Well March was simply divine with blistering Sun! we had a chuckle here at Evo Pools in Sunny Devon when the Clouds came ‘well summers over we called’ Not a truer word spoken, that said are these Showers we are currently receiving not too dissimilar to how it used to be in Yesteryear? “April showers”? We certainly think so.

That is about as Scientific we get about the Weather although we do watch the weather very closely as there is a distinct trend between sunshine and how much Swimming pools are used, we measure this by how much we dance around the warehouse or sit idle..

During a recent trip to the Garden we stumbled upon a rain gauge also known as a udometer or a pluviometer or an ombrometer or a cup, and what fun we have had with this during these showers We have recorded on our Pluvimeter in EX17 Crediton Devon within a 12 hour period Rain fall on the 23rd April of 150mm which was astonishing! and that will explain why the local rivers and streams around us have a lovely rich colour as they flow and twist cutting their Oxbow contours into the Devon landscapes.

Now we have to remind ourselves what impacts this could have on our swimming pools so we list some pointers and tips about how best to deal with excessive rainfall:

Help Tips and Advice on how to deal with Excess Pool water caused by Rainfall
1. Buy a rain coat (as you will need this to clean your pool in the rain)
2. Remove the swimming pool cover, in the event you have a safety cover ensure the Surface Water Pool Cover Pump
is pumping! (very very important) an inch of water across 30′ could equate to approx 1 ton in pressure we have dealt with insurance claims causing structural damage to swimming pool tops due to pump failure and in turn excessive stresses and pressures on the swimming pool tops causing concrete ring beams to fail, so be warned/ informed!
3. Once the cover is removed establish the operating swimming pool level, no doubt in the situation of a bubble cover pool/ winter debris cover or slatted pool cover system the pool would have filled up, so lets use this water to vacuum to waste, a great opportunity to do some dilution.
4. Once the level has been established, carry out a FULL swimming pool water test, this test must contain pH Alkalinity and Calcium Hardness. After all the rain is acidic and will be dropping the levels in your swimming pool dramatically, in turn this will accelerate the usage of pool chlorine or other sanitizers so a check here is crucial to keep the green bogie monster away! remember the sun is coming back after all!
5. Phosfree, during extended rainfall periods the pool digests Nitrate from the rain ALGAE FOOD! you know what is coming next Algae formation yes your pool will undoubtedly be looking to turn green as those little green algae spoors have an almighty party drinking up all your Summer Algicide and Pool Chlorine. We recommend a good test with a Phosphate kit and make the remedial action needed to remove the Nitrate from the water.
6. Algicide, with you Algicide now depleted we MUST top up once more to ensure the Swimming pool does not start to turn Hazy/ Cloudy or Bloom Blue green Algea. A good slug of Kleen Pool, Desalgine or ALgimax eliminator will be time well spent now and money!
7. Carry out an extended backwash use this overfill to really cleanse the swimming pool filter, extended backwash’s can help reduce clumping within the filter. A term used when Sand or Zeo clear material within the filter becomes clumped together being bound together by Algae growth/ Scale and general build up, this ‘Extra Pool Backwash’ Will help break down clumping and provide efficient pool filtration once more.

Well back to the Pluvimeter and it transpires whilst writing this blog, which we started between telephone call this morning Shobrooke in Crediton Devon has received 50mm of rainfall that is within a 6 hour period on the 25th of April 2012, Fantastic news for farmers and other industry’s such as the Swimming pool market who have had concerns over water restrictions following the recent nationwide water restrictions.

Now we’re not about to start selling Rain Gauges but we do sell a really handy Swimming Pool chemical measuring cup that could double as a Rain Gauge, and it is a great exercise for the kids to get involved in, I seem to remember monitoring and reporting on fall over a month at School at Naphill and Walters Ash County combined school in very early science lessons and i suppose it made Rainfall fun!

Now if you are looking for Hosepipe ban and Swimming Pool top up information look here one of our friend companies within the Pool industry have been closely working with the Swimming Pool allied trades association and updating relevant information on Hose pipe bans and how it may effect you. Deep End Pools

Thankyou for your Time once more Evo Pools Shop Link