Tips and advice

To ensure that your salt system is functioning optimally, it is essential to clean the salt cell twice a year; in mid-season and at the end of the season when the pool is closed.  Be aware that the products used for this type of cleaning are very strong and acid-based. Protect yourself with gloves and glasses before opening the bottle. Also, do the cleaning on a surface that you won’t fear damaging or leave the cell in a bucket during soaking.  To do the cleaning, close the motor and valves that provide access to the water to the cell and remove the cell from the water line by unscrewing it. Then attach it to a soaking stand, which will allow you to hold the cell upright.  Before cleaning, rinse the salt cell using a garden hose with a very low flow rate to remove larger debris. You can then pour the product directly inside the cell and let it soak for about 30 minutes.  When the soaking time is over, you can put the product back in the bottle as it can be reused for the next time. Rinse the cell and reinstall it directly on the water line. It doesn’t matter which way you install it. Then open the valves and restart the motor.  If you forget to clean the cell, you may see a flashing light on your control panel that says, “Inspect Cell.” If all the other lights on the control panel are green, this is simply a reminder, not a diagnostic. It will flash every 500 hours of use. Once the cleaning is done; hold the button-down, the hour meter will automatically reset. 

À cette période de l'été, il s'agit du moment idéal afin de faire un grand nettoyage de mi-saison de sa piscine. Vous pourrez ainsi profiter en tout quiétude des prochaines chaleurs d'ici la fin de la saison. Il faut tout d'abord s'assurer que l'eau est toujours bien calibrée. Malgré que vous ayez vérifié le chlore et le PH chaque semaine, il est important de faire calibrer tous les paramètres de l'eau. Il est ensuite important d'entretenir tous les équipements, alors s'assurer du bon nettoyage des cartouches pour filtreur à cartouche, du filtreur au sable si vous en avez un ou de la cellule du système au sel, si tel est le cas. Nous vous recommandons aussi d'essayer les produits Pearl ou Optimizer prévenant la formation d'algues et rendant l'eau encore plus agréable. Ces produits peuvent être autant utilisés pour la piscine que pour le spa.

During the filtration process of your pool water, the larger particles will be immediately captured by the skimmer basket. However, the finer particles will pass through the piping and end up in the pump. Therefore, it’s critical to check your pump basket regularly and clean it if necessary.  The way to clean the basket depends on whether you have an above-ground, built-in, or in-ground pool. For an in-ground pool, it’s easy, you’ll simply turn off the pump motor. Then you’ll be able to unscrew the lid, empty the basket, rinse it, put it back in place, screw it well, and put the pump back in function.  On the other hand, if you have an above-ground or a built-in pool, as the water is higher than the installations, you have to take measures to close the accesses to avoid water returning by gravity and that the pool empties when you’ll start the pump.  We’ll untangle all of this pretty easily. There are different steps to follow depending on whether your filter is sand or cartridge.  The first steps are the same. First, you’ll shut down the pump motor and then go to the skimmer. If you have a bottom drain, a three-way valve is installed under the skimmer. If you don’t have a bottom drain, there is a ball valve there. What you’ll want to do is stop the water from travelling between the skimmer and the pump. Now, you’re going to close that access. With a ball valve, it’s very quick. You’ll just put it in the Off position. If you have a three-way valve, you’ll start by unscrewing the handle. The three-way valve has a safety mechanism that prevents you from easily accessing the Off position to the pump. By pulling the handle slightly after unscrewing it, you’ll be able to turn it to prevent water from accessing the pump.  Now we’re going to look at the water’s path out of the pump. If you have a sand filter, it’s very simple. You just put it in the OFF position. If you have a cartridge filter, at the filter outlet, on the way to the water return, there is a ball valve on the pipe. You’ll position it in the Off position.  From that point on, all the accesses are closed so you can open the strainer to access the basket. You’ll notice that there is water, but it’s simply residual water in the pipes. When the pipes are empty, the water will stop flowing.  Now, opening the lid may be a bit difficult if you have a turbo injected pump. There is a tool that can be of great help. I’m going to use it. Water will overflow, but it’s not a big deal and you’ll be able to access the basket. Of course, your basket might be a little bit dirtier than this one. You need to empty it and rinse it well. Then you can put it back in and close the lid to avoid leaks when you put it back on.  Now you’ll do the opposite process before putting the pump back in function. If you have a sand filter, move the handle to the Filtration position. If you have a cartridge filter, open the ball valve at the filter outlet.  Go back to the skimmer. If you don’t have a bottom drain, put the ball valve in the Open position. If you have a bottom drain, unscrew again and allow the water to pass from the skimmer to the pump.  Everything is open and in place. Now, put the pump back in function and monitor it regularly to ensure that everything is clean. 

Vous partez en vacances et puis vous voulez vous assurer que votre piscine sera dans un bon état lors de votre retour. Rassurez-vous, c'est assez simple, mais quelques petites étapes seront quand même nécessaires. Tout d'abord, trouvez quelqu'un de fiable qui pourra venir vérifier l'eau de votre piscine une à deux fois par semaine. Cette personne devra s'assurer qu'il ne pas manque pas d'eau dans la piscine, de vider le panier d'écumoire et de pompe au besoin et que la piscine ne manque pas de chlore en effectuant le test de bandelette ou gouttelettes. Afin de laisser la piscine dans un bon état de fonctionnement à votre départ, l'idéal est de faire tester votre eau en magasin avant de quitter et d'ajuster les paramètres nécessaires au besoin.Faire un backwash (lavage à contre-courant), nettoyer votre cartouche de filtreur, passer la balayeuse, enlever la toile solaire et diminuer la température de votre chauffe-eau sont aussi de très bonnes idées de choses à faire avant de partir pour aider à la personne qui va venir entretenir votre piscine pendant vos vacances. Lorsque vous revenez, si l'eau est belle et que vous avez fait l'analyse en magasin avant de partir, simplement faire le test bandelette ou gouttelettes à nouveau.Si il y a un problème avec l'eau de la piscine (algues ou eau brouillée), venez en magasin avec un échantillon d'eau et les spécialistes vont vous donner la recette pour corriger la situation. Bonnes vacances!

When, how and why use the famous shock treatment: this is what we’ll talk about today, starting by demystifying the shock treatment.  In both cases, whether you’re using a packet of Brillance or Smart Shock, it contains stabilized neutral chlorine to which an oxidizer has been added to destroy the chloramines in the pool water.  The chloramine is bad chlorine; it gives a strong chlorine smell to the water or make your eyes burn when you swim.  A clarifier is also added to ensure that the water remains clean and clear. Ideally, you should use it weekly. This way, you’ll prevent algae from building up or forming. It will also kill the chloramines and prevent that the water becomes cloudy.  You may also have to use it more often, so be more vigilant in case of a heat wave when the temperature rises for several days or if you have several bathers in the pool. You may also have to increase it simply because the level is low. To do this, sprinkle a packet of Smart Shock or Brillance around the pool or directly in front of the water return to ensure product disperses quickly.  This way, you’ll enjoy a clean and safe water to swim. 

Storms can affect the chemical parameters of your pool water, notably chlorine and pH. It’s important to test your water with strips or droplets after heavy rain to check and adjust the chlorine and pH levels.  Rain water brings more contaminants so you must provide more chlorine to the water with a pouch of Brillance or Smartchoc.  Also, rain is acidic, so it tends to lower the pH level. To increase the pH, we recommend that you test your water in-store to ensure that alkalinity and calcium are well adjusted.  It’s also critical to check the dry well if you have an in-ground pool to ensure that the water level isn’t too high. Go to our website, to watch our video tutorial on this topic to avoid that bubbles and pleats appear on your pool liner.  And, no matter if you have an above-ground, in-ground, or built-in pool, you must prevent the water level from raising above 3/4 of the skimmer to ensure an optimal filtration. If this were the case, drain some water to reach the right level.  Now, go enjoy the nice weather and take a swim before the next storm!