Pool and Spa Maintenance

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Tue Aug 27, 2013 10:06 am

When there is no one swimming in the pool, do I want the major water flow to be from the spa through the filter into the pool OR from the pool through the filter into the spa?

I have always maintained the flow with the major flow being from the pool through the filter and into the spa. In this way the spa tends to collect the debris that the filters do not. It was my thinking that the spa, being so much smaller, would be so much less work to clean.

I have been told differently.

Have I been doing this wrong and if so - why is it wrong?

fredsheldon · Post by **fredsheldon** » Tue Aug 27, 2013 1:39 pm

Well with the water shortage these days you might want to just fill in both the pool and spa considering the value of water will soon be greater than oil.

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Tue Aug 27, 2013 2:02 pm

fredsheldon wrote:Well with the water shortage these days you might want to just fill in both the pool and spa considering the value of water will soon be greater than oil.

Excuse me but I must say "You sound an awfully lot like my wife".

BTW with regard to my utility bill, it is the sewer cost that is going out of sight - not the water.

Gene Howe · Post by **Gene Howe** » Tue Aug 27, 2013 3:45 pm

Dusty,
They'll get you on one end or the other.

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Tue Aug 27, 2013 4:03 pm

Gene Howe wrote:Dusty,
They'll get you on one end or the other.

Actually, I've been had both ways.

Last month we came home one day to find the water flowing out into the street. Someone had turned the water on and we don't know how long it had been running. It was not on when we left home but when we returned the driveway was covered with about two inches of water as it flowed down the street.

I sure would have appreciated it had a neighbor noticed and saved me.

skou · Post by **skou** » Tue Aug 27, 2013 4:45 pm

Back when I lived in the trailer, I had a swamp cooler. (Which I still like, most of the year, here.) I wanted to put in a drain pump, on a timer, to reduce fouling the pads with the dissolved minerals (mostly sodium chloride.)

Landlord nixed the idea, because his sewer charge was based on the amount of water used.

This swamp cooler was on the roof of the trailer, and required at least, monthly maintenance. I'm 200 LBS +, and the cooler weighed about 100 more pounds. Yes, the roof CONTINUALLY leaked, whether raining or not.

I still wonder whether putting in the extra pump, and the flush system, would have prevented my heavy @$$ up there all the time, and not causing all the leaks.

But, since the trailer is now ashes, this is all moot.

steve

Ed in Tampa · Post by **Ed in Tampa** » Tue Aug 27, 2013 8:35 pm

dusty wrote:When there is no one swimming in the pool, do I want the major water flow to be from the spa through the filter into the pool OR from the pool through the filter into the spa?

I have always maintained the flow with the major flow being from the pool through the filter and into the spa. In this way the spa tends to collect the debris that the filters do not. It was my thinking that the spa, being so much smaller, would be so much less work to clean.

I have been told differently.

Have I been doing this wrong and if so - why is it wrong?

You want to the flow of water to carry as much of the crud that you can get it to carry so it is then trapped in the filter. I would think the most dirt would be in the pool so you want the flow from the pool into the filter then into the the spa/pool.

If my pool inlets and outlets are set just right it will keep the pool clean without me having to sweep the pool or have a pool sweep. I set three inlets to circulate the water with two more maintaining as much water flow as possible. I use the skimmer and main drain to suck in the dirt the skimmer from what is floating and suspended in the water and the main to catch the dirt that circulating water carries to it.

My filter runs at about 4 psi so I'm moving as much water as possible and putting the lowest load on the pump motor. If I start closing inlets I can get my filter pressure up to over 12 psi with just the circulation inlets open and then I get to watch my electric meter spin like a top.