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Metro Pool Chemical, Inc.
Service Guide
METRO POOL CHEMICAL, INC.
Pool Chemical Service
Information Guide
Service
Our service is priced and geared for fifty weeks of year round service only
A service record card will be kept inside your timer box, which documents
the date and time of our Service Technician’s most recent visit.
Swimming should be delayed for a period of approximately one hour
after chemicals have been added to your pool.
This is a standard recommendation for most forms of pool chemicals.
Because we use pure chlorine:“chlorine gas” - we have a tremendous
advantage over other forms of chlorine.
One of the primary advantages is that we can add chlorine while the
filter system is on or off. Liquefied chlorine gas spreads evenly throughout
the entire pool in a very short period of time.
Saltwater pools should be running when serviced to help disperse the
chemicals added.
Pool Covers
Your pool cover should be pulled off on your service day.
Our service technicians are instructed to leave the pool uncovered
upon completion of service. The
cover should remain pulled back for at least three hours after service.
We recommend that your pool be uncovered at least 50% of the time.
A pool that is covered all of the time lacks adequate oxygen which
can cause chemicals to react abnormally and result in the pool’s water
chemistry to be unbalanced and cause eye irritation.
Frequent removal also helps to prolong the life of your cover.
Water Chemistry
Our chemical readings will differ from those obtained when using
conventional chemicals. We
strive for the following readings:
Standard Pools:
pH: 7.8 - 8.0
Alkalinity: 90 –130 ppm
Chlorine: 4.0 + ppm
Saltwater Pools
pH: 7.4 – 7.6
Alkalinity: 60 – 130ppm
Chlorine: 2 – 4 ppm
These readings, when achieved in conjunction with the use of our chemicals, are
both safe and ideal for your pool and equipment.
You may feel confident knowing that our 30 plus years of experience have
proven effective and safe. If you ever have any questions about your pool’s
chemical balance, please do not hesitate to call our office.
Please provide easy access for our service tech.
If you keep your gate locked, please provide the service tech with a key.
Unfriendly dogs should be secured when the pool is being serviced.
If a key is not provided and
the gate is inadvertently locked on service day, it will be necessary for us to
charge for the service not performed and no extra callback will be made.
Because our low service charge is based on promptness and efficiency, we
do not ring doorbells to gain access.
Also, it is very important for safety reasons that no one but the service
tech is in the yard while the pool is being serviced.
We do not brush or vacuum the pool as part of our chemical service.
However, you may contact our service department for a referral to one of
our highly recommended service companies.
These companies enjoy cleaning our customer’s pools, knowing the chemical
balance will be correct.
We take every precaution to keep your dog in your backyard.
However, if your dog attempts to get out when you open your gate, he
probably will do the same with us.
We therefore cannot assume responsibility for your dog getting out.
Our service tech will not enter your yard if you have an unfriendly dog
that is not contained and it will be necessary for us to charge for that service
call.
Our service does not include spas or hot tubs.
If the plumbing of your pool is connected to your spa, the chemicals will
automatically circulate into the spa.
If not, you may take a few buckets of chlorinated water from your pool
and pour them into the spa as a supplement to your normal spa maintenance
procedures.
If your pool has algae it will be cleared up at no extra charge as part of our
service. Because some types of
algae are more resistant than others, please allow a reasonable period to
completely eradicate it. Black
algae must be brushed often with a stainless steel wire brush.
It will turn gray as it starts to die and will eventually disappear.
Keeping the pool clean and properly filtered will aid in the treatment of
algae.
PLEASE DO NOT ADD ANY CHEMICALS OR ALGAECIDE TO YOUR POOL
This can cause inaccurate test results and lead to other
problems.
We do not store any chemicals at the poolside.
Our service tech will complete all necessary
testing and add any required chemicals during each weekly service visit.
We provide up to 100 pounds of diatomaceous earth per year to those customers
that have D.E. or cartridge filters, and alum for sand filters. These chemicals
are provided FREE as part of our service.
Please advise our office at least two working days prior to your service
day and your service tech will leave a supply.
Filter & Filtration
With the dramatic increase in energy costs, some people try to economize by
reducing the filtration time of their pool.
This often counteracts our efforts to keep your pool sparkling clean.
We will provide the proper water treatment but you must see to it that
your pool is properly filtered. It
should be noted that our service does not include cleaning or otherwise
maintaining the pool filter. This
is, however, available from one of our trusted professional service companies.
ADEQUATE FILTRATION IS AS IMPORTANT AS BALANCED WATER CHEMISTRY
It is important that each and every drop of your pool's water is pumped through
the filter three times each day to assure that it has been properly and
adequately filtered. To accomplish
complete filtration of the water we recommend the following filtering times:
·
Sand filter:
12-14 hours
·
Cartridge:
10-12 hours
·
D.E.:
8-10 hours
Increase the time by 50% if you have a solar heating system.
Allow longer filtration periods if the pool activity is heavy. Our
personnel will advise you, by means of a door hanger on your front door, if your
pool requires more filtration. It
is in your pool's best interest to follow the recommended filtration time.
Filters should be cleaned when the pressure indicated by the pressure
gauge on the top of the filter, rises 7-10 lbs, above the clean pressure.
Cloudiness
The most common cause of cloudy water is inadequate filtration.
Increase the filtration time and the problem should resolve itself (see
Filter and Filtration). If it does
not, you may have a malfunction in your filtration system; please call our
office for a referral to a repair company.
Eye Irritation
You may have heard that chlorine causes eye irritation.
This is simply not true. Eye
irritation is due to the following:
1.
Inadequate filtration (most frequent cause)
2.
Ammonia introduced into the pool water by means of urine. One small child
urinating iny our pool can cause very heavy eye irritation for up to 24 hours
3.
Organic material introduced into
your pool by adding fresh water before swimming
4.
Leaving a pool blanket on your pool during the day.
Water needs to be exposed to air. Please remove the blanket during
daytime hours
5.
Perspiration in pool--always shower before and after swimming
Conditioning
On our first visit, the service tech will perform numerous tests on your water
including a test of Isocyanuric Acid, commonly called Conditioner.
Conditioner screens out ultraviolet rays and prevents the sun from taking
chlorine from the pool water.
Without it, sunlight will take chlorine out almost as fast as we can put it in.
Once added, it stays permanently as part of your pool water and does not
evaporate or dissipate. It only
reduces when water is lost through emptying or overfilling your pool, leakage
replacement, or excessive splash out.
If, on our first visit, we find that the conditioner level is below 100 parts
per million, we will add only enough conditioner to bring your pool to 100-ppm.
The first twenty pounds of
conditioner required each calendar year is free to our customers.
If any more is needed to obtain or
maintain the 100-ppm, the cost is passed on to you at the current wholesale
rate. The most an average size pool
would take is approximately 15 pounds a year.
Chlorine & Stains
Over time, minerals and metals become more concentrated in your pool water
because they do not evaporate.
These often cause "staining" of the pool surface.
It is not possible to guarantee that staining will not occur in a pool,
or that the simple addition of chlorine will not cause the precipitation of
metals from the water once it becomes saturated.
Scale, stains, discoloration and cloudiness in a pool are caused by the
settling out of (precipitation) metals/minerals in the water. If the
precipitated minerals form a hard deposit on the pool walls it is referred to as
scale. If the precipitated metals
have a color and are deposited on the pool walls, they are called stains.
Super chlorination is essential to proper swimming pool maintenance.
When super chlorinating is done with any form of chlorine (e.g.
gas chlorine, sodium hypochloride, calcium hypochloride, sodium
dichloroisocyanurate, and trichloroisocyanuric acid) there may be an immediate
settling out or precipitation of metals from the water and subsequent staining
of the pool. Chlorine or acid
cannot cause stains. Stains only
occur when pool water becomes over-saturated with metals.
We recommend that your pool be completely drained and refilled every 3-4
years to keep the metal concentration from getting too high. Lack of filtration
may cause stains to appear sooner.
The pool water needs to be circulated the recommended amount of time for the
type of filter. Otherwise, the
precipitation of the metals on the plaster is accelerated.
If you do find staining to be a problem with your pool, contact our service
department for information regarding our special stain treatment.
Colored Plaster Pools
The swimming pool industry is fully aware that all colored plaster pools become
mottled and blotched sooner or later.
Quite often a light colored ring will appear around the main drain or the
plaster will appear uneven in color.
This condition is typical of all colored plasters and is simply the
nature of these surfaces. There is nothing that can be done from a service point
of view to prevent or cure the blotching, streaking or mottling that will occur.
Blotching may be gradual or appear seemingly overnight, even after the
pool is several years old. All pool
builders or plaster companies require their customers to acknowledge that
blotching is a normal occurrence in colored plaster pools.
Should you have any questions or concerns regarding your service, Please do not
hesitate to contact our office and speak to our Service Manager.
Our goal is that you are 100% satisfied with your chemical service!
if there is anything we can do to improve your service, please call us at
(817) 232-8400.