Fact Friday: The Importance of Pool Circulation

Aug 07, 2020

Welcome back to another edition of Fact Friday here at ePoolSupply! Every Friday we like to educate our customers with important information regarding their swimming pool and helpful technical tips to make informed decisions to make pool maintenance easier. Today we will be discussing water circulation and how it can affect your pool experience. Let's dive in!

What is pool circulation?

What is making the pool circulate? If you are not familiar with your swimming pool equipment, these questions might confuse you. Circulation is the process of moving water through the pool filter via the skimmer or main drain and returning it back to the pool. Circulation is critical to the health of your pool; if the water isn’t moving, the chlorine isn’t sanitizing. So how does it work?

As previously mentioned, water enters the pool pump from the Skimmer or Main Drain. The pool pump creates suction to pull the water through the system. From the pool pump the water travels through the filter which catches small particles and debris to send clean water back to the swimming pool.

How do you achieve perfect circulation?

Let’s think about the word circulation; it has the word “circle” in its roots. As the water is directed back to the pool from the filter, it exits through various pool returns such as: wall jets, infloor cleaning heads, waterfalls, etc. We’ll briefly explain the pros and cons of each return method.

Wall Jets

These orbital devices should be installed periodically throughout the pool wall. Their orbiting feature allows them to be angled and directed to “push” the water around the pool. The idea is to create a circular path for debris to be caught in the skimmer basket. The only downfall to wall returns is that you are only covering the top portion of the water, leaving most of the pool untouched.

In-floor Cleaning Heads

These revolutionary parts are the MOST EFFECTIVE method to return water to your pool. The cleaning heads sit in the pool floor and spray water towards the drain to capture debris inside the filter. Their location in the pool floor helps them reach all areas of the pool for even chemical and heat distribution.

Waterfalls

Waterfalls and spillways are an inefficient method to circulate your swimming pool water. Obviously, if the waterfall is only spilling in one area, then that area is the only spot being circulated.

Another thing to keep up on is brushing the pool on a weekly basis. Brushing will help eliminate any dead zones where dirt and debris may have collected. It will also assist in moving the chlorine throughout the pool.

With the information found in this guide, you'll be able to better understand pool circulation. If you have any questions regarding the information found in this blog feel free to reach out to us directly. Our team of Pool Professionals is here to help you through every step of the process. Otherwise, just keep swimming!