Choose the right cleaning robot for your communal pool!

Welcoming regular bathers, families and older people to a swimming pool calls for perfect organization. The pool must be regularly cleaned so that everyone can enjoy clean water. But what’s the best robot for maintaining a communal swimming pool? What criteria do you need to consider before investing? Mathieu Smadja, sales manager at Maytronics, tells us what we need to know before buying a cleaning robot.

The importance of a cleaning robot for a communal pool maintenance

Over the past 30 years, pools have evolved in many ways: new coatings, larger dimensions, the development of relaxation areas, water slides and fun pools, a re-think of the activities… But there’s one area where innovations have had a particularly positive impact: robot cleaners. Thanks to intelligent navigation systems, they can scan the size of the basin and adapt their itinerary to each pool. In this way, they purify the water and clean the surfaces automatically.

The only problem is that in a fast-expanding market, knowing which model to get isn’t easy… Drawing on his expertise, Mathieu Smadja reminds us how it important it is to ask the right questions at the right moment.

3 essential steps for choosing a robot pool cleaner

1/ Define its usage

In order to know which robot will be the most effective, you must first analyze your needs. For Mathieu Smadja, the first and foremost step is to define the usage of the pool: “Your choice of robot will be very different depending on if it’s a seasonal pool or a covered pool used all year-round.” Indeed, fun or play pools will not have the same characteristics as pools used for sports. Similarly, diving pools require different treatment to open air pools.

Generally, communal pools need to use a robot daily. However, some of them – and maybe this is your case – aren’t bound by time restrictions: it’s possible to use the robot all night or just in the morning, before people arrive.

2/ Consider the time spent on cleaning

“The main question is how long to dedicate to cleaning the pool basin. There are robots that can clean a pool of 82 feet (25 metres) in less than an hour, while others do the same work in four hours” explains Mathieu Smadja. For communal pools where too much time spent on cleaning is undesirable, a fast, high-performance robot is indispensable.

To save maximum time, there are also robots equipped with an electronic compass and a gyroscope: “The robot memorizes a course. It follows this course to be as efficient as possible as it moves around. It covers parallel strips, never going over the same area twice.”

3/ Study the volume and the area of the pool basin

“The area is more important than the depth because the majority of robots clean the bottom of the pool.” Whether the pool is one or two metres deep, the robot’s work will be the same. Conversely, the lining and the shape of the pool should be taken into account before making any purchase.

What are the criteria for an effective robot cleaner?

Ease of use

“The ease of use - placing in and retrieving from the water, and cleaning the filter” are all points to consider.

After-sales service

The quality of the after-sales service should not be overlooked. “Short intervention times, the availability of spare parts, maintenance operations and the guarantee are important criteria”: If the robot is defective, fast interventions – under 48 hours – can be very useful. It’s the same for the availability of parts. Rapid repairs can avoid a waste of time and energy, and get bathers quickly back into the pool.

Training

Although it’s not mandatory to follow training to use a robot cleaner for communal pool maintenance, many manufacturers provide training to get you started. “At Maytronics, we automatically train people when they buy a robot for a communal pool. During the training, we learn how to program the robot and train everyone to use it.” The more trained the users are, the better the robot will be managed and the lower the risk of breakage.

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Buying a robot cleaner to maintain a communal pool is a major investment. It must be adapted to the specific constraints of your pool while guaranteeing reliability and robustness. And it’s not just about technical characteristics. Having an after-sales service that listens and advises is important and brings peace of mind. Want to know more about this topic and discover the latest innovations? Get ready for the Piscine Global 2018 trade show!

Thank you to Mathieu Smadja for sharing his expertise.

Photo credit : Freepik / Welcomia