Storm Watch!

Hurricane Irene Preparation:

With the possibility of a hurricane (or tropical storm) making landfall this Sunday and/or Monday I thought it would be a good idea to address some issues that may arise with your pool and hot tub. The easiest and most efficient way to deal with hurricane damage is of course to prevent it from happening in the first place, and by preparing your pool and/or spa for such an eventuality you can protect your investment and save yourself a few headaches in the process.

                The most common damage that occurs in hurricane conditions is from high winds (those of you who suffered during the wind storm earlier this year know this all too well.) Strong Winds not only put strain on pool walls, but also turn any object on your deck, patio or lawn into a possible projectile. This leads me to my first point; remove all objects not bolted down (or heavy enough to withstand high winds) away from your pool or spa. Patio furniture, solar rollers, patio umbrellas and pool/spa accessories are some of the more common objects that should be moved or secured prior to any high wind situation. Secondly, the best way to prevent objects from entering your spa is to firmly secure the straps holding your cover. Hot tub covers that are not secured properly can be lifted away, or damage cover-lifters and even the sides of the tub itself.

                Power outages can also cause you some grief with both pools and spas. If the power should go out for any prolonged period of time (24 hours or more) it’s a good idea to give your pool and spa a shock when the power comes back on as the filtration and circulation of both pools and spas depends on power going to various pumps. Pool pumps are easily reset by flipping the tripped breaker or turning the pump switch back on. In the case of a spa, tripping the breaker and other interruptions to power will cause the spas’ controls to reset back to the default setting. Those customers who own a Beachcomber spa, the default setting is the standard mode or ST on the control panel and most customers will normally operate their tub using this mode. If you have your spa set on economy mode EC, or sleep mode SL you will need to change it back after a power outage by hitting the key that looks like 3 side-by-side up and down arrows, then the key that looks like a sun until you reach the desired setting.

                Lastly we come to rain, something we are far too familiar with this season. Rain fall is a normal part of our pool routine here in the Maritimes and isn’t hard to deal with. In the case of heavy rainfall, the biggest concerns to our customers are throwing off the water balance of the pool and overflowing. If you currently have the water level in your pool up to the maximum line (or ¾ up the skimmer) it may be a good idea to drain the water level down a few inches prior to the storm to prevent overflowing or flooding. Please remember however, the water level in your pool must be around ½ ways up the skimmer in order for the pump to properly function and not run dry. The rains effect on the water balance is measured by the amount of rainfall we get, so if we do get hit with a lot of rain it may be a good idea to bring in a 1 L. water sample to check the balance. 

Remember call with any questions or concerns and we will be happy to help you out!

-Craig McNutt

Holland Home Leisure