industry.
Jandy Control Systems bring simple push button operation of pool and spa equipment indoors. What does this mean for you? No more trips to the equipment pad! The days of going out into the cold and stumbling around in the dark to operate pool and spa equipment are over.
Happy swimming!
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