Commercial / Residential Difference

[PoolDoctor]

A lot of the 'discussions' (sic) on this forum focuses on residential pools. However, there are a huge number of commercial pools in Thailand, and I wanted to take this time to point out some things that might benefit people who manage or run a commercial pool. Also, commercial pools affect many more people (due to the volume of users) so I thought a note about safety would be pertinent.

I am not sure how to define commercial vs. residential, other than to draw a line based on size and location. I think commercial pools fall in the realm of hotels, condo buildings, international schools, and village community buildings ("samusorn" in Thai). Many of the pool problems that we see in Thailand are caused by owners employing a local pool shop (residential pool experience) to fix or maintain their commercial pool. This is inherently wrong. Why?

Working on commercial pools is entirely different, simply due to their size, complexity, and nature of equipment. Installing a 2" valve is vastly easier than a 6" bolted butterfly valve. Working with large PVC is also difficult, and aligning a 12.5hp Calpeada pump properly requires some experience. In almost all cases also, we recommend an automated injection system (ORP & pH). When the water goes green in a house pool, its 24 - 36 hours to get it back. In a commercial pool though, its often a week (volume of water). An automated system also, will set up an alarm in advance, and provide sufficient time needed to fix an issue before it escalates. Many of our commercial pool customers upload their data onto our site daily, and we monitor their pool and step in before something goes awry with their chemistry. If you lose the grout in a 5x10 pool, not an issue. Lose it in a huge commercial pool though, and its major hassle, time, and expense.

Finally, a day does not go by that we don't see commercial pools with major safety hazards. No anti-entrapment drains, no ring buoy available, no telephone nearby, glass being used at the bar, missing tiles, missing grout, electrical hazards, the list goes on and on. Commercial pools by their nature cater to many more people, and the potential for an accident is much higher. Alas, many of the news reports of fatalities around pools involve commercial pools.

Contact us at anytime if we can be of assistance.

Gil