Fact #3: Wrinkling of Liners in Indoor Heated Pools

The strangest phenomenon I’ve seen in my thirty-something years in the liner business is "wrinkling liner material caused by indoor heated pools". If you read my recent blog about chemical levels you would conclude that this problem relates specifically to imbalanced pool chemicals, but this is not the case from my experience.

It first started in the 80's when a customer contact us to say the pool liner in their 50 metre long pool, had grown about one whole metre in length. I almost didn't believe them, so I went to see it for myself.

When I inspected the liner, sure enough, there were wrinkles and folds of liner all over the floor of the pool. It looked like the reverse of a dry creek bed, instead of open cracks, these were folds of PVC in a random crazed pattern. After a lot of investigation by the fabric manufacturer, the conclusion was that this phenomenon was a reaction to a pool environment that was made up of the following factors:
· Indoor
· Heated
· Commercial use (like a training pool or public pool)

Another case which proved the validity of the study result to me, was a school pool in a cold climate. It was built as an outdoor pool and used for two years without any noticeable liner growth. Then, the school decided the pool would get more use if it was covered, so a new building was built over the top of it. It became an indoor heated pool and within one year, the liner had grown to have large wrinkles all over the floor.

How can this be? What happens is, under these conditions, the PVC absorbs water and therefore expands. The expansion becomes visible as wrinkles and there also appears to be deterioration in the strength and flexibility of the PVC; in severe cases I have seen cracking along the creases.

Different solutions were trialled like, maintaining a level of cyanuric acid (not normally needed for an indoor pool), using a lacquered fabric, using a printed fabric, yet nothing solved the problem and so it was concluded that unsupported PVC was not suitable for pools with these environmental conditions.

The fabric manufacturers’ no longer provide a warranty for their PVC when used for this application and so it used at the risk of the Purchaser.

There are plenty of domestic pools that are heated and located indoors which do not show any problems, but many of the commercial pools under these conditions will exhibit the considerable wrinkling caused by this phenomenon.

Fact #1: what you must know about Salt Chlorinators and pool covers

One of the best inventions for pool owners is the salt chlorinator. When these were invented, they reduced the weekly cost of adding chemicals to the pool and, most importantly, they were an automatic dosing system which meant less time spent maintaining the pool.

Fact #1: These units are not fully automatic. When running, they are constantly dosing your pool, so you still need to monitor the chlorine level yourself. Most pool owners think that these automatic chlorinators are "set and forget", but they are wrong! Checking the correct level of chlorine in the pool is critical for the health of your family.
It's also important for the life of pool accessories too. For example, a pool cover is so efficient at reducing the amount of chlorine needed, that the chlorine production on the chlorinator should be turned down by two thirds, so it is only producing around one third as much chlorine as when the pool is uncovered. If the chlorinator is not adjusted, the level of chlorine in the pool gradually increases to a point where it starts to attack the pool cover and pool cleaner and is not healthy for swimming.Obvious signs of an over-chlorinated pool are:

• Discolouration of the pool surface below the water level.


• The underside of the pool cover looks bleached.


• Pieces of the pool cover start to flake off and you find them in the pool skimmer.


• The automatic pool cleaner skirt and parts get sticky and discoloured.


• Pool accessories that are in the water start to perish (like the cord attached to a thermometer).

How can you fix this? Unfortunately, once a high chlorine level has damaged your pool cover or pool cleaner, the damage cannot be reversed. But, you can easily check the chlorine level yourself with a standard test kit — or even easier, by using testing (dip) strips, then adjust the chlorine output to suit.

The good news for the future is that self-adjusting, salt chlorinators are being developed and released into the swimming pool market. These innovations check the chlorine level at regular intervals and automatically adjust the chlorine output to maintain an ideal, continuous level. Look for these in your pool shop or online, if you want the convenience of not having to check chlorine levels yourself, and to avoid damage to your pool cover and pool cleaner.

Water balance and Vinyl Liners

Recently, one of my colleagues suggested I review an article about water chemistry and testing which focused on the effect of un-balanced pool water on vinyl liners. It concluded that balanced pool water has a major effect on the longevity of a vinyl liner in a swimming pool. I thought it important to pass on a summary of what was learned through the testing process.

We all know that water balance is important to the performance of the sanitising chemicals used in a pool, as well as for water clarity and comfort of the swimmers. However, water balance is equally as important for the life of your pool liner.

Using standard parameters of total alkalinity of 150ppm, calcium hardness at 100ppm and the starting concentration of cyanuric acid at 100ppm, a series of tests were conducted with different types of chlorine and PH levels ranging from 2.0 up to 10.0. Here is what was discovered…….

Samples with free chlorine at 1.5ppm where the PH was maintained between 7.0 and 7.5 (the Aust Std is 7.2 - 7.6) showed no adverse effects. The lower the PH dropped below 7.0, the greater the fading, wrinkling and loss of strength in the vinyl liner, plus it increased in weight (likely from water absorption which is what causes the wrinkling). As PH increased above 7.6 the vinyl lost weight and expanded. Samples with free chlorine at 20ppm where the PH was maintained between 7.0 and 7.5 showed colour change where white turned yellow and blue faded and became dull in colour. This high chlorine concentration caused wrinkling as well.

What this tells us is, it is important to maintain water balance to maximise the life of your pool liner. However, the study also revealed that even though the look of the liner changed with exposure to extremely bad chemical levels, the vinyl still remained functional as a pool liner!

Seamless view - easy as 1-2-3

One of the criticisms in the past of vinyl liners for Inground pools was the seams. That's all changed now! These necessary and integral parts of a liner cop a lot of flack from supporters of other pool finishes but they need not be a concern any more. In the past few years, the seams have been the focus of liner manufacturers and vinyl suppliers to minimise the number and make them look like they have disappeared!

Seams on printed pool liners were quite obvious due to the welding method that was traditionally used. Innovative manufacturer ABGAL pioneered a new type of welding technique for pool liners to produce a seam that was less obvious. This welding technique is called "wedge welding" and has seen an improvement in the look and even more importantly the strength of pool liners since its introduction.

A number of years later using its software design system, ABGAL offered a liner with the seams facing away from the viewing direction of the pool (usually looking from the home or entertainment area). This option meant liners could be manufactured with the seams positioned so they were "out of view" from most of the pool surround and has been a huge success.

Nylex, the only liner fabric manufacturer in Australia made changes to their printed pool liner fabric to improve the look of the seams in liners still welded using the old method. They have changed the backing colour of the PVC to blend in better after welding, giving a less obvious liner seam.

The latest innovation in seams again comes from ABGAL, they have developed what they call "Smart Seam Technology" which has reduced the width of the seams to half their original size, but retained all the strength of a full width seam, but looks so much better.

So, for a seamless view follow these 3 easy steps.....

1. Choose wedge welding for the liner
2. Nominate the direction of the seams when ordered
3. Use ABGAL's "Smart Seam Technology"

Vinyl for Inground Pools

I often get a puzzled look when I talk to someone about a vinyl liner for an Inground Swimming Pool. Most people know that vinyl liners are used in Above Ground Pools but most have never heard of using a vinyl liner as the finish of an Inground Pool. A vinyl pool finish, is one of the most popular types in the world for Inground Swimming Pools. Why is that I hear you ask? Well there are a few good reasons, but the most important being that vinyl is low maintenance and it is flexible. From a structural point, vinyl is popular because it will accommodate ground movement as it does not crack. This means in cold climates where the ground freezes in winter, vinyl is the ideal finish as it will cope with the movement in the ground caused by the freeze/thaw process. That’s one of the reasons why vinyl is not as common in Australia as our capital cities do not get cold enough in winter for the ground to freeze. But, we do have plenty of areas where ground movement is a problem which makes vinyl a great solution.

Now, there are plenty of vinyl lined Inground pools in Australia. Most of these pools are a pre-engineered style, where a substantial amount of the structure of the pool has been built in a factory and is then taken to site and assembled and installed. Pre-engineered vinyl pools offer much quicker installation times than concrete as they are not required to remain empty for a number of weeks to allow for the curing process. They have the advantage they can be built any size or shape, many Olympic size competition pools are vinyl lined. The pre-engineered system means they are very accurate in size (which is very important in competition) and they can be built much faster as a large percentage of the construction is already done in the factory before the panel modules arrive on site.

So, when looking to build a new pool or when you need to fix a cracked and leaking concrete or Fibreglass pool, think vinyl. It is the ideal pool finish that is thicker than 15 layers of paint, smooth to touch so it is child friendly and best of all is low maintenance, so you can have more time to enjoy your pool rather than scrubbing.

See how fabulous an Inground vinyl liner can look……..

Euro Pool Trend in vinyl liners

In busy times, the trend is to spend less time cleaning and maintaining your pool finish, so you can spend more time swimming. After all, the less time spent cleaning your pool the better, right?

We all love the luxury of tiles, but most of us understand the problems associated with keeping the grout clean. Think of your shower… imagine how easy it would be to clean your shower if there was no grout to scrub? ABGAL has the solution!

One of the most popular swimming pool patterns in Europe is available here now. ‘Mosaic Tile’ will transform your backyard into the French Riviera, with this ABGAL vinyl finish in your pool….The classic ‘Mosaic Tile’ pattern gives you the luxurious look of tiles, without the expense. Plus, it’s so easy to keep clean and has the low maintenance features of vinyl.

The latest pool trends we’re seeing are use of formal or geometric shapes such as rectangles, which combine beautifully with large format paving stones. This creates a sense of spaciousness and clean lines which accentuate the geometric pattern of ‘Mosaic Tile’ - it makes for a timeless statement in your backyard. Team it with a crisp, white granite or paving stone, to experience the illusion of ‘coolness’ amid the Mediterranean tones of cool whites and vivid blues. Truly inviting…