THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Not so long ago when natural ponds specked the length and breadth of this land, nobody could have imagined an economics resting in their making and maintenance. With those natural sources of water either dried up or devoured by the jungle of buildings, artificial pools dot the sparse surroundings of homes and high rise apartments. Incredibly blue, they gaze up at the sky and lie in a royal exuberance, only to be left unattended and algae-ridden after the initial fancy peters out. A new brigade of skilled labourers are at the service of pool owners and can be hired just as you would hire gardeners or masons. Trained in the upkeep of artificial pools, they ensure that your bit of the water body is breathing, habitable and clean. Sanil M and Vibhu V S, who undertake contracts for upkeep and maintenance of domestic swimming pools in the city, say that in most cases, they have to convince owners of the need for upkeep of pools before their quotation is accepted. “In flats and apartments, the builders do not usually give any instructions on the maintenance of pools. The caretaker would simply spray chlorine now and then. It won’t be very long before the pool becomes unusable with algae and cloudy water,” says Sanil. The twosome, natives of Vembayam and Pirappancode, were working in a water theme park as casual labourers when the technical sides of maintaining an artificial water body caught their interest. The acquaintance with Vipin Das, who runs the Kochi-based firm, H2O Water Management Systems, turned them into seasoned professionals who now undertake contracts individually and also under the banner of the firm. They perform weekly upkeep of the pools at the Trivandrum Club, Vazhuthacaud; Vivanta by Taj, Vazhuthacaud; Happy Land Water Theme Park, Vembayam and also at some of the posh flats in the city. Says Vipin Das, “Adding chlorine is not enough to maintain a pool in habitable conditions. The balancing of water chemistry and maintaining a healthy PH level are very important. When the usage is more, water becomes polluted very fast. But, even if the pool is left unused, the water quality deteriorates. Suction sweeping of pools, at least once every week, is mandatory,” says Vipin, a chemist by qualification. The surface water of a pool is filtered out using a skimmer while the water underneath is drawn out using a drain. The floor is then cleaned using a pool brush. After chemical treatment, recycled water is again let into the pool. The turnover period, which is the time taken for the treatment, can vary between two and five hours according to the size of the pool. “The pool in Trivandrum Club is the biggest that we work on,” says Sanil. During vacations, when the pool is frequently used, it is cleaned daily, and otherwise on a weekly basis, he adds. “One of the most frequent queries that we get is, how to maintain the blue colour of pools?”, says Sanil. “We try to convince people that the colour of a healthy pool is not blue, but green. The extraordinary bluish shade is actually lent by the paint used on the floor.” But try as they might, the blues of seeing a pool in green colour is never done away with. Convinced that green is the colour of algae, people keep asking the duo to clean their pools till they shine in a brilliant azure.
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