Title: Making a Great Swimming Pool Word Count: 694 Summary: A swimming pool is one place where we all want to be on a hot day. Swimming is such a relaxing exercise, and it is enjoyed by people of all ages. Kids love splashing, while adults love swimming in the water. Swimming is an excellent sport, and reduces fat as well. A perfect swimming pool adds a lot of class to a beautiful home. Keywords: swimming pool, swimming pool, above ground swimming pools, inground swimming pools, indoor swimming pools, swimming pool construction Article Body: A swimming pool is one place where we all want to be on a hot day. Swimming is such a relaxing exercise, and it is enjoyed by people of all ages. Kids love splashing, while adults love swimming in the water. Swimming is an excellent sport, and reduces fat as well. A perfect swimming pool adds a lot of class to a beautiful home. If you are in the process of getting a pool or redoing your old pool, read on! Swimming Pool Basics: Typically, a swimming pool has the following major components: • Basin • Motor pump • Water filter • Chemical feeder • Drains • Returns • PVC plastic plumbing connecting all of these elements A good pool will have all the following components, so that the water is moved continuously from the filter, cleaning it, sometimes through the heater also, so that regular temperature is maintained. The water is consistently cleaned using the chemical feeders, with the help of chlorine, as it keeps water free from any bacteria. Doing up a great pool: The drain system is best laid at the lower end of the pool with the surface slanting towards it, so that the water can flow easily through the drains. The drains should be covered with grates so that while swimming, people do not have their hair or swimsuits caught up in them. A strainer is attached at the mouth of drains so that any debris is caught. A good pool must have powerful pumps that can help water flow through the filter and chemical feeder; to and from the swimming pool. High rate sand filters are the best kind of filters that will clean the water perfectly. They use sand to clean water of any debris present. Some pools may also use the diatomaceous earth filter, or a cartridge filter. This filter cleans very fine particles of debris. Ideally in any pool, the water should pass the filter every 30 minutes, and for the largest ones, every six hours. The pump and filter should also be connected to a fresh water line. Calcium hypochlorite or sodium hypochlorite make great chemical cleaning agents. An automated chlorine feeder should be hooked to the filters for good chemical filtration. Sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate should be used as per the requirement, to keep the pH under control right from 7.8 to 7.9. After filtration, the water should be sent back to the pool. A great pool requires the best of the filters, chemical filters, drains and pumps. Most people look at the pool and think that that is the most important part of the set up, but in fact equally important is the pumps room, where pumps and filters are installed. A pump room is where the water quality is maintained. There are some other issues that one may face while getting a pool done. Some of these are: When to dig a pool? Contrary to popular thought, winter, not spring or summer is the right time to get a pool dug up, as the ground is not soggy. Soft ground is difficult to dig and is not easy on heavy equipment as well. Sides caving in: The sides of the hollow dug must be sloping so that the sides do not cave in. The ideal ratio should be a 1-foot vertical drop for every 3 horizontal feet. Steel enforcements may also be used to keep the pool in shape. Algae in the pool: Algae can be very harmful to a swimming pool, and requires chemical treatment and a lot of filtering, backwashing, scrubbing, and skimming. Whatever kind of algae it is, quick treatment is essential, as algae is quick to take over the pool. Kids safety: Kids are sometimes unpredictable, so a cover on the pool or a fence around it will help to keep the pool area safe. Winter: If the swimming pool is outdoors and the winters are harsh, it is a good idea to put antifreeze in the key areas after draining the water and putting a cover over the pool. A swimming pool is an ideal feature for your home; just remember a good pool requires extensive preparations, and once these are done, maintenance is very important.