Pool vacuums and cleaners

In order to get the most out of any swimming pool it must be kept clean. Clean pools are not only safe, but visibly more enticing to those wishing to use them.

Maintaining a clean pool involves, ensuring good water quality and cleanliness, removing debris and dirt that can accumulate in the pool, and keeping the walls and floor of the pool clean and free from algae and bacteria.

Types of pool cleaning machines

There are three basic types of swimming pool cleaning machines and they are, suction cleaners, pressure cleaners, and fully automated robotic cleaners. Be aware that many pool cleaning machines can be unsuitable for the cheaper models of above ground swimming pools.

Suction cleaners

Suction pool cleaners quite literally suck dirt and debris from a pool using a vacuum action.

The suction cleaner connects to one of the pool skimmers or, in many cases, a dedicated vacuum point. The head of the vacuum cleaner is then lowered into the water and drawn across the base of the pool where it sucks up any accumulated dirt.

Some suction cleaners have interchangeable heads with a variety of plates and brushes to assist in mobilising the dirt and helping the suction action.

Pressure cleaners

Pressure cleaners are a step up from suction cleaners and can most easily be though of as underwater vacuum cleaners. Pressure cleaners use a dedicated pump (which is normally part of the machine) and this makes them independent of the swimming pool system.

Pressure cleaners work using a combination of powerful suction, which removes dirt from the pool, and a brushing or scrubbing action, that releases more stubborn accumulations from the pool’s surface.

These cleaners will work effectively on the floor and side walls of the swimming pool and many have their own filters enabling the “sucked up” water to be recycled back into the pool.

Robotic pool cleaning machines

Robotic pool cleaning machines are the most recent innovation in swimming pool cleanliness and hygiene. Robotic cleaners take the strain out of the essential, but time consuming, pool cleaning process.

Robotic pool cleaners are fully automated machines that you simply power up, place in your swimming pool, and then leave to perform the cleaning job.

They start off by assessing the pool so that they are aware of its size and geometry and, once they have done this, the cleaning process starts. Exactly how a robot cleans a swimming pool depends on the specific robot and, in some instances, the cleaning program that you select. Most robots do however combine roller or brush action cleaning with suction and filtration and most have a bag or cartridge for the collection of pool debris. The emptying of this is usually the only manual task.

Robotic pool cleaners are available from several manufacturers and come with a range of differing facilities and cleaning actions. Many models are designed with a particular pool size in mind and in all cases the beauty of these robots is that fact that the most unpleasant aspect of owning a pool is handed over to a machine.