Maintenance of a municipal aquatic center

Walking barefoot in or around pool changing rooms can pose health risks. We'll examine how to reduce these risks and, more importantly, how to maintain the pool deck and public areas.

Risks to prevent

Mainly, the risk is the athlete's footThis is a dermatophyte (fungal) infection of the skin of the feet. It is not pleasant and can last for several years in the most extreme cases.

Other health problems, but the most important thing is to understand that a sports complex that includes a swimming pool can generate health problems if it is poorly maintained.

Where do these hygiene problems come from?

The primary responsibility lies with the sports center administration, which must ensure that the risks of infection and contamination are as low as possible. Municipalities are generally responsible for public sports and aquatic centers. Here is an article on themaintenance of municipal buildings.

• In some cities, you get early morning visits from people sleeping on the streets who come to shower in the swimming pool changing rooms. These people are often disorganized with their not-so-clean supplies. odors can be a problem after they pass if no cleaning is done.
• During the day, the aquatic center can accommodate several classes of students and these groups do not always have the necessary supervision in the changing rooms.
• Additionally, most aquatic centers have a hectic pace of participants who come at all hours of the day, sometimes as early as 7:00 a.m. And as the day progresses, we will end up with families, couples, or individuals wanting to swim.
• There are also swimming classes every 45 minutes.

As a result, there are constantly people coming and going in the men's, women's, and family locker rooms. It's difficult to keep these spaces clean throughout the day, so several cleaning techniques and frequencies are required.

How many employees should I expect?

The most important point is to have sufficient housekeeping staff, of course, you need a time-movement assessment To answer this question exactly, let's say it depends on the size of the complex and the days and hours it's open. And of course, the Aquatic Center's attendance. However, for a pool open 6 to 7 days a week from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., it's impossible to imagine fewer than 3 or 4 employees.

Indeed, you will need at least one maintenance employee to cover the entire pool opening hours. In addition, you will need to plan to do water tests every 3 hours; however, this does not have to be done by the maintenance staff.

Since participants will be present in the locker rooms until approximately 30 minutes after the pool closes, maintenance staff will be required to perform maintenance thereafter. Therefore, the employee cannot finish at the same time as the Aquatic Center closes.

Finally, the number of employees can vary depending on the season. In the summer, for example, the opening of the outdoor pools requires the recruitment of new employees to maintain the outdoor part of the aquatic complex.

Some ways to reduce maintenance problems with the collaboration of athletes

• First, at the entrance to the locker rooms, it's best to have an area for people to take off their shoes. Imagine winter with winter boots, summer with shoes that carry sand and dirt, etc. So, having people remove their shoes before entering the locker room will reduce the dirt inside the locker room.
• Provide a bin for lost and found items. You'll be picking up socks, towels, and other items every night when the athletes leave! Make sure to check the lockers daily to prevent this kind of lurking.
• Using a footbath between the pool exit and the pool area would also be a great solution.

Recommended cleaning equipment for swimming pools

An aquatic center must have good housekeeping equipment. The "regular mop with bristles" should be avoided since it would only serve to spread all the dirt. So, the most effective is of course the self-scrubbing mop, which allows you to wash with clean water without much effort and with a good mechanical efficiency.

Then the products to use must be approved for an aquatic environment. While the products must be effective in preventing infections, they must not pose a danger when used in the same environment as swimming pool products.

It is also appropriate tostore household cleaning products and pool maintenance products in two different locations.

I'm not an expert on pool water testing, so I won't cover that in this article. Instead, let's look at the equipment and products for the pool deck and changing rooms, as well as other areas of an aquatic center.

Public space cleaning equipment

First, a scrubber is essential, and you'll need to choose it carefully. Try to choose a scrubber that can clean the pool deck as well as the corridors and other areas of the Aquatic Center.

It would also be advantageous to have a small format self-scrubber for the maintenance of the changing rooms. This equipment could also be used for the spectator stands.

We did an article on thespecific maintenance of public showers. Another interesting piece of equipment is a multifunction washing machine.

The choice of household cleaning products must be carefully considered. For locker rooms, we suggest biotechnological products such as the Innu Science range, a world-renowned company produced in Quebec! These are excellent products that are safe for the health of workers and even participants.

Contact us

In closing, one article is so little for everything that needs to be considered in the maintenance of a sports and aquatic complex. Do not hesitate to contact us for any advice you need.

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